They Might Be... Flooded!

J2 came home for the weekend, short notice. It's always nice, just... too late to change plans much, you know? So, he sat home Friday night while D & I went to a neighborhood potluck for a couple of new (mostly youngish) families that have moved in recently.

Nice thing, this. Got to meet lots of people, and get a sense for the neighborhood demographic - which is nicely mixed. Young families with preschoolers, some in the middle with teens, empty-nesters like us, and retirees. A good blend of families, along with some families that don't fit the traditional definition. This is a good place.

Then later, while J2 & D got caught up on things, I headed out for a concert. They Might Be Giants was doing a show at First Avenue, and it proved to be about as peculiar as I expected.




























The opener (Moon Maan) was ... tedious. A drum and guitar trio, they could produce a big sound, but as to content - unremarkable.











Yawnnn. I brought a book.

















Plus I used the time to walk a few blocks north and pick up some nice (...I hope...) table seating tickets at the Fine Line for D and me to see Calexico in November. Should be great. :)



And while out on the street, I saw something I haven't seen before. Some guy had a video game (some version of Guitar Hero, I think) on a big flat screen monitor - in his trunk! People were playing virtual instruments on the street. Okaaaay.




Back to the TMBG show. Their music is hard to describe. Catchy, yes. But odd. At one point, each of the instruments took turns playing random licks, disconnected from one another in terms of style, tempo, rhythm. Then they did the same thing in pairs or trios, but simultaneously. The whole thing took on a feel of a cocktail party, where you have bits of conversations going on all over in sort of a jumble, but... it was all with instruments. Weird.



They seemed to attract a post-college quasi-intellectual crowd. Mostly around 30, give or take a few years. And they sure seemed to know the songs, sang along at all the right parts.

They talked a lot from the stage, too. And they were pretty clever, kind of a running droll commentary on a variety of topics.

Plus, the audience booed them. Booed! Except that it was an inside joke, and the band expected it, took it as applause.

They'd yell:

"Do you all feel lousy tonight?",

and the response would be:

Boooo!

"All right! Wanna hear some music?"

No!

"All right!"

Funny. :)



Really, I would have liked them to do more of the soundtrack work they've done, like "A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" from "Meet The Robinsons", or their children's songs, which are so funny and original.

At least the seating was good. I actually found a stool to sit on in the VIP lounge. Nice view of the stage even though the sound was sort of muffled. The merch table was overpriced, though. Too bad.



So, after the show, sleep quick, and a busy day Saturday. Worship team rehearsal, coffee with SQ, Mass, cooking, college kids over for dinner, and then...

J2 heads back after dinner. Huh? You just got here..

Apparently his dorm building was getting flooded as the nearby river was rising, and his roommates called to tell him. So he headed back to help with potential evacuation! Yikes!

Gee, nice to see you for like two minutes. :( Well, okay, a few hours.

And today, singing and reading from the platform, working out in the office, watching a little football, and... my favorite (not!)... grading papers for my Math class on Tuesday. That'll be the fourth of 6 lectures, though. It is going fast.

Which is good, since I have the Neko Case concert on Thursday, a trip to KC next Sunday, and when I get back... grad school starts again: BT501 - Hermeneutics.

Bring it on, baby - I'm ready.