The Raleigh Flickr Group will feature award winning photography tonight at Cafe Kado from 7-9pm. All are welcome to attend.
I don’t have any photos in the exhibit, but I know all the people who do, and they are good. It’s a nice place. Would love to get a few extra people out to see it.
Cafe Kado (link to map)
5311-G South Miami Blvd
Durham, NC 27703
A bit of a sneak peek:
Dan was right. The first time I met Dan, it was at karaoke at the Charles Playhouse Lounge. He told me that if I loved good music (he’d heard I did), I had to check out Cold War Kids. Understatement of the century. I finally got around to listening to them some time last month. Why did I wait so long? I’ve now had their album for a few weeks, and I’ve been listening to it constantly.
On Monday, I found out that they would be playing Tuesday night at Local 506 in Chapel Hill. I managed to talk my friend Massimo into joining me. There were still tickets. Why not? We arrived to find that the tickets were sold out, but within a few minutes, we were approached by a nice guy trying to sell us ticket for half-price. Half price? I told him he was my new hero and paid full price.
I don’t remember the last time I was this excited by new music. OK, that’s a lie. I do. Heartless Bastards also has my full attention right now, but I haven’t seen them live, so my enthusiasm is slightly more tempered.
Local 506 is a tiny club with a small but fairly high stage. Cold War Kids were the last of three bands playing. There is something so unique about the singer’s voice. It managed to be angsty and beautiful and powerful all at the same time. Much of the drumming is very militaristic (reminds me of the drumming on the first Throwing Muses album, actually). The bass is (and this is definitely the most appropriate word) PHAT! It’s driving, persistent, deep, and it undergirds this wall of sound that just filled the place. In most bands, each person has his or her spot, where they remain for most of the gig. Not true with CWK. The guitar and bass have this very interesting dance they do. The singer (who also plays the piano and guitar) gets in on it sometimes, too. It’s like watching a school of fish. It somewhat visible in this video I’m posting below. If you look at their faces, it seems as if they are paying absolutely no attention to where they are on the stage, but they are both traveling all over the place. The amazing thing is that they never crash into each other. Oh, and the SONGS! The gestalt experience of seeing this band is hard to describe, but it’s not to be missed. You are just going to have to trust me on this. Find out when they are playing near you and go. Don’t question. Just go. Dan was so very right.
I forgot to post an update. Jeep, while not dying, had a rough weekend. She neither ate nor drank anything on Saturday. I used a syringe to force a liquid food supplement and water with her antibiotic crushed up in it. I carried her to the litterbox regularly since she wasn’t going on her own. She was still throwing up a lot though.
On Sunday, she ate 3 morsels of food on her own but drank no water. The vomiting was happening less often. On Monday morning, when I woke up to feed Maggie, Jeep came in a if that was completely normal, meeping for snacks. She only ate a little, but I was pretty excited. She didn’t eat dinner, but she did eat a bit at around 11pm and then at 1am. She drank a LOT of water in the bathtub (I wasn’t able to get her interested in still water, but the running water had a little more appeal!). No vomiting. Yay!
Last night, Maggie curled up next to me and was shivering at bedtime. This morning, Jeep woke me up for food. When I went in to feed the cats, Maggie didn’t come. I brought her into the vet this morning. It’s nothing terrible.. probably just a cold. I’m watching her.
Poor dears!
Jeep has been here for hours, except when she has gotten up to throw up. I can’t wait until she starts to feel better.
Jeep is not dying! Yesterday was a REALLY long and stressful day for both Jeep and I. Yesterday morning, when I woke up, Maggie rushed the food bowl as usual, but Jeep didn’t follow. When I picked Jeep up and placed her in front of the food bowl, she looked at it and at me and walked away. I couldn’t get her to eat or drink anything, and she clearly didn’t feel well, so I called around and found a new vet. They had a 3pm appointment, so I took it. The vet said that Jeep had an overly full bladder, a very slight heart murmur, and muscle atrophy in her rear legs, which usually indicates recent weight loss. I guess she does look a little thin right now, but I hadn’t noticed. The doc said best case scenario was a urinary tract infection. Worse case? Maybe thyroid or kidney disease, or maybe cancer. My heart sunk when I heard that C-word.
Jeep was taken to the back for blood work and urinalysis. When the vet brought her back, she said Jeep may have to pee soon, so she sent her assistant out to get some litter. Meanwhile, Jeep climbed back into her bag (she won’t tolerate carriers) and proceeding to let her overly full bladder loose all over the inside of the bag, then sat in it. Her whole underside and all 4 legs were drenched. When I took her out of the bag, she got pee all over the exam table, then jumped to the floor and into a chair. It was just everywhere. After a major cleanup operation, we packed up and readied for the wait until Saturday to hear back about the results of the blood work. Oh, and of course there was the bath. Ugh. Good times! I used a syringe to force-feed Jeep chicken broth and milk with cat food I’d crushed with my mortar and pestle.
Last night, I was a bit of an anxious wreck. My girls have been my little family for a long time. They were there for all of grad school, my whole marriage, my divorce, dissertation, both internships, a few post-marriage boyfriends… a whole decade with these girls means I’m VERY attached to them. They are my children. I was glad to have some plans last night, since there wasn’t much I could do, although I was very distracted by thoughts of Jeep, how she was feeling, and her overall health. And that C-word kept haunting me. Thank you VERY much to my Flickr friends at Raleigh Times, Robyn Hitchcock, Pete Buck, a great drummer and bassist, and Massimo for some nice distraction. And thanks Mom and Dad for the phone time. Oh, and Maggie. Thanks, Maggie! Thanks for being healthy and hungry and purry.
Jeep continued (and continues) to be pukey, uninterested in food, and lacking in energy. In fact, the only way she will pee is if I lift her into the box. It’s very sad. But there is very good news. No C-word. Jeep doesn’t have cancer. She has the best case scenario, a Urinary Tract Infection. The vet gave her subcutaneous fluids, as well as an anti-nausea injection (that was at my request) and sent her home with antibiotics. When I got home, I force-fed her another 6 cc’s of the milk/cat food fluid and forced the antibiotic down. While she did puke about 10 minutes later, the vet assured me that no matter what, she will feel better within a day or two. I’m so relieved. I hate seeing her so miserable.
Right now, she’s on the floor sleeping. She’s been through so much. I think I’ll just leave her to it, maybe with a lift over to the litter box every hour or two.
