Adventures with Dr. Lady Cutie Troublemaker

Jeepers and the Ball on Vimeo
Please understand that sometimes, I just have to be a crazy cat lady.


Click on the the delightful Jeepers above for the whole set.

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.

Last night, I headed out on a solo adventure to Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro to see Of Montreal. I bought these tickets before I left Boston. I think I was afraid there would be no good music down here, so I wanted to be sure that I had at least one gig to look forward to. I always like to be holding tickets for something. It may not be a trip back to Paris or Cinqueterra, but it’s a little something. I only remembered that the gig was last night on Sunday, so I sent out emails to Xopher, Katy, and Massimo (a Flickr friend) to see who wanted to go. No luck there. I decided to go alone, thinking that my friends Brian and Shannon would be there, although turns out they couldn’t get tickets. I sold my second ticket at the door and walked in to catch the tail end of the brightly colored Mixel Pixel. By the time I’d bought a beer and headed back up front, they were practically finished. I moved up front by the stage thinking that Of Montreal would be on next, but there was another opening act.

Grand Buffet were a total trip! It was two guys rapping, sort of old school Beastie Boys-esque. Their shtick was that they would act like total badasses about VERY unbadass things. They’d exclaim things like, "I’m drinking distilled water, yo!" And "Who’s wearing Rockports? I’m wearing Rockports." They had amazing energy and were actually pretty tongue trippy talents (I just made that shit up!). I got some great images and videos. After the show, I spoke with one of the guys, and while looking at some of the pictures I’d taken, he pointed out his good muscular definition. Here’s that one.

And another:

Here are the rest of the pictures I took of them. And here’s some video (please forgive the sound quality).

My experience with Of Montreal is interesting. I first heard about them because Amy Carpenter, A blogger and performance artist/activist in Jamaica Plain, posted a really great video using their music. I downloaded that song right away, and it his my regular rotation. After that, I heard another song or two here and there. Recently, they were on an episode of All Songs Considered that I listened to at the gym. My point is that I know of their sound, not their look. A few weeks ago, a report came up that the lead singer had disrobed on stage. (NSFW link) It sort of registered. When I saw them walk out, it came back to me.

I don’t know any better way of sharing them than some visuals. Some people do full reviews. That’s not really my scene. What I can say is that it is clear that the band rotates around the axis that is Kevin Barnes. He’s a terribly charismatic and complex performer. The music is chromatic, with unexpected harmonic and rhythmic changes, and the words are also surprisingly complex. Not the normal chantable hooks and simplistic style of lyricism found in most pop/indie music. Even the titles of their songs are fascinating and beautiful. The first song I started to listen to by them (the one in that video) was "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games". Their new album (Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?) has some really catchy songs, but again, the titles, and the lyrics themselves are indescribable, angsty, and at the same time, sometimes very catchy. Visually, this band is total 70’s glam. The addition of several video screens behind flashing images of the performers themselves (in negative and with fancy retro digital effects), the costumes… It was all really FABULOUS! What’s amazing about this band is that while there are all these distractions creating a decadent visual and audio feast, there is one basic fact that makes it all OK. These are competent musicians with a real perspective. They each play several instruments, and play them well. There was a lot of leaping from one instrument to the other. The man I thought was the drummer played the keyboard and even pulled out a trumpet. They so-called "lead singer" played the drums (better than the drummer?) and the guitar. You get the idea. This is starting to sound more and more like a review, huh?

Anyway, it was a delightful time. No chance of boredom. I spent time talking with the "kids" up front with me. An 18 year-old couple and a 25 year-old couple who’d driven from near Knoxville, TN to catch the gig. I love how the 25 year-olds thought I was their age. I swear I was definitely the oldest person there. The 18 year old guy (Scott maybe?) said I was old enough to be a "stranger" he was supposed to fear! It was at that point that I offered him candy. Then cracked up and admitted that I was actually a child psychologist. It sounded like a good joke so he laughed, but I had to admit that it was actually the truth. Then I gave him a piece of gum… and he lived.

Here’s the entire Of Montreal photo set. Here is VIDEO! (again, TERRIBLE sound quality)

I stayed up late editing pictures and slept until noon. I really need a job. Yes, I’m still waiting to hear. And I’m starting to get pretty antsy about it.

Once a year, I talk about how much I hate Valentine’s Day. It’s never good. Last year, my boyfriend at the time was out of town for work on Valentine’s Day. I’d made reservations far in advance at this really nice Mediterranean restaurant. Since he had the trip, I rescheduled for later in the week… I barely spoke to him on the 14th because he was so busy working. On the 16th, I picked him up at the airport, and when we got home, he dumped me and moved across the country 5 days later. Fun times

This year, I’m single, which is maybe better than some other possibilities. I always feel bad for couples in new relationships around Valentine’s Day: “Do we celebrate? What about that L-word that’s floating around everywhere? Am I supposed to say it? Wait, I’m not ready. Shit, this is calling the entire relationship into question. Gah! Am I supposed to be buying a gift? And what cost is appropriate for someone I’ve only been dating a week, a month, two months. What is s/he expecting?” PRESSURE!

When I was in a happy long-term relationship with my ex-husband (yes, I was very happy… just because it ended doesn’t mean it wasn’t happy), we both hated the sentiment of Valentine’s Day. It’s such a Hallmark holiday. It’s forced affection. Plus, the restaurants are so packed with newer couples who are either feigning love or newly crazy in love. Who wants to compete with that?! What I much preferred were the spontaneous displays of affection. “Hey sweetie, you forgot to set the VCR for your favorite show before you left for choir. I did it for you.” (These were the days before TiVo!). “Look, I saw this CD at the store, and I knew you would love it, so I bought it for you.” “You look like you’re really enjoying that book you’re looking at. It’s on me.” Or… “You seem stressed. Let me put on some Ella. Just sit down. I’ll make you something to eat.” That’s what it’s all about… at least to me. The other stuff is just pretend.

I was thinking recently about how on talk shows, people are always talking about how “the magic” went out of their relationship. What a load of crap! They’ve been watching too many romantic comedies. I watch them, too, but maybe because I’ve seen a 40+ year relationship in action, I know that the really good stuff comes from years and years of shared experiences. Periods of distance, sitting in the same room engaged in parallel play, with intermittent passion, silliness, sorrow, and all the rest of it. Magic comes and goes, but the bond of being with someone over years is indescribably enriching. Not sure whether I’ll have it again, but I did have 9 1/2 years of it. It wasn’t perfect. I did a lot of things wrong, and I can’t say I won’t do more wrong things in future relationships, but they will probably be different wrong things. A relationship of that length and the recovery when it’s over teaches one many lessons that I wouldn’t trade in for anything. Not that divorce was a cakewalk (far from it), but it made me who I am today, so I never wish that it never happened.

Looking at my calendar for Valentine’s Day, all I have planned is an informational meeting with a local psychologist. His practice isn’t hiring, but he was very helpful on the phone, and my last one of these informational meetings brought many good ideas and good leads. Hopefully, this one will be similar. The other event on my calendar is much more important: Smoooochie’s (Veronica’s) Birthday. Now that’s something to celebrate. She has been a patient and loyal friend for about four and a half years now. She is much more cause for celebration than Valentine’s. So MY VDay is all about the Veronica… oh, and maybe I’ll arrange the cat food into little heart shapes for the girls. I’m sure they will LOVE that… “Meow, meow, meow. Hurry the fuck up, Mom!”

Here’s a little Valentine’s video to lighten up your emotional angst at being single or coupled on this strange holiday: