When the Sky is Full of 0’s and 1’s
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So we have now started biking to every music venue we go to this summer which is really fun.
its 3.8 miles to Schubas
its 7.8 miles to Empty Bottle
its 6.3 miles to Hideout
its 6.6 miles to North/Damen/Milwaukee (home of subt/double door and reckless records
its 8.7 miles to the Art Institute
its 4.2 miles to Lake Shore Theather

that hits most of the points were we go over the summer. Now I dont think we would bike to logan square just because there really isnt a good way to get there..i dont think those streets are fun to bike down, but it is only 6.4 miles.

by the end of this summer i think we should be in such good shape even winter and its eating of heavy foods and sitting around wont matter. but i will miss this much biking come december.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Metro & Tri-State :: Plan calls for pricier parking along busy streets

Mixed feelings about this one. First off, when did my hood (edgewater) become as trendy as logan square or hyde park. Second, they do mention that money from the meters would go toward better designated crosswalks and bike lanes. I am all about the bike lanes. My concern is that with meters rates increasing ppl will just park in the neighborhood streets, making it harder to find street parking near our apartment.

ugh…

So the bottle is hosting 2 benefits. One for Jay Robins this saturday and one for Tom Curtis . If you cant make it out on tues you can easily drop a donation and/or by some raffle tickets at the bottle any night until then. It really warms my heart to see a place like the bottle and the music community in chicago in general coming and helping those in trouble anyway they can.

We recently took a trip to NYC and I want to highlight little parts of the trip over the next few days. One thing we did almost every day was visit this little pizza/bakery. It was usally on our way back to the hotel, and if it wasn’t it was only a few blocks from where were staying. You can see a picture of the roof of the building here (it he one on the NW corner). Each night we would sit down and either have a slice of pizza or a few small things from the bakery (the mousse cup and/or mousse cake was Kirsties favorite, while i really liked the strawberry topped cheese cake).
The place reminded me a lof of the the coffee shop we had found in San Fran, a place where we could sit and kinda observe the local ppl doing thier thing. Being that we were staying very near to NYU the “locals” were usally drunk college students. On one night though we ran into a large group of high school drama students who were in NYC to see 5 or 6 theather performances in as many days.
Its neat to become a “regular” at a little shop like this for only a few days, kinda like you are stealing yourself into another world, becoming a new familar face for the cafe workers, if only for a short time. Its also nice to have a place where Kirstie and I can sit down and kinda talk about the day, after the hussle and crazyness of running around tyring to do as much as humanly possible in one day in NYC.

Chicago Tribune | Where you can, can’t smoke

What a deal. NOT. Most of the things on this list you couldnt smoke at any way. Come on. When was the last time you could smoke in a movie theather, or a public elevator. I was hoping for a ban on smoking in bars and restraunts, where the most damage is done to employee’s and non-smoking patrons. I went to San Fran a few years ago and saw The Delgados play at a club called Bimbo’s. We walked in, watched the opener and a few songs in I turn to Kirstie and ask “Does something seem missing to you” and we both went “Doh” San Fran is no smoking. Double bonus is that inbetween bands all the smokers (and there were lots of them) rushed out side, giving up their choice spots on the floor. So you could go and see a show, get a spot on the floor where you like, and leave the night not smelling like smoke, or having your eyes tear over from the thick haze. But, you say, the deal says that restraunts and bars have until 2008 then they will be no smoking too. Not really.

* Bars, taverns and other public areas or workplaces that install air purification devices that ensure the same air quality inside as outside can seek an exemption from the smoking ban.

We have all seen those things. They could never clean out all the air in, for example, The Empty Bottle and make it like the air outside. This is just a great loop hole for restraunt and bar owns to use in the future.
This is a great step, but on a very long journey. We must not give up the fight for clean air in all public spaces.

So a recapp..a few days late. Started this friday off with a nice 7 mile bike ride. A first for me in sub freezing weather. (it was about 18-20°F out) I wore a t-shirt, a sweater, by winter jacket, a scarf, gloves, my helmet, pants, socks and shoes. Carrying my book bag with my lock in it coupled with all the clothing added a bit of weight that I wasnt used to while riding. For the first mile or so I was cold but not uncomfortable, after the next couple of miles my heart rate really picked up and my body was fairly warm. For the rest of the trip I was actually sweating and the only part of my body that was really cold was my legs, I should have worn long johns and an extra pair of socks for my feet. Since the ground was clean, the snow from the previous night didnt stick to the pavement well, riding wasnt to bad. I was going to Pritzker school to help judge a science fair, I mostly followed Damen ave which has a bike lane for 75% of the way.

When I got there I was actually a bit early so I had a small breakfast at Sweet Thang which included coffee and a quiche. Headed over to the school after that and judged 8 different science projects ranging from a sociology experiment to the effectiveness of various brands of mouth wash. Overall pretty fun, interacting with kids at that level and time where you may be able to make a diffence and swing them toward science is really great.

Afterward I rode back home to then meet kirstie and go to the MCA and see their Tropicalia exhibition. Its a really great look at the late 60’s to early 70’s in Brazil and the art and music that was created under the social and political changes that were going on. We spent 2 hrs there and will have to go back a few more times before it leaves in early Jan. So much to take in. Its layed out very well in the 2 large rooms on the main floor and includes posters, album covers, videos, props, full displays and interactive peices that are just overwhelming. Its very difficult to try and condense so much in even this large space, but I think they did a good job. Kirstie and I are now obsessed with Brazilian music from this period. We already really liked Os Mutantes and Tom Ze so we had an idea but now there are ppl like Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, and Gal Costa. (For the record Dusty Groove is a great place to find a bunch of this stuff on cd and vinyl.)

To finish off the day it was a show at The Beat Kitchen . We went to see “The Island” (who kirstie got some great pictures of during their set ) and since we never miss an opener also caught “Locks” and Make Believe . Starting off, “Locks” were ok. Musically they played tight and loud guitar and drum pieces, with loops and samples that created a dark atmosphere. Then they added lyrics which were quite chlidish and lame. After that it was really hard to get into them. “Make Believe” were ok and what I would expect from a Kinsella off shoot. He came on stage in a full winter bubble coat, wool cap, and dark sun glasses and they played loud and jerky rejected Joan of Arc songs. Finally, the Island came on. 2 of the members used to be in this band called The Unicorns who were so great they toured themselves into the ground on one record. As the Unicorns they wrote quirky, complicated pop songs and the Islands continue in that tradition but on somewhat more mature note. Islands are twice as large, ppl wise, then the aformentioned unicorns and so the songs have a lot mroe going on in them. Violin and 2 (sometimes 3) guitars, bass, drums, and keyboard all perfectly placed and sewn together perfectly. They were plauged with some sound problems and a lost recorder, but that didnt stop them from playing right up to curfew. Which is the only beef I have with AA shows, the band has to finish before 11:30 and so the house actually started playing music which the Islands just played over to start their last song. Here is looking forward to the new album in Jan and a full tour.

This is the show that got me through the week, to great folk/pop/singer songer-writters at the second best place for such things (the first being schubas). The bottle tagged on a third local guy making the evening a bit longer then I anticipated but none the less great. Mike Downy was the opener, just him and an acoustic guitar. The songs were on the bright eyes-emo end of the current folk spectrum but even so, he sang them with intensity and sincerity. Although his song writing could use a bit of work, the fact that you could see that the songs wre coming from his heart and he felt everything that he sang made his set enjoyable.

Nedelle was on next, again just her and a guitar for most of the set. She started with four mellow folk numbers of which I remember 2 from the last time I saw her perform opening for deerhoof (whose shirt she was wearing). After those songs she had a violin and cello join her on stage and announced that the songs would now get sad because strings always make for sad songs. She cutely said though that we should all hang on because she was going to end the set with a real rocking couple songs. Another 4 songs passed, after which she is now joined on stage by Jens, a bass player and drummer. With the extra typical �rock� addition she broke into 2 more numbers with Jens not only providing guitar but harmony vocals. Closing the set she did a perfect version of �Good Grief� with Jens backing her up.

After a short break Jens took the stage accompanied by all the people that were previously on stage. He started the set with a real rocking song, of which I didn�t totally recognize. The next few songs I recognized and noted that he was playing with fierceness not approached on the ep�s. This is not saying that the Ep�s lack something, just that you could tell that Jens really wanted to pour all of himself into the performance. He slowed it down a bit by doing a ukulele redition of �You are the Light� that was simply beautiful. At various points Nedelle joined him on stage to add backing vocals, which she appeared more the happy to do. Realizing that not everyone at the club was there for him he gave us a special treat and did a solo, unplugged version of �The Beat of My Heart� where we �the audience� got to do the �boompaboompa�� responses during the chorus. At this point it was hard to tell who was having more fun us or Jens who had a smile on from ear to ear. Pluggin back in the electric, he and the band ran through another handful of songs. Eventually all great things have to end, and this was no exception. Another unplugged song, this time sung from the top of the steps, closed out the evening. This seem like it has been the 3 time he�s come through town in a little over a year, hopefully we wont have too long for him to come back again.

Somewhat of a spur-of-the-moment thing, we hadn�t planed ahead to go to show. I was poking around The Hideouts web page and noticed that Cass was playing a solo show and kinda joked with Kirstie that we should go. This was Monday and inspired Kirstie to put on Cass�s newest album. A few plays and we just had to go and see him but didn�t want to stay up that late (the hideout show was scheduled for 11pm) so we opted for the Decemberist�s show at the Metro where he was opening. We did see the Decemberist�s over the summer at the Intonation Fest, so we really didn�t have to see them again but knew they put on a good show. Therefore, after a wonderful dinner and a quick call to the Metro we decided to go, and I am glad we did.

Cass McCoumbs was great, joined by a bass player and percussionist (hand drum or tamborine), all three were seated and very mellow. This mellowness of the lineup and the sublime character of Cass�s voice is the reason we wanted to see him and was the reason we couldn�t hear him very well. It seems that people don�t understand that when someone is playing, even if they are a quiet musician, they should shut-up. I wont dwell on it though. Cass�s voice has a tremolo quality to it, too slow of a waver to be called vibrato, it really did resemble the sound of a fender twin, though very smooth. He sings as if he is squeezing every last bit of breath out of him, the notes coming from deep within his soul. The other 2 musicians with him did a perfect job of not only complimenting his guitar with their instruments but also harmonizing beautifully with him. The girl on percussion added an angelic overtone that was so subtle so as not to overpower Cass�s own angelic quality. He played a mix of songs, equal parts of both albums. I prefer �A� to the newest �Perfections� due to the fact that I think he sounds better with the sparse instrumentation and production on his first album. Live I was blown away by how good even the songs off �Perfection� sounded. I was able to pull more feeling and understand the emotion better of all of his songs seeing him perform. With only 2 albums under his belt he has shown a tremendous lyrical skill that was inhanced by his very restrained performance. I hope he decides to tour on his own, maybe at Schubas? (hint hint)

The Decmberists were just as good last night as they were at Intonation, a solidly entertaining band. They opened the set by coming out and making a bunch of noise with symbols and gongs which segwayed into a 4 song meddle that ranged from this psych-rock freak out to the pop-folk chanties they do so well. I was kinda confused at first, I have to admit not being as familiar with the newest album so some of the songs from that meddly might have been from that but I don�t remember them opening the show at Intonation that way. Due to my lack of familiarity it took me a few songs to really get back into their set but once I did I remembered why I liked them so much. They have the ability to have fun on stage and transfer that energy to the crowd at large. The songs have melodies that you cant help but bop your head and sing along to. They have this gypsy or sea-fairing chants to them that roll along like waves. While the songs sometimes hint on politics their stage banter was much more pure fun. At one point Petra Hayden had to give everybody in the front row high-fives because she told a joke. Later the other guitarist recounted his childhood growing up in Chicago and seeing bands play the same stage he was currently on. They played a full hour and a half and broke very shortly for an encore that consisted of a cover of �Mr. Blue Sky� (which would have been the perfect closer) and one final Decmeberist song. A great night of music that I am glad Kirstie dragged me out to see.

but you are wrong. Or atleast I was. Check this out What is even stranger is that I completely forgot that Kirstie talked me into allowing this photographer to snap us at the hideout block party until I was talking to a co-worker today and they mentioned that they had saw me in metromix.

I love the caption

Chicagoans enjoy the music of The Sam Roberts Band at the Hideout Block Party.

From what I remember I was tolerating The Same Roberts Band, not the worst band I had heard but I was more there to check out the dB’s who were fscking great.

From war driving last night to what I guess would be called war walking today, finally hooked up to a network here in the mall in Oshawa . Plan for today, taking it easy and going to see Broken Flowers later on. Below is from yesterday written from the airport.

From the airport
7:54am: yeah we�re here really early, but it better then being late. The ride in on the �L� was snappy. Mostly people going to work, a few with luggage. Spent most the ride looking out the window with Kirstie taking pictures. Guess its crazy to think that there would have been internet at the airport. I am sure there is some pay service around here, but I was hoping for a free connection. No loss. Yesterday kinda sucked, but atleast I don�t have to deal with it until next week. Huge re-org, everybody was switched around. My friend said that it kinda like a Chinese fire drill, run around the out side of the car but in the end it was just the illusion of progress. I no longer work for Mike, which is sad (was going to write kinda, but its not kinda sad�it really is sad). It was a good couple (almost 3) years. The head of the area tried to break the news to all of us with market speak justification. It was all so thin, and nerve racking. Just get it over with, we not listening because we know a big change is coming. Going into it we were expecting some of the things; ending of certain projects and the possible new adventures into others, maybe a new project manager (a position that has been open for almost a year), but not the huge re ordering of who reports to who. Mike, always the optimist, said �the most important thing is that we are all still here and still employed�. I hope to be that well balanced some day.

Oh yeah, what you have all been waiting for. Here are some pictures Kirstie took of me yesterday at the park. We rode down to see our friend michelle play with a few other musicians (another fiddle/guitarist, mandolin, and banjo). It was a nice afternoon and we sat on the grass in the garden and had a small lunch.