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A Date with Destiny

And by destiny, I mean Dillinger Escape Plan, and by date, i mean concert.

I'd been waiting a couple of months for this show, and while nothing was set on fire, and no one's face got stepped on, it was freaking awesome.

After a delicious meal of chicken wings and fried pickles at Reggie's and a wonderful moment where I was completely oblivious to Greg Puciato sitting right next to Sid and me. They started out with an (untitled) snippet from a song from the upcoming album, and just plowed through song after song like fucking troopers, a good mix of all previous albums. I really think they are sounding tighter than ever, and the new album stuff sounds bad ass,

Part of me wishes the crowd was a little more raucous but that would have prevented me from having Greg GRAB ME AND YELL IN MY FUCKING FACE. Which sounds like it would be a bad thing, but believe me, it is not. I had hung out a bit along the edge of the pit early in the show, but during "Panasonic Youth" I just lost my shit and sprinted right in, pushing my way to the front. And I got there! Then, during "43% Burnt", he came and yelled all up in my face, in that way he does. Yaaay! Then after the last song Ben hi-fived me on his way off the stage.

Good times. CANNOT WAIT for the new album in fall.

Getting what you want can be kind of strange. But awesome.

So last week (two weeks ago? i don't remember) I went to Chicago Ladies Rock Camp with C. and I had a goal this year. I wanted to sing. I wanted to learn to sing and play bass at the same time, and be comfortable with it and be good at it.

That was a tall order for me, since I only sing in front of (close) friends or in karaoke situations. But I wanted to do it, to aggressively push the edges of my own comfort level, but also to prove something - to myself, mostly. That I could do it, that I could it well, that it is in me to perform live, even with the potential of failure.

Having spent a good chunk of my early 20's just settling, playing it safe and not really growing, my 30's seem to be about pushing, pushing, pushing and adventure. I often push myself too hard. I don't like to fail, and my definition of failure is a lot more broad than a lot of of people. I am my own worst critic, and that can be a dangerous motivator. But it can also be an exciting one. I love the Ladies Rock Camp experience because of its "trial by fire" mentality. And I love my 30's. They have completely owned my 20's in every possible way. I wouldn't have had the guts to do this back then.

There was more, though. I wanted to meet people to play with, to grow with as a band, and I found that too. Of course I've known one of the members forever, and it was kind of like, our destiny to do this someday, but I met two other ladies with the same enthusiasm and motivation to do something new and different and creative. I think we are a band, now. Isn't that crazy?

Waving goodbye ...

I had big plans for my final go-round with Uncle Trent, since this appears to be the last tour before settling into a life of domestic bliss and/or working in IT. I thought I'd see at least 2-3 dates on this tour. I thought for sure it would be a vacation, kind of like the Seattle and Minnesota treks I did last year. At the very least, I thought it would be a beautiful summer beer-soaked evening of fun.

Well, I was sick all week long, I coughed through the whole show, and the evening was cool and cloudy. And yet it was still one of the best shows I've attended in recent memory. Trent and co. pulled out all the stops, playing songs I have not heard live in over a decade and sounded tighter than ever, despite the fact that I barely know who most of those fuckers playing in the band are anymore. That was still Robin Finck up there on guitar, right?

It's the end of an era (probably) and while I have no clue who I'll be following around to see live anymore, I am strangely OK with it. Maybe it's because TR's been threatening retirement for a couple of years now, or maybe it's because, the man has never seemed to take a break, and the last time he did, it was to slowly drink himself to death.

So yeah. Go off, old man, and be happy. It's been long overdue. And when there's something else that pisses you off that you want to write an album about, say getting those kids off your lawn, or some typo in the New York Times, we'll be here to listen.

Hey Geoff Tate, you are DRAMATIC

If you are around Twitter, you know that I saw Queensryche in concert twice and I won't shut up about it. I've seen them before, but I was especially excited this time because I had a chance to hear one of my favorite, underrated albums, almost in full: Rage for Order. This album came out in the mid-80's and I discovered it just a little later because I was only a kiddo when it was released, but it turns out to be my favorite album after Operation:Mindcrime, with all its eyeliner covered glory. (See above)

If you hate 'ryche because you find their music hilariously overwrought, don't listen to this album because it is like Queensryche on 20. You do not sing along to this album, you perform it, with like hand movements and shit. And it is all about vampires, like the whole thing is about vampire armies, vampire romance, vampire robots and vampire stalking. I think. At least that's what I thought the album was about and i will be PISSED it is it not.

Anyway. I went with @Sidcity and @nikkinana (note the Twitter names!) and each time was awesome. The best part is remembering how much of a dramatic motherfucker Geoff Tate is. How cool must it be to know you can walk around a stage with a hankie wailing out with the intense hand movements and the posing and you're actually DOING IT, and not mouthing the words in your bathroom mirror because YOU'RE GEOFF TATE. I'd be dramatic too.

I wish there was more dramatic metal, and I am not talking about shit like Dragonforce because that is just a D &D game set to music. I am talking dramatic vampire shit, or like The Warning, dramatic psychic kid shit. Look, I love songs about beating people up and Satan and setting things on fire as much as the next person, but I could use more drama in my metal.

Other observations:

- Geoff Tate is not only dramatic, he is top heavy, a top heavy man. It's a weird thing. Also, his big round head has gotten bigger and rounder.
- They are no longer a prog metal band, i hate to say, their new stuff is pretty pedestrian, nothing against the topic of the album, I am also for honoring our men and women in uniform, but American Soldier is pretty boring, musically.
- Eddie Jackson, the bass player, has apparently de-aged, and he's looking pretty good, too! Am I crazy? Is that just me? Ok.
- Other people seem to perform songs with the hand movements just like I do. It's Air Geoff Tate.
- I actually got all weird (like "hey WTF, dude!!") when Michael Wilton played Chris DeGarmo's parts, even though Chris has not been in the band in well over a decade.

That is all, I have some performing in the mirror to do.

An Open Letter to The Dark Lord

So news of your impending nuptials took the NIN fandom off guard, but I can't help but send my good wishes.

Remembering you miserable, bloated and tumbling drunk off of a stage in Tokyo during the Fragility 2.0 tour - and having heard Leaving Hope I am glad that you are even alive, and that you that seem finally,truly happy.

That being said:

WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH YOU AND YOUR MEG RYAN MOVIES?

Seriously, man. Love doesn't make you lose all of your good taste in movies. Next you're going to be listening to Dido and crying over ASPCA commercials and it will be DROP SQUAD TIME, motherfucker.

So in conclusion:

Happy? Yay! In love? Yay! Romantic comedies? Fucking boo.

Thank you :)

A loss for words?

I've been finding it difficult to do the kind of long form personal blog writing I used to do here all the time. Thanks, fucking Twitter.

My written thoughts all seem to come out in 140 characters or less. Great. Not that I can't write anymore. I can write about other topics, like for articles and what not just not about myself. Which makes my job tonight, writing a bio of myself, extremely difficult. I need to do it tonight, it's a quick turn around. Maybe I'll just make something up:

"K. is an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Her amazing talent and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, which propelled her to become the first American female superstar."

That's more like it.