onward!

Our A/C has died. It's only about 95 today. How did Laura Ingalls survive? Fortunately, we are heading to cooler climes this weekend and then there are plans to have the HVAC / AC / Furnace redone (it's an all-in-one thing). We were warned on the age of the unit so this isn't a surprise, but we'd hoped to get through at least a full year. Updates as things cool off.

I stopped at the sandwich shop on the way home because after running the oven/stove the last two evenings I've decided that we can do three days of food created with no heat by me. As I was waiting for my sandwiches another family came in, 2-plus-3, to order ice cream. As as aside, this place makes their own ice cream and the entire joint is a complete flashback to Goodrich Dairy in Omaha. Anyway, they walk up to the counter to order and Mr. Man says, "Do you have a list of ice cream flavors?" Teen boy manning the cash very instructively points to all the signs that have been hand-drawn and reflect each type of ice cream - about 20 flavors. "Oh, I see," the gentleman says. Now I'm wondering how this will end. As his three kids (ages 4-8) are standing there he then drops this bomb on order guy, "What flavors do the kids like?" What? What flavors do the the kids like? How would dude at shop know what your kids like? It's not even a fair question. Listen buddy, you've got vanilla, chocolate, fruit flavored, cookie stuff, mixes, coffee flavored, mint flavored, etc. This isn't like asking a waiter "What's good?" on a menu - we are adults and know our own tastes. "Hey, what flavor do you think my 7 year-old would like?" Gee, I don't know. And if you ask me that question again you're barred from this store. As Pops finally orders the three cones he pointed to each kid as he order, "Chocolate for this one {point}. Strawberry for this one {point}, and cookies n' cream for {point} her." Thanks JP Sousa. Why don't you hold the pointing and I'll just hand you some finished cones.

About midnight last night we heard the telltale sounds of cat prepping to puke. If you have pets you know the sound. Pumpkin on on full heave at the foot of the bed and X tries to literally kick him through the wall in time to avoid damage. Not accomplished. What we did get was some on the bed and some on the floor. X then picked up Pumpkin, who was done, and threw him outside. The look on his face was priceless - why am I being thrown outside now, I'm done. What this did get me thinking about was how hilarious it would be if people were the same as pets, who simply puke where they stand/lie (not counting drunks.) You're at work, mid-conversation, and you start heaving a bit, "Hold on conference call, just a second..." Blahhhhh, all over the place. Step one foot to the side and continue. Animals have it made, you never see them running for the toilet, "I'm fine, I'll just chuck right here. Really, no problem..."

I think I've revealed too much.

at least he had a dessert

Last night we all headed into D.C. to see the re-staging of Beertown (from last year's Fringe Festival), an award-nominated, interactive play about a fictional town and its 20th Quinquinnial, in which they open the town's time caspsule and debate additions and subtractions. It's a noble attempt at bringing political discussions to the fore in a comedic form, and the audience is fully participatory in the entire show, but the second act when we freely - and improvisationally - debate the merits of various items before voting tended to drag out far too long. It was primarily due to the repetitive nature of the debate and voting. Overall, not bad, but nothing that had me thinking too much in end. Unlike The Normal Heart from a few weeks back...great show.

More importantly, we grabbed dinner, pre-show, at Cafe Assorti in Rosslyn/Courthouse. X had suggested it earlier in the week and we enjoyed it enough to head back last night. It's a fully Russian menu joint filled with wrapped beef, cabbage, and potatoes. Between the six entrees we've had over two visits they haven't misfired yet; whoever is cooking knows from cooking. As if that tweren't enough, the desserts are unbelievable. I'd been thinking hard about giving a Napoleon a shot in my kitchen for a few months but never managed the gumption. After last night there's no need to try: I had the dessert at Assorti and it was the best dessert I've ever had, nipping out some stellar carrot cake from my past. Absolutely absolutely. The boys both had individual strawberry/yoghurt cake-lets that also managed to disappear with great haste. Napoleon and coffee. Tops.

Last week before vacation.

gas on the fire

I'm a big fan of Gaslight Anthem. I hadn't seen them live and figured the chances of seeing them live - outside of a festival, or a 20,000-seat amphitheatre - seemed unlikely. Their success is such that even a venue like the 9:30 Club here in D.C. is probably too small to hold the real 'tour' crowd. The impending release of their fourth album Handwritten  has apparently driven them out on the road for a short tour of smaller venues; shaking off the rust? Getting back to roots? Brian Fallon admitted about mid-set that they'd be back in town later this year so we can assume it'll be a venue holding 40-50 times as many fans.

Last night they played the relatively new U St. Music Hall in NW, a place that holds a cool 500 - think biggish, underground bar. It was my first foray to the music hall and it was well worth it - its size is reminiscent of the Fine Line in The Cities, where they also played, and Slim's in SF. This (early) show - there was a DJ set/partly later in the evening - blasted out of the blocks at 7:30 with Dave Hause ripping through a 35-minute solo journey, a set that was simply fantastic. I didn't know Hause before the show, I can't know them all, but his CD was in hand at the end of the show. He immediately reminded me of seeing Bob Mould solo: power guitar, strong vocals, great songs. I couldn't be happier to have come upon Hause and his music.

Gaslight Anthem followed quickly on the heels of a somewhat hilarious 15 minutes soundcheck on stage. I have no idea why I found it so funny, and I know they were in Baltimore earlier in the day for an in-store, so I can only guess there wasn't a load of time to get everything in order in the afternoon. The lights dropped, the band stepped on stage, and the next 90 minutes was packed with great songs blasting into the faces of a hypnotized crowd. It's a rare occurrence, even in a smaller venue, that you get 500 people acting as one - it can seem strange at first, but eventually the sweat, pogo-ing, and arms in the air will overtake everyone. You don't get that with a festival crowd, or even at a 1,000+ venue: those don't give you the distilled mayhem of a 500-person crowd - all there for the exact same thing.

The band managed to hit every high mark in their discography over the 90 minutes. As an aside, Fallon pointed out early in the show that with the planned 10pm DJ show they weren't going to waste our time - one set, no breaks, no encores; when it was over, we were all done. Not only is that the way I love my shows, it really opened up the crowd because there wasn't any worry about holding out some energy in reserve for the 'encore'. Open up the throttle and let it go - no off switch. If you know all the Gaslight's songs then you have only a few real favorites and the rest are near-favorites. What you don't do during the show - or what I didn't do - was wonder about when they'd play x or y song because they'll get to them all before you stumble out happy and complete. The current five-piece was perfectly balanced on the very small stage and the sound was overpowering - I'd guess that Gaslight fans don't go to the shows wanting a quiet evening, and they weren't disappointed.

At about mid-show I knew that was experiencing a show that I'd choose to make anyone else's only concert of the year, or years. There's no substitute for a bar band...in a bar. You'll never get the same feeling in a huge venue, and it's hard to bring someone to a Slobberbone show (my all-time favorite band...bar band) if they don't know the songs. That's not the case with Gaslight Anthem because the songs - a tight, pure mix of punk, pop, and rock - are strong enough to carry any person willing to open up and enjoy. They truly put on a show that could be the benchmark for most to say it was the best show they ever saw. For the fans that didn't manage to squeeze into the small joint, I almost want to apologize. And, for the jackasses on Craigslist asking $175 for tickets? Fuck you.

One last award: the 9:30 Club (who booked the show) sent over the big security guy to work the front of the stage, and he was busy. This guy is so big that as the body surfers periodically tumbled towards the stage, he simply stepped to his left, caught some random 220-lb guy in his arms like a baby, and set him to the side. Over and over with nothing but a straight face.

A show that gives me the security of knowing I'll never need to see them again. It won't get any better. Sort of what music is suppose to do to people.

ps The band did a live one-hour online show at the Ed Sullivan Theater last month - they sounded great, but the venue isn't good and the crowd was a bunch of stiffs, probably for security reasons, who knows. Trust me, not even close to the same vibe. Not close.

queue it up

At the shoppette (convenience store) on base last week I had a hilarious interaction with the manager; we get along well and see each other every day. In the afternoons he’ll pop into a closed line and open up as customers at the (usually) two open lines begin to back up five deep – he’s so fast compared to the other cashiers that he can clear three or four sales in the time the others do one. What I had done that day was begin my single-line operation between the two open registers (they face each other) and managed to magically get the next ten or so buyers to go single line behind me. When he opened his register at the rush we had a lengthy, and friendly, discussion about which is faster: single line or pick a line. I know from my experience overseas that the single line is the best option even without an engineer explaining it; the manager disagreed with me. I’d send him this video, but harassing the shoppette manager seems petty.

The funnier version of this same story is the Case of the Urinals at Verizon Center. On the 400-level (upper tier / cheaper seats) all the men's rooms use the single line process. Sure, the lines go out the door and look longer, but they move much quicker. The 100-level (lower tier / expensive seats) have the same bathroom configuration, but everyone insists on lining up ten deep behind each of the 15 urinals - makes zero sense. Occassionally you get some 100-level civilian up in the 400s who immediately gets all riled up and screams "Get in a line behind the urinals. Why is everyone not in a line behind the urinals!" He is quickly dealt with by other semi-drunk hockey fans. He's usually from Pittsburgh or New York.

quick like a bunny

I was thinking about a whirlwind update, but there’s too much to cover – at least in paragraphs. Here’s the summary:

Boys left and returned.

L.  left, back at the end of the month.

Hot.

Storm.

Lizard eaten by cats.

No Power.

Power.

Hot.

Done…hit 105 over the weekend.

Are we caught up?