Out of the Jungle and into the Fire - The Killers, Costa Rica, Gray Young, New World Highrise, Toon & The Real Laww, and Vienna Teng!

...Longest Blog post title ever? Well hold on to your hold-on-ables, as this is actually going to be a mostly pic-heavy post, to boot!

I felt a sense of obligation to explain to my faithfuls why there has been a huge black hole in my blog for the past few months, where Hopscotch should have been. Well, we all know I go through fits of depression and straight up laziness, which makes for inconsistent content. Alas, here i sit with time and energy and a steady internet connection, so here we go!

The Killers - August 12, Redhat Amphitheater

There are bands that on the neo-hipster scale that I absolutely adore that I'm sure most of my friends would agree are perhaps sellouts or too big for their britches, (U2 and Coldplay to name a couple obvious ) and I'm sure The Killers are in the non-in crowd as far as Indie cred goes... honestly, I couldn't give two shits. I LOVE them, always have, and used a small part of my well-deserved severance money (Oh, didn't you hear? I got laid off!) and bought the best tickets you could get for their show in Raleigh! My former bandmate and one of my all-time best friends, Jayseph, came along for the ride!

friends are friends forever!

It was well timed and staged perfection, and sounded SO GOOD as expected for a quasi-arena show for a megaband. I heard all my favorite songs, made friends with all the gay kids half my age in the pit and got generally overly emotional, as expected. 

Why so emotional? Well, good tunes with which I have unnaturally deep connections with, obviously ...(um, All These Things That I've Done?? Hello?) but also there was the whole "I gave away everything I owned and moved into the Jungle of Costa Rica to work on an Ecofarm, isolate myself and finish my Novel" thing.. which I did. Without going into too much public detail, (as it was a totally personally intense situation,) I didn't stay quite as long as I thought I would, but in the end, I didn't need to. Unfortunately all this self-reflection and Tao reading just happened to take place while Hopscotch rolled around, so I missed it. And the bluegrass festival...

Cut my hair off, stopped wearing a bra, and ran around in the jungle with a Machete for a few months... the only excuse I have for missing Herpskerch.

BUT! I came home just in time for:

The Last Gray Young show - Slim's - Oct 3

They say all great things must come to an end. But in this case, I am virtually inconsolable, as the VERY BEST THING has come to an end... for now, anyway... Gray Young has decided to take a little break. I am trying my best to come to grips with this now. Pre-show and about halfway through, I believe I was in a bit of denial... But as the entire Kitten Army was in attendance and once Dana and I hit the Bloody Mary's, it became all too clear that the end was neigh --- therefore the setlist was compromised and edited by your truly, I may have stagecrashed a little, and also forcibly broke the nearly 3 year vow of silence and all but attacked Chas on stage to thank him, basically for saving my life. I can't be completely sure, as the gods of convenient blackout drunkdom seems to have blocked out specific details, but its entirely possible i cried. like, a lot. It's what I do, man.

holy crap, i love you guys.

can't decide if this is my proudest ever moment or if should be mortified?

It was, for all intents and purposes, believe it or not, probably my favorite GY show I've seen, and I promise you, I've seen lots. Probably has something to do with the fact that do many of my favorite people were in attendance, that the last half of the show became a ridiculous dance party, and mostly because I was riding high on the surreal wave of my triumphant return from Costa Rica. 

I think I'm still in denial. They'll be back.

kinda hard to see, but I was handed a pen and was told to edit the set list, which I did.

The following sunday, after work, I found myself racing downtown once again to catch:

New World Highrise - Oct 6 - Slim's

The band that Jay was working so hard to make happen when we were tinkering around with the Clink - a mix of Jay's songs and the songs of others... a poprocks/80s indie postpunk - all good things - IT feels funny talking about them, because I feel like I'm bragging, as Jay called me up onstage to sing, as well. I had missed that, for sure!

I had actual face-pain from smiling so broadly with so much pride!

Toon & The Real Laww - King's - Oct 11

This show was a real "Should I or shouldn't I?" conundrum - I have seen these guys several times, but this was an EP release party, so I knew it would be a good one... I literally was indecisive until about 5 minutes before an awkward Landmark patio situation drove me into the arms of killer hip-hop!

I was glad I went. The crowd, every time I see them, knows more and more songs, gets denser and more excited... It's awesome seeing groups grow in the scene! Local music Pride!!!

photo taken specifically to taunt Sir Austin Parker

Professor Toon is a fan of House of Swank! YES!

I may have also incited a stagecrash at this show, as well. Which then erupted into one of the best post-show dance parties I have EVER seen!!!

I grabbed Laww and told him "IT'S TIME TO GET SOME SEXY LADIES ON STAGE!" and of course invited myself along!

And on that day, shit got cray.

Vienna Teng - Carolina Theatre, Durm - Oct 12

I found Vienna on a quirky internet channel I listened to for about 6 years straight before i discovered Spotify called "Radioparadise" - honestly one of the greatest radio stations ever - 90% of the songs are ones I love and the other 10% are songs I fall in love with; ergo Vienna... Blue Caravan was the first song I remember hearing and being all like .... "ohhhh mygah... what IS THIS? i love!" and then devouring everything i could fit in my earholes after. I was incredibly lucky to see her and Alex Wong a few years back at the Broad Street Cafe with an intimate crowd, that put me right up front. This time she played an actual (and quite beautiful) concert hall. The sound was pristine and the songs were totally emotional and my companion for the show was charming and my friend Amy is the best.

(haven't uploaded the only little video i took from the show, but here is a video from the last time i saw her at Broad Street, back in 2010 xoxo)

I've learned it best not to promise publicly or even personally, that I'll be anywhere at any time. I have learned that I am not fickle or flaky, I have learned to trust my instincts and my body and sometimes my instincts just lead me to bed early... Therefore, I can't promise you any reviews of any specific shows, but I can instead give you a pretty good idea of where I might be :)

Next monday I was tipped off that I would be a fool to miss Wild Belle at King's

Next thursday at London Bridge is a benefit for Cause for Paws, (a local charity I support wholeheartedly) called Pints for Paw - Try and come out!

Oh, the glory of no longer living downtown - an empty events calendar! But hey, I'm not saying don't invite me, or anything... If you hear about a I shouldn't miss or would like to use me to promote your shows, as always - I'm down, y'all. I'm always down...!

xoxo

Mud Boggin' - Gray Young & Over-Sharing

Have you ever gotten you car stuck in mud? If you live in the more rural parts of Raleigh/Wake County or even further out, then the answer is most likely "yes".

I was born off St Mary's street, grew up off Lake Wheeler Road and later lived on the Apex side of Cary. Somehow, winding up in Cary with an Apex address lead to a High School career in Fuquay-varina. My extended family, basically everyone but my brother and I, a total of some 30ish first cousins, all live in Mount Airy, NC; aka Mayberry.  Trips "home" to Mt Airy to see family, were almost akin to safaris for my brother and I. We had grown up inside the beltline; we had access (via our parents) to infinite fast food choices and more than one grocery store. Our cousins grew up in 3 bedroom houses with 8 occupants, on farms, barefoot. mountain people. Part of us, my brother and I, were mortified at the savageness of their lives; i remember being almost a pre-teen before my grandmother got cable. My cousins would entertain us by driving us around (me horrified) on ATVs and playing hide and seek in tobacco barns. Fishing. Catching frogs.  Someone as dainty and skittish as me, was mostly terrified of 99% of the activities I found myself involved in on those trips home; my brother, who was decidedly more athletic and lithe than I (I was a total porker; focused only on beating the book club goals and playing the piano) loved these weekends home. he and my other male cousins would build fires and beat each other with wooden planks; i have no idea. I, along with my cousin Crystal, were the two youngest of the cousins. we were the babies. We would hide out in the back of my folks' minivan and play with Barbies. we were friends by default. What i mostly remember about these trips home was A) the dread of what horrendous activity involved wading in a creek was ure to arise and B) once again feeling like a total outcast, even in my own family.

My point here is this, despite the fact that I have never once in my almost 36 years, camped, or slept outdoors in any fashion, despite never once having ridden a horse, never once been in a physical fight; I know a little bit about mud. If only by proxy of my crazy redneck family. There was always a part of me that would dip a toe in the crazy pool, give it a shot, see if the rough and tumble world of the Appalachian way was in me somewhere. But any sign of potential danger or stains, and I was out. I would go crying back to my perpetually perturbed mother or my bored shitless dad, dozing on the couch. I spent 10% of every trip to mount airy as a child feeling brave and daring and the other 90% hiding in a corner with a book.

Flash forward whatever many years; we moved to the Apex-not-apex address and I was bussed to Fuquay. Again, I was entirely out of my element. The majority of my classmates, despite having grown up only 30 minutes away from me, were like aliens to me. I had never seen kids wear camouflage to school before. I never saw so many day glow orange hunting caps. Surrounded by kids, having grown up in literally the same county as I, and I couldn't understand their accents. There was more twang and drawl than I had ever heard,even in Mt Airy. As I grew and meandered into high school, I became a weirdo, or in those times, what we called "alternative". I hung out with kids who parted their hair in the middle, wore flannel and airwalks. we listened to the pixies and put beads in our hair and saved up money for lollapalooza.  We were, I have to stress, the extreme minority of that school. Although I was a fat weirdo, I did somehow manage to make friends with most everybody in that school, I would say. mostly because I didn't care. I didn't want anyone judging me, so i didn't judge anyone else. so there was, on the rare occasion, situations that arose where my best friend Christy and I would find ourselves in the baffling company of rednecks. (I never understood why Christy dated the guys she did, especially as I never went on Date One in high school, but every once in a while, she dated a redneck.) We found ourselves, on more than one occasion, doing weird shit like mud bogging. Also, it serves to be said that Fuquay, in the early 90s, was still pretty damned rural and only had a McDonalds and an ancient Harris Teeter. There were hundreds of unpaved roads. I, in my stylin' 1984 shit-brown cavalier convertible, found myself stuck in mud several times throughout my mostly innocuous high school career.

Why the history lesson? Well, yesterday Allie Brosh, of hyperbole and a half, posted a new entry about her struggle with depression. 5 people total forwarded this to me, and two things became suddenly, abundantly clear; A) it is no longer a "secret" that I am struggling with severe depression and have been for about a year now and B) it must be a trait of those of us with major depression to fulfill this compulsive need for allegory/parables/explanation... To give others around us a metaphor for what our sadness is like. This last post by Brosh is probably the closest I've ever heard anyone other than myself explain what I'm feeling (or, not feeling to be blunt) and a lot more interesting than my comparison;  feeling like my car-brain is stuck in the mud and no matter how much my friends or family try to stuff twigs or leaves under my wheels and tell me to gun it in reverse, I keep spinning my wheels, digging my car-brain further and further into the mire. Or, you know, what Allie said, better and with cute cartoons.

Part of the history lesson is also to reiterate the fact that I'm okay all alone. which is what has come to be a harsh reality over the past month or so. I terminated my romantic relationship, mostly due to the fact that I feel like a black hole of emotion and i have nothing left in me and I kinda just want to lie alone on the couch with my cat and burn through my netflix queue, eating american cheese slices straight from the packet and stop shaving my legs. So yes, burned the relationships bridge, tried to repair the previous relationship's bridge, and burnt that one beyond even dental recognition. then had my closest adult friend terminate her friendship with me, for completely valid reasons and i felt nothing. I am a big ole feelin' nothing kinda gal at the moment. I wake up, I go to work, or i don't. I have gone several days in a row when I have said little more than three or four phrases out loud. The only things I've found remotely interesting are the increasing diversity and perfection of my various Spotify playlists and going to see Gray Young. I told you before, i don't get to see U2 three times in one month, I get to see Gray Young. There aren't any bands other than the biggest band in the world and these three dudes i see almost every day that stir the kind of joy and solace in my pruney, shrivelled, numbed-out heart.

Back to the history of it all for a minute. there are certain conversations in my life that stick out like sore thumbs that my shitty brain will never let me forget. some are mundane and banal. some are horrifyingly embarrassing. some are bittersweet. I am reminded of two very important conversations as of late. The first was with my dad, when I was elementary or middle school-ish. I had realized, suddenly, that it might be a problem that I was fat; this "disability" was going to prejudice the majority of girls straining to define their coolness or dudes that would maybe kiss me behind the bleachers. I remember one of the first times I was bullied for being overweight. I cried. and it wasn't because this was painful or new information of any kind; I had been overweight my entire life... It was because I was confused. I will, 99% of the time, if you know me, cry because I am confused. and I, being the existentially overly sensitive, over thinker that I am, always believed that people were so much better than they chose to be, or chose to behave... I cried every time I was bullied, which was pretty much par for the course, even into my adulthood, because I just couldn't believe people could be so blindly cruel. Why? Why would anyone say such mean things to someone? Why would they judge me based solely on my physical appearance? My dad had picked me up from some after school function and we were almost all the way home when i burst into tears and told my dad "I don't have any friends. I don't think people like me because I'm fat" and he told me something to the effect that I would have to work harder to be interesting and smarter and I would prove them all wrong. In the mean time, I'd have to learn how to be happy alone; that one day things like that wouldn't matter... maybe.

The second conversation occurred about oh, 4 or 5 years ago? My best friend, in counseling me after yet another heartbreak, told me that she dreaded the day that all the optimism and hope was finally gone out of me; that she was worried there was going to come a day when i finally gave so much of myself to others that i didn't leave anything else for myself and I stopped believing in love. I can't help but wonder if the big part of why she made the decision to end our friendship was because it finally happened... I don't have anything left. i broke my own heart too many times. I waited too long for my "one day" and I'm out of options. I stopped believing in true love. It has taken a toll on me; emotionally, psychologically, physically, socially... I gave up on love, the one and only thing I ever believed in, so I gave up on me. When someone stops caring about themselves, it's hard and exhausting to keep reassuring them and trying to fill in the void... I understand completely...

So what's left? I think we all have bucket lists; either we wrote them down or we keep them somewhere in our brains. I wrote them all down, of course. Preposterous bullshit like visit the great wall of China.. I filled it with seemingly innocent hopes that now seem as impossible as "grow a tail"... Get married to my best friend? Have at least two kids? these are not things that seem like options anymore. I don't even cry about them anymore. I shut it all out, i shut myself down. I obsess over Spotify and I get drunk and I go to rock shows to feel some sort of something for just a minute.

The first of the two times I saw gray young this past month was at the CD release party at King's. I had, along with my ex, made Kitten Army fan club buttons. I was way too drunk, way too soon. Dana and I stood front and center and It was amazing.

the second time was during a benefit at tir na nog that tamplin threw together. Birds and arrows played first, then bronzed chorus again, then the boys. before this show, Dana and I had another one of our patented "oh god I'm so glad someone loves them as much as i do" conversations and she reminded me of the post i had made forever ago about how sometimes when i see them play, it's like poking a bruise. And a little spark of light lit up my pitch black heart for just a second and reminded me, yes. that pain is better than numb. and part of the reason i like gray young so much, is the bittersweet undertones of their music. there is literally no emotion in the world i love more than bittersweet.

I don't know if' I've made a point to emphasize that on here or not, but the best music there is, is the ones that take you so far back in your brain that you remember smells and shadows and the slightest graze of your fingertips over a memory or a love you will never have back. your grandmother's last hug, your lover's last kiss, the last sweep of your fingers through the fur of your childhood dog... whatever it is. music is the time machine; gray young has the power over me to create a song I have never heard that takes me to a different point in my life and replay the moments I'll never have again and thank god i get one more second with my friend before he died in a car wreck, or i get one more moment with my fingers splayed in the soft blonde hair across his chest before he wakes, I get that rainy Saturday morning in the house i grew up in with my brother, before the world broke us. gray young is a time machine. At this show, one of my more favorite Gray Young moments happened; I was standing front and center-ish and i must have had my eyes closed for a while and suddenly something swatted me in the face. I opened my eyes and chas was right in front of me and one of his guitar strings had popped me in the face. It was an almost painful jump back into the present... I don't know where I had gone or how long I had been missing, but I went somewhere during that show and it literally took chas smacking me in the face with his guitar to bring me back. That's pretty fucking powerful. that says more about how deep the river of my love and respect for their music flows than anything else i could write...

I'm not quite sure how to end this. I have done a lot of... sharing... on this post. I don't mind, it helps to purge every once in a while. I'm a big believer in catharsis, as many past readers know. And I don't think it's much of a secret to anyone anymore that I struggle with depression. or alcohol. or that I was once morbidly obese. or that I was in an abusive relationship and almost died. or that I loved a boy. or I loved a band. that I had beautifully patient and understanding friends that loved me as much as they could before i couldn't let them anymore. i don't mind you knowing. I don't mind being broken... i have a gray young show to look forward to. And that's something. It's enough for today.

see you on the patio.

News - Schmews ... Mountain Oasis Electro Music Summit Lineup announced

NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!

I honestly don't know which artist I am more excited about here... NIN has my inner high school senior squealing, I was literally lamenting to myself in silence the other day that I've not gotten the chance to see animal collective live before. I haven't seen Tricky since lollapalooza in the 90s and i literally swooned when i saw Godspeed! 

I will have so much more to say on this later.

in other hopscotch news, I am in the process of creating an intricate and overly complicated and detailed database of all the acts for this year's hopscotch and plan on a weekly batch of "5 to hit, 5 to quit" shows; and hopefully will be snagging some interviews with some of our favorite acts on the roster!

also, seen gray young twice in the past couple weeks so i have oh so many pictures to post.

Weekly wrapup and looking ahead - week of Feb 15, 2013

Closing in on the last couple weeks of my day job and my show calendar is filling up nicely. I'm still not 100% what the future holds for me professionally, but I am working behind the scenes to try and step up the blogging and show review content... to be continued!

Local Beer, Local Band: Katharine Whelan and A Mad Affair - Tir Na Nog - 02/07/13

Not a densely attended show, once again, I will blame the weather... It was raining and cold and overall shitty out... but I finally got to see Ms. Whelan do her solo thing:

 

Seeing live music with musicians is always a completely different experience than seeing a band with buddies who just like music... I spent the majority of her set absorbing comments from Jay and Brian re: "What kind of guitar is that, that she's playing?" (a tenor guitar) and the pointing out of the U2-esque VOX amp, as you can kinda see to her left. the boys practically tripped over themselves to get up front first after her set to get the scoop.

I enjoyed the set, it was a lot more down-tempo than most, right up until the last song that kicked a little swing. I knew to expect subdued, as the only thing I've really heard from her post-SNZ's is the work she did with Stephin Merritt for the 6ths albums (ps, if you've not investigated these albums, I highly recommend "Hyacinths and Thistles"...) I'd be interested to hear recorded work, but google seaches leave me empty handed... anyone?

My Friend Valerie's band was next - A Mad Affair

A Mad Affair is basically everything that is still a little bit pure and chaste in local indie-folk music; the perfect formula of acoustic guitar, upright bass and ukelele... Valerie has always had one of the most stunning voices I have ever heard and it seems to have been created specifically for the bright, cheery, quirky Americana folk sound that these three have found together. I wish I had seen this show on a warm April Sunday afternoon outside on a porch with a Sangria and paper fan, rather than stuck in the dark dreary rainy almost midnight Irish pub... But hey, maybe that's the point, the sweetness of it all makes you a little bit warmer on the inside. Favorite moment: the cover of "Tonight You Belong to Me" from the Jerk. I was soooo waiting for that trumpet solo!!! (it didn't happen). A Mad Affair is one of those bands where, if I ever can find myself in a situation where I want to marry someone and I get that dream wedding by the lake with paper lanterns and a pig pickin', I'd love them to play.


Saturday: Gray Young in-store performance at Schoolkid's - 02/09/13

I forgot to take this after the show, I will never forgive myself.

Are you tired of hearing about Gray Young in my blog? HAHA TOO BAD. Okay seriously, if I had consistent access to U2 or Morrissey shows, the way I do to Gray Young, then you would only be seeing U2 posts. But I do not, so you see Gray Young posts...

the boys played for about 30-40 minutes worth of material from the new Album, Bonfire, which was released like... sometime... recently... I don't know... I should know. February... sometime. (I did the kickstarter thing and the guys know I am the superfan, so I've been hearing a lot of these songs for a while. and I got my vinyl copy in the mail a while back... but I did buy myself a CD version after the performance, just to cover all bases.) We also got a random Staysail song, which, I think we can all agree, is perfectly acceptable aka WONDERFUL.

Chas takes a random stroll around to browse the diverse selection of vinyl, mid-song... I AM KIDDING. he is just being awesome, as per yooshe.

I took 8,000 pictures, as is par for the course, but I feel this is the moral imperative as the self-appointed fanclub president. that being said, I REALLY LIKE THIS ONE, but it is quasi-Dopko deficient :/

I  haven't really gotten the chance to review Bonfire on the blog, but I am worried that I will come across as too gushy and biased (I am). I have thought about it since I first heard it a few weeks back, as to what I would say about it, but I keep coming to the conclusion that any attempt would be akin to a mother writing an essay about why her kid is the smartest and cutest kid in the world. 

DON'T FORGET: (Like I would let you): The CD Release Party with Wesley Wolfe and Bronzed Chorus has been rescheduled for March 29 at King's!!!

Here is how happy I am after a Gray Young show:

note: U2 shirt peeking out - unplanned but excellent!

Brian wanted me to close out my weekly review by giving the random guy playing acoustic Paul Simon cover songs, etc., in the front room at O'Malley's Pub last night. We had a brief discussion about being "that guy playing music at the front of the bar no one is looking at"... I've never been "that guy" - I am too ragingly ego-maniacal. I would break down and cause a scene, probably.

Other local music news 

(btw, anyone have any opinion or interest in the arbitrary "Just Announced shows" posts? They are fun for me to write and scoop other blogs, but I'm not sure if sticking with just the bi-weekly wrapups is the key or not. I'd be interested in your thoughts!)

• Just announced: The Black Keys and Flaming Lips at Walnut Creek, July 11. tickets on sale 02/15, or Black Keys fanclub presales go up Thursday, 02/14/13. That'd be a nice Valentines' gift, eh? I'd like to go to this and the prices seem reasonable ($30-$60) but I don't know, I was so spoiled by Hopscotch...
• WKNC has a thorough article up on their blog re: Art Lord and the Self-Portraits, who are playing their 10th anniversary show at King's Thursday night.They are playing with Lonnie Walker.  (Lonnie Walker opening for Future Islands??? WHOEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING! - said no one ever.) Also Sam Herring (Future Islands) is playing a FREE show tonight in the front room of 506 tonight with Rapdragons and 83 Cutlass at 9pm - RANDOM!
• Brian John Mitchell aka Remora aka my boyfriend has launched a new Kickstarter campaign called "Droneuary" - "A month recording thirty hours of songs & drones of source material for Remora's new album." I couldn't be more proud. Also, it would appear that several local and not so local artists may appear on the recordings (including yours truly!)
•  This week: 
• Art Lord (aka Future Islands) at King's, Thursday (Valentine's Day) 02/14/13
• The Love Hangover at King's, Friday 02/15/13
• Caspian at Local 506, Saturday, 02/16/13

• Just Announced:
• WAVVES at King's, April 14th
• DUCKTAILS at King's, March 7th 
• FOALS in Charlotte at the Neighborhood Theater, May 1. With Surfer Blood. I gotta make this happen. I've tried to see Foals twice now. love them.They are also playing the Orange Peel in Asheville on June 12. Maybe I do both, eh???

Last Weekend's Bust and The weekend ahead - week of Feb 1, 2013

Oh January, why must you ruin everything?

There was just enough "snow" (aka slush/ice) to cancel the Gray Young album release party last Friday at King's. Here, more or less, was my reaction:

 I completely understand, safety and all that, but it was like, the one stupid night of all nights to snow, it had to be Gray Young night. that is BS. the good news is that it is going to be rescheduled, the scary thing is now I have beefed up my show calendar so heartily, what if they reschedule on a day when I already have tickets to something else, like Menomena? I will cry real tears. Sometimes people tell me I am a little extreme in my reactions, (all or nothing, me) so believe me when i say something like that happening would be a real Sophie's Choice for me. and I would choose Gray Young. Because of reasons.

another good thing, Schoolkids, as I noted in my big post about "venues" suddenly has updated their in store performance schedule:

02/02/13 - Chris Stamey
02/09/13 - Gray Young
02/26/13 - Ken Stringfellow (playing at 506 later that night)
03/03/13 - The Kingsbury Manx
03/09/13 - Bombadil 

I think the thing we really need to focus on here is February 9th. This is a Sunday afternoon show - so be there by 2pm. I have presents.

In other non-GY news:

Both James Blake and Black Francis announced shows at Cat's Cradle yesterday. I like James Blake, I bet that would be a good wobble-friendly show. And Black Francis? I have seen him solo a few times; he doesn't play Pixies songs, but I have heard him cover Roxy Music. This show may be worth the $13 investment, is all I'm saying.

02/18/13 - Black Francis
05/13/13 - James Blake

and just an FYI, Major Lazer sold out already - I warned you! This is going to be a most excellent dance party. 03/03/13 at the Cradle.

Reminder: Hopscotch Earlybird tickets going on sale this Friday. Alternate reminder: I am getting laid off at the end of the month so if anyone is feeling generous or if i can get the event coordinators to respond to me to get a press pass, that would be AWESOME.

This weekend (Thursday) I am heading off to Greensboro with my dude, as he is going to be playing ambient drone stuff behind a spoken word poetry reading re: feminism. this, ironically, coincides with the return of the STRAW FEMINISTS IN THE CLOSET.

Friday and Saturday are both the Double Barrel Benefit for WKNC and the Bull City Metal Fest for WXDU. the great NC State/Duke rivalry continues!!! I had previously stated that I was torn about which fest to attend, but in the end, I chose Metal*. Friday night, I'll be heading to Durham ...check out the Facebook event page for more details, but: Friday night is Irata, Widow, Solar Halos, Hog, Caltrop, and Weedeater, Saturday: Ruscha, Collosus, Across Tundras, Bloodsoaked, Fight Amp, and Dawnbringer.

*I like "in the end, I chose metal" it sounds like an screamo band that would play katmandu. 


So, ok kids, quick recap:
Wednesday is the 919noise showcase at Nightlight (but I won't be able to go b/c of work,)
Thursday I'll be in GSO for feminism, but LBLB this week is "Octopus Jones and Deep Space Giants" - i know neither of these things, but seeing as how it's going to be relatively warm, if not rainy, I imagine this is going to be pretty well attended, if you're just looking for a scene.
Friday, I'll be at Casbah for BCMF
Saturday, night 2 of BCMF



Reminder: Brian John Mitchell and I will be on site Saturday during the day for Double Barrel at the Pour House with a vendor booth selling comics, art and buttons ;) (thanks for the reminder, darlink!)

We Good? Good.

Where I've been, Where I'm going - week of Jan 25, 2013

Busy, Busy, Busy!

First some news:

• If you missed it, be sure to check out my local venue guide (made some changes this morning in, fact!)
• My good friends at Crank Arm Brewing Company have their Kickstarter Launch Party / Beer Tasting Tomorrow (Friday) night at Raleigh Times from 5-8. If you haven't already, you should hit up their Kickstarter and get psyched for the opening of the Brewery this Spring (in the former White Collar Crime space)
• I found out this past week that I am being laid off from my current position of 8 years at the end of February. this means several things; you will probably see more updates from me, as I may be having more time to do so and I will be working on more personal projects... SUCH AS: My boyfriend and I have started a Custom Button Printing side project. contact info, templates and prices are listed in the link!
• Holy Shit it is cold outside! 

Where I've been:

• Jan 12, my buddy Courtney and I wandered off to Chapel Hill for the 2012  Tar Heel Soundfest. It took place at three venues (Cave, Nightlight and 506) and I was pretty disappointed by the turnout, but the sound was amazing. Ended the night at 506 with White Cascade:  

•  After hearing the news about my layoff, my boyfriend (Brian John Mitchell) and I headed down to Myrtle Beach. He played a show (As Remora) with Wicked Gift and Feel No Other at a fairly decent Biker-ish Bar called the Rockin' Hard Saloon. I thought Brian was excellent, but the patrons of the bar were blitzed and surly and the set was cut short. The other bands were excellent and hey, guess what... Myrtle Beach has a music scene...! Who knew?? (Interesting fact: I got folks to do the electric slide.)

• A last minute addition to the weekend, Brian and I found ourselves at the "first of an upcoming matinee series" of shows at Chapel Hill Underground. The show started 6ish with a band called The Bros. Alien, as the headliners... One of Silber's band's, Irata (amazing, btw) and then something new and yummy: a band called Set and Setting, from St. Pete Florida. I'd highly recommend giving these guys a listen - double drummer sludgy post-rock... aw yiss!!! They (along with Irata) are playing at The Flat Iron in Greensboro this coming Sunday if you are around.

Where I'm going:

•  Tonight is officially side-Project night at Tir Na Nog for LBLB; Bands/performers from North Elementary, Schooner, etc will be playing. I cannot confirm 100% that I will be at this show, as it is barely going to get above freezing today, so like... I dunno, man. I wanna, but dang.
• Tomorrow night I would walk through the fires of hell or infinite snow-drifts for... GRAY YOUNG'S CD RELEASE PARTY!!! the new album, Bonfire, is being "officially" released (although, those of us that backed their kickstarter already have a sneak peek ;)) They are playing with Wesley Wolfe and the Bronzed Chorus at King's Barcade. Doors at 9, no pre-sale tickets, so get there early! SNOW, BE DAMNED!
• January's 919noise showcase is going to be at Nighlight on Jan 30. featuring M is We and Isotroposphere
• Thursday, Jan 31, Brian and I will be at Maya on Tate in Greensboro; he will be performing/providing ambient drone for a feminist poetry reading... word.
• DILEMMA TIME: (Brian/silber will have a vendor booth at double barrell, but dang lookit that lineup for the metalfest!!!) .....Feb 1-2:  Double Barrell Benefit at the Pour House **OR** Feb 1-2  Second Annual Bull City Metal Fest at Casbah - what's a girl to do??

Look-ahead, get this on your radar now:

• The (14th annual) Love Hangover is at King's Feb 15...  a tradition and an added Bonus: Erik Sugg (of Corvette Summer) and Rose Higgins (who demolished us all as Janis Joplin at this year's Great Coverup) are playing a set together!!! also... Maria and Reid are playing a set together and I may barf. (i kid.... xoxoxo...)
• Caspian will be at the Local 506 on Feb 16 (been looking forward to this fo-evah)
• Menomena will be at Motorco on Feb 20 (not to be missed. if you've never seen them live, you're missing out!)

 Holler if you spot something i've missed that is like all, not to be missed and such.
xoxo
karla anne

The Heart is a Bloom

i AM IRRITATED WITH MYSELF.

I haven't been to any shows in a long time.  I went to LBLB with Roo (of course) a couple weeks ago in an attempt to see Leugo, but was so distracted by actually being out and about that i forgot to watch the shows (of course). Not so soon after, I wandered up to King's to see some low-fi deepthrashmetal band I have actually never even heard of, but i got in for free, so i went. and everyone was wearing black. and i was wearing a bright white U2 WAR shirt (of course). so I felt slightly out of place before suddenly realizing it was after midnight and i had to be up for work the next morning and bolting.
then i was sitting here on a Saturday night with $7 in my checking account and listening to my morrissey pandora station, feeling slightly sorry for myself, re-reading past entries and being frustrated with myself for not going to more shows. i miss shows.

then i had this crazy revelation. Imagine...! imagine if i had been writing reviews since the beginning; I was 15 years old the first time i saw U2 in 1992 when the Pixies were the opening act. And you know, in a weird way, i almost did. I have been a writer my whole life, to be honest. I made a list the moment we got home and stuck it inside the $25 ZOOtv program i bought that night in Hampton, VA and entitled it "THINGS I WILL NEVER FORGET ABOUT TONIGHT" ... there were things like "the screaming pixies guy" and "the guys with the big papier-mache heads wandering through the crowd before the show" and "BP Fallon in the Trabant before the show" and "the guy on the bus on the way home that kept softly calling out the "woo-woooooo"'s from BAD". I don't know why i felt it necessary to write that list, i apparently have a memory like a steel trap. i could tell you pretty much 99% of the occurrences, start to finish, of that whole evening despite the fact that, yes, it was 20 years ago.

and i'm suddenly realizing I've been a super duper mega-ultra U2 superfan for 20 years.... NICE. *self-high-five*

SO... I'm listening to the Moz Pandora, and we got a little "disappointed" popping up right now and I start thinking about wow... what if i had known what to do back then? If i had known that i could have written this sort of thing instead of hoarding NMEs and Selects and Spin magazines? I saw moz for the first time in 1995 at the Ritz (now Disco Rodeo) in Raleigh. he played three or so songs before storming off stage because of his discontent with the security at the show. (he said "Gently, Gently... It's not World War Three" before walking off stage. le sigh!) I was not disappointed. I was a weepy mess. I am a morrissey-cryer. He comes out, I sob like a baby until he walks away. that's how it goes. I have seen him several times since, including Dublin, Ireland, and the same thing happened... weepy mess.

So If i start listing it all out, from the early onsets of Raleigh's own Johnny Quest, to Elbow, or Moz, or James, or Tricky, or Beck, or Moby... If I really let myself think about it; i may not have the world's most impressive resume, you know? I don't have a degree from a super prestigious school and I've been in mostly administrative accounting positions for the majority of my adult career... but, man oh man, if you start listing out the shows... the bands... the amazing shows I have seen... the incredible musics that have gone in these slowly failing ear-holes, I do not know many who can top it, except my baby boomer friend at work who went to Woodstock... The ORIGINAL Woodstock. bad-ass.

So here is my idea. I am going to list out a few shows. Some real goodun's that I've had the absolute privilege to see, and let you guys vote, via comments as to which 'blast from the past' review i shall write for my next review. bearing in mind however, unless i find shit online, there will be no pics or proof of my attendance. it will be strictly a first person narrative and you will have to assume i really went. I am promising you now... I did.

here are the choices:

Midnight oil and Ziggy Marley - 1992
Johnny Quest - 1991
Hopscotch fest year one
Hopscotch fest year two
El Ten Eleven - 2011
Lollapalooza - circa 1995/1996
YES - 1992
OK GO - 2010
The Who - 1993
Major Lazer/Rusko - 2010
U2 - 1992, 2005, 2009 - (will probably be a MEGA post, whichever one, if not all. which i would happily do, btw)
Celine Dion - 2009 (HA!! FOR REAL!!)
David Byrne - 2001, 2009 and like, a few other times i can't think of right now.
Vienna Teng - 2010
Ozomatli - 2010 (includes real good heartbreak story and awesome video)
Muse - 2010
Any others you're thinking of you know I went to and I'm forgetting right now... bring it on... mama loves a challenge.


(ps - re-watching all kinds of U2 vids from shows i went to on the youtubes, getting all kinda sentimental... so if i can sway any sort of "vote", imma tell you right now; you want real me/all passion... pick the U2sers.... http://youtu.be/87Xl5GAzuBo - YOU GUISE.)

The Chas Diaries

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Entry 49

Gray Young opens for Goner Kickstarter Party at Kings with Kutchma. Room is sparse, but show is profound; new songs again. Need new album immediately. Post declaration on facebook that he is, in fact, my Raleigh-Bono.

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Entry 51

Chas Dream #27: 

I am at a flea market type party at some hotel. All the rooms are set up with different “stores” and my friends are the vendors, selling handmade jewelry and such. I am on a large patio of one of the rooms at a big table with Sandra from Landmark and J9’s boss, Jennifer. We are drinking wine and laughing at something. It is nighttime. Jess and I had apparently had a fight, he walks over to me with a laptop and says he has a present for me to apologize and pushes play on a YouTube video; it is him playing piano and singing a Billy Joel song (She’s Always a Woman) the camera angle pans out and sitting beside him at the piano is Chas. His present to me is to sing a Billy Joel duet with Chas. I feel my face catch on fire and my heart starts pounding. I look up from the screen and Jess has wandered off drunk somewhere, but Chas is standing there. I am panicking. It starts to rain so I stand. Chas holds out a hand to me, I close my eyes and take it. We start running. We collapse under a balcony under a room at the end of the property and are sitting on pine straw. He lies back with his arms behind his head while I sit rigid, Indian-style. We do not speak. I untie his shoes. I wake up.

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Entry 59

He was working the counter at the coffee shop today; I managed to order my coffee without dropping anything, speaking gibberish or bursting into flames… Oh god.

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Entry 60

Dan posted this photo on his facebook today of The Boys recording the new album. Instantly changed my iphone wallpaper. 

Had brilliantly hilarious idea for a blog post that could be misconstrued as completely insane if one was not able to gauge my sense of humor. 

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Entry 62

He came into my part time job and ordered a burrito... hyperventilated for approximately 15 minutes. Had to explain to coworkers in Spanish that he plays in a band and I really like the band. My girls at work start calling him "tu corazón" ... your heart. 

Dios mío. 

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Entry 63
Weesefest at Big Boss. He is not wearing Chucks, life doesn't make sense anymore.

 

Dopko invites me to stand behind the drum kit to watch the show. The day is a success. Later, in a fangirl daze as Chas steps into the crowd for a solo, I reach up to touch a drop of sweat on the tip of his nose. He looks furiously irritated... Died a little.

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Entry 64

Permission from boyfriend granted to post a potentially mortifying, yet unjustifiably self-amusing blog about being a super-fan to an amazing band and having a debilitating fandom crush on a boy from my hometown that I have refused to speak to for the past two years.

The Best Birthday Ever: Birds And Arrows, Free Electric State and Gray Young - Tir Na Nog - 07/21/11

(quick pre-note, pics in this entry are much smaller than usual, as there are way more pictures than usual. click the images to embiggen in a separate window!) 

This morning I woke up in my old bedroom in my parents house, as my mother had doctor appointments today which required her to have a chauffeur. As we sat at the kitchen table sipping our identical coffees (which we both destroy with countless Splendas and too-much-cream,) we chatted about the news and typical things. she then remembered suddenly to show me the scrapbook she has been making for my now 10 year old niece. (this is ironic, because I'm fairly certain my mom doesn't know it, but I've been keeping a journal for my niece since before she was born, telling her all about her life and stories about her family as well.) Mom brought out the scrapbook and it is filled with my niece's silly drawings and comics and stories she has written over the years. Mom smiled at me and asked, "guess who she gets this from." We didn't have to say anything. It got me thinking about the typewriter, something I had written about long ago, back before this blog was about shows and was just about music.

The best birthday present I ever received as a child was a baby blue, steelcase mini-Brother typewriter for my 6th birthday. I had decided, even then, that it was my destiny to be a writer. Pre-typewriter, there were stacks of my scribbly stories stuffed in drawers, I needed the typewriter so I could begin to transcribe them; even thought I probably didn't know what "transcribe" meant. I begged and prayed and hoped for months that it would be my "big" present. And it was; I got to work. Stories like "Robin Hamster", "The Hamster that went to Space" and "The Dog that ran through the Woods" came to life.

Other birthdays that stand out in my mind were my 12th, in which I had my first boy/girl "party" at Rock-O-la in Mission Valley; I had made the invitations myself to look like tiny pianos, to match my deeply obsessive committed relationship with my piano lessons. note: the only thing that has ever really mattered to me has been being able to express myself artistically... can you tell?

I spent my 21st birthday in the alcove stage right at the Berkley Cafe on Open Mic Blues night with Summer and Rob Roy. I had my first beer and hated it; didn't drink again until i was 32.

then around the age of 23, something happened. I started abhorring birthdays. I was horrendously depressed for weeks before the day actually came, then the day of I would find myself in bizarre circumstances like, lying by the creek half a mile into the woods behind my parents house, crying my eyes out about my grandfather or Vivien Leigh. I felt lost and behind everyone else's expectations. I felt like I was missing some big piece of the puzzle everyone else had figured out in their teens and I had no idea what I was looking for, much less how to find it. All I knew was that everyone else seemed to have it figured out, I didn't, and my birthday would come and I'd start taking this mental or financial or educational inventory on myself and my inner-critic would drop-kick the shit out of me. I was unbearable for years around birthday time.

There have been, so far, only 2 birthdays wherein I was not the most wretched, suicidal mess on the planet my 34th, which you'll hear about in a second and my 25th, when I was living in a townhouse beside my friends. My best friend J9, her husband, and my then boyfriend, Rob Roy, took me out to dinner to a teppanyaki place in Cary (I'm not kidding when i tell you how much I love that stuff.) They had crafted this entire scenario to make me believe that everyone on the planet had, in fact, forgotten my birthday. I got not a single call, save from my immediate family, telling me happy birthday. I was keeping it together to the best of my ability. After dinner, J9 didn't even offer to cover my birthday dinner.  I paid for myself. I didn't really care too much, I never assume anyone is going to buy me anything....  well except for my pop, because ...hey.

After dinner, J9 and her husband lead me to believe they were begrudgingly following me back to my townhouse to stop in to visit the girls next door and watch the Muppet Movie with them. I, in driving the BF and I back to the house, finally let myself unleash the pity party within and cried my heart out all the way home. We pull in, I notice J9's car out front, and I decide I need to go into my own house and hide for a bit until I calm down. Rob Roy was insistent I just stop in for a minute. after about 2 or 3 minutes of a misplaced screaming-match, (entirely my doing,) I finally agreed to walk over. Upon walking in the door, I hear a SURPRISE and every god damned body I think I had ever known was standing in the living room. I stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, letting it sink in; then proceeded to jump into the air and run around the room high-fiving everyone, as if i had just been called down to Contestant's Row on the Price is Right. It was my first and only surprise party; and trust me kids, I was surprised as hell. It was absolutely amazing.

This night was also, coincidentally, the second time in my life I ever ate "special" brownies, a gift from one of my closest friends at the time. I had a couple, then had a curious feeling that sent me searching for more things to nosh on; OH HEY LOOK, BROWNIES! I wound up eating, oh, say.... 5 or 6? there was a period of about 2 hours where I was afraid to move a muscle on the couch. I later found myself on the phone with a friend from New York, walking a circle of about a 4 foot radius on the back porch. god knows how long i was out there, but it felt like days.

Until my 34th, this past year, the surprise party birthday and the typewriter birthday were the two best birthdays I'd ever had.

I never really plan my own birthday things, I have a general idea of what I'd like to do, and I go along with whatever everyone else thinks is cool... (for example, 33rd was the year I FINALLY got a barbie cake! YEAH! Childhood dreams come true!) This year, months in advance, as I have gotten semi-addicted to my reverbnation fanpage (I can track local shows with much more obsessive voracity than via facebook invites or my google calendar,) I noticed my little Gray Youngsters were playing on July 21st at Tir Na Nog.... oh.... snap. you guys... my birthday is July 22.

Then, more information began to surface; Gray Young was to be playing with NOT ONLY Birds and Arrows, but ALSO Free Electric State.... are you kidding me? This was cosmic. Did they plan this or was it entirely coincidental? My three very favorite local bands playing the eve of my birthday, with the completely obvious possibility that my VERY favorite local band would be on stage as it in fact, did turn midnight and become my actual birthday? Too much, too good. The plan was set, I knew what I was doing for my birthday. I pretty much told everyone, "hey, this is where I'm going to be if you want to hang with me on my bday." I found myself for weeks, checking my iPhone calendar, counting down the days. I NEVER count down the days to my birthday. I HATE my birthday. this year, oh man... I LOVED my birthday.

I went to see Mom at her shop (she's a hairstylist, btw,) and she trimmed my bangs and gave me an ultimate bouffant Rhoda-esque flip-do. I squeezed into my ultra-retro Mod Cloth red dress and Roo, Patrick and I wandered down to Tir Na Nog a little early to have dinner and set up shop. The evening quickly became a blur of love, as people I adore started appearing in droves and the music I love the most began to fill the room.

Just an FYI, as I find myself writing this, I'm not going to be giving you a straight-up "this is who this band is and this is what they sound like" review. As many times as I've seen and reviewed these bands, I think you i know what's up... What I'm telling you this time is pure and simple "i am in love with these bands and this is how i felt."

First up, My sweet B&A. If you've been here before, you've heard me gush before. This is a band full or so much love, imagery, and depth; hearing these songs when I was already in so much of the greatest loving mood I can remember in years was sort of like the chocolate sprinkles on the banana split of love. True, not that many people had shown up yet, but I selfishly found myself appreciating this fact, as I managed to convince myself this was a private concert just for me. It is a well known fact that there are more than a few Birds and Arrows songs that turn me into a huge crybaby, so I found small, distracting ways (PBR) to distract myself form becoming too emotional. Still they got me, dammit. They always get me.

Between sets, I found more True Loves outside. and more people handing me birthday drinks; always welcomed.

Next, the Best Rock-n-Roll band I have known in real life. The band, in which every time I see them live, I think... how in the world am I lucky enough to know these people? Why are they not the biggest superstars in the universe? Seeing Free Electric State live is a treat every damned time. I can't remember if I ever told the story, but I'll tell it now: I was riding in my car back behind Hillsborough a while back and I hear one of the coolest most rockingest damned songs I think I ever heard on WKNC maybe ever - I pop on WKNC's site asap and see it is a song called "marshes" by FES. I turn my happy ass right around on Brooks Ave and drove straight to Schoolkids and bought the album. (This is why try and request it/bride for it to be played every time I see them.) FES are a kind of Rock that is better than pop or heavy or indie, it's like they have manifest destiny on this whole new territory of sound that no one even knows how to cross the river to get to yet. Another one of those bands I feel like I know a secret no one's figured out yet. I always wind up injuring my neck from all the banging/bobbing of the head when they play.

In later reviewing my pictures that I took this evening, I realize I somehow managed to take about 25 pictures directly of Nick. this does not at all surprise me as I have the most obvious, debilitating embarrassing crush on him ever.

oh, ffs, fes.

Between sets, the pictures of my friends and I become more and more embarrassingly drunk. I feel it in my bones... THEY ARE SETTING UP I CANNOT MISS ANY SECOND AT ALL... and i high-tail it inside for Gray Young.

At this point, I was; well... drunk.  Hey. It was my birthday, I am beyond allowed. I was overwhelmed by the amount of love and kindness all around me, the hugs and birthday shoutouts from my friends on stage, the sounds I felt so lucky to hear; then suddenly these guys get on stage and I basically just become an emotional waste of space. I am rocking out so hard, it all becomes a bliss blur. At one point, Chas steps off stage in front of me, I find myself flinging my arms around him and holding on for dear life as he plays... how this is even possible, I don't know. he didn't miss a beat, I can only assume this was my birthday present from him. (weeks later, at Slim's we encounter each other in the hallway leading to the patio. as we have still never spoken to each other intentionally and he very much has a girlfriend at the moment, i feel an overwhelming urge to thank him for this moment in my life [the birthday moment] and as i am walking towards him, i hold my finger to my lips as if to say "shhh" and hug him. for probably way too long. Mike Gray walks by and says,  "THAT'S a really long hug...." I die of embarrassment and run away. Dear Chas, that was me thanking you for the best birthday ever.)

Later review of the pictures I took this night reveal that i did, in fact, fill the remainder of my camera's memory card with some of the greatest pictures of the boys that I've ever taken.

So here's the best part. The BEST PART that i would have never guessed in a million years, not if you had given me a multiple choice option and the thing that actually happened was one of the options, this option would have been so good i would have never assumed something so magical could have happened. What happened next turned this into the greatest birthday I have ever had, trumping both the typewriter and the magic-brownie surprise party.

Throughout the evening those in the know, band members and close friends of band members approached me asking "did you find out what the last song is yet?" ...no i didn't. I didn't want to; note: I LOVE SURPRISES. i won't guess surprises because the surprise itself is so good, i would never jeopardize any chance i get to be surprised. I halfheartedly threw out "Oh, It's probably Tilling the Wind, they know it's my favorite and makes me all crybaby and shit." Everyone just smiled and nodded. I didn't hazard any other wild guesses, I intentionally avoided peeking at any setlists (however i did snatch it up later and it is on my show-wall with all the others, obvs.)

Back when this show was then officially announced on facebook and the invites were sent out; I casually joked that this was, in fact, my birthday party and "wouldn't it be cool if there was some awesome all-band singalong to a U2 song at the end of the night... haha."

you guys.
seriously, you guys.

As GY finished their set, they were then joined on stage by our sweet Andrea Connelly et. al., suddenly i feel several people standing around me, several of those friends of bands that had been taunting me with last song guesses throughout the evening. I find myself standing to the right of Joe Maz from IWTDI... He turns to me and says something like "did you figure it out yet?" and i say no. he says something like "get ready".  I then find myself alternating between Ultimate WOO-girl and the biggest weepy mess ever for the next few moments as the most beautiful thing I think I've ever witnessed happened in front of me.

I'll let the video speak for itself.


Bad (Birds & Arrows & Gray Young) For Karla from abbyladybug on Vimeo.


In Another video shot by someone I don't know, further back in the crowd, you can hear my initial "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" cry as I finally realize what's happening...

I cannot express to you fully how absolutely powerfully amazing this moment was for me. I know i gushed and hugged and cried all over everyone involved that night, and here it is over a month later and I still feel myself getting all sorts of choked up and weepy about it... but I have to say once again that I feel like the luckiest girl in the world and this was, in fact, the greatest birthday of my entire life thus far. Thank you all so much. thank you, thank you, thank you times infinity.

in other news, this gray young tattoo was my birthday present to myself. I am officially the SUPERFAN.

 

How could 35 ever top this??