stupid parade floats

After spending almost an hour downtown in the freezing rain stuck behind a one-hundred foot caterpillar, I have concluded that, despite my affinity for turkey, Thanksgiving sucks.

Super Orgy Porno Party

On a Monday night, no less.

We played our first show at Call the Office with Dereyk yesterday, and it felt great to be back. We had a lot of energy, despite the fact that Mike and I lost our voices about halfway into the set. Jack was a mess - he seemed to be saddled with the same sickness that beset him on this summer's tour - but once again he stepped up and played like a champ. Props to you, Jack.

I don't know how many people saw it, but the nausea apparently got to Jack and caused him to puke on stage. The funny thing is, it happened while Mike and I were crooning our schmaltzy ballad, "You're the One for Me;" it was almost as if the sappy, sentimental lyrics and wussy harmonies actually induced the vomiting. Fortunately for Jack (and for those of you who prefer their rock and roll slightly more rocking and less rolling), we immediately kicked things back into high gear with "I Can't Explain." I get to play some spastic garage guitar on the Who cover. Fun stuff.

It also bears mentioning that the Planet Smashers are still one of the best live bands around. These days, "ska" and "suck" are practically synonymous, so it was especially cool to see one of the few remaining greats whip CTO into a frenzied dance party.

So yeah...nothing beats CTO. Those of you who still come out and sing along to our old live staples...thanks! Show me some love, London...and I'll show you mine.

The Motor City that never sleeps

A new study entitled "Sleep in the City" has ranked Detroit as the worst place in the entire country to sleep:

http://www.shuteye.com/sleepinthecity.asp

I've never thought of attributing my sleepless nights to mere geography, but I obviously agree that Motown ain't no town to snooze in.

Recurring themes

I had to write the date today and realized it was 11/11. And when I released the date button on my watch, I noticed the time was exactly the same. 11:11 on 11/11. I should seriously play the lottery or something.

I still don't sleep much. Functioning on just a few hours today.

This Pepsi is tasty. Pepsi is vastly superior to Coke. Sweet and sugary, not unlike a lot of the music I listen to. Any self-respecting fan of sugary pop music ought to drink sugary pop.

I've developed something of an affinity for openness as of late, and it's kind of freaky. I tend to wonder if people who claim to not care about anything are actually just masking the fact that they care way too much about everything.

My songwriting block continues. Did you know that I've rhymed "beer" and "here" in at least four different songs? No, of course you didn't, unless you're a REALLY obsessive Hat fan (of which there are about five). Oh well...at least I didn't rhyme "tears" with "fears."

I've been everywhere

Hardly. I've never even left North America.

But automobiles have taken me to 48 of the 50 states and most of the Canadian provinces. I love the road. Certainly, to some degree, it's an experiential thing; I guess I'm hoping to memorize the face of America or something. But there's also this restlessness...yeah...

"A man who couldn't make things go right could at least go."

- William Least Heat-Moon (author of Blue Highways, probably the best travel narrative I've ever read)

One Great City

I saw the Weakerthans on election night; they were, of course, excellent. J K Samson sang with his usual cadence, his slight but endearing vocals simultaneously ringing with vulernability and confidence. The music was played just as well as it was sung, as the band provided the perfect backdrop for Samson's sharply poetic vignettes. Stark, simple, and faintly idiosyncratic, the Weakerthans sound like Winnipeg. The more astute amongst you will probably note that I don't generally gravitate towards music with such poetic aspirations. But these are good songs, first and foremost; they work as well sonically as they do semantically.

The first encore song was "One Great City!", a favorite of mine. It's a simple figerpicked tune, just Samson and his guitar singing of bitter characters who perfectly capture the love/hate relationship he has with his hometown. The disenchantment within the tune, for me, recalls last autumn, when my job (and most everything else) was miserable. I listened to it every single day. So when Samson noted that the sentiments expressed within the song can just as easily be applied to Detroit, it rather depressed me, reminding me just how frustrating the motor city can be. I'm not sure if I like the song anymore.

Also...

It bears mentioning that the opening band, Piebald, is one of the worst I've ever heard. Tuneless atonal emo-esque shit disguised as "quirky" indie rock. Godawful. Piebald, if you can read this...quit. A collection of dissonant chords thrown haphazardly together do not constitute a song. Further, their version of Weezer's "No One Else" doesn't hold a candle to the Hat's.

Vote for your favorite puppet

"I'll show you politics in America; here it is, right here:
'I think the puppet on the right shares my beliefs!'
'I think the puppet on the left is more to my liking!'
'Hey wait a minute, there's one guy holding up both puppets!'
'Shut up! Go back to bed America...your government is in control. Here's Love Connection; watch this and get fat and stupid. By the way, keep drinking beer, you fucking morons.'"

- Bill Hicks

Strathroy Rock City

Good times at the Devil's night show in Strathroy. The bar committed a management faux paus and double-booked a cover band on the same night (bleh), but Mike diffused the conflicts (like he does so well) and most everything went off without a hitch.

I like Leo's. It's a simple, small-town kind of bar, which attracts ordinary folk and nary a trace of hipster irony. Refreshing and honest. Perfect venue for a beer-fueled Halloween party.

Hometown faves AT Power Supply put on a high-energy show, as always. They get better every time I see them; vocal harmonies are getting sharper and the new tunes rock. Plus they played a Kiss cover. Then we took the stage; our set was a lot fun. Mike and I were pretty juiced up and the crowd response was solid. We ended our set by playing Green Day's new 10-minute rock opus "Jesus of Suburbia" in its entirety, mostly just to say we did it. Good times. Then Staylefish put the icing on the cake with one of their trademark danceable live performances. I'm not really a reggae guy (although I dig on Jimmy Cliff quite a bit), but the positive energy and general good-time atmosphere of their shows is infectious.

Then I drank too much and felt the effects the next day. Yay me.