keeping busy

So, yesterday I had the day off from work. Wee! Michelle and I had plans to have lunch at my house and hang out for a bit . . . that "bit" turned into the rest of the day! Michelle had had a crappy morning, and needed to keep her mind off of things. So, after we devoured scrambled tofu, French Toast (it turned out really well, even though I think I cut the bread too thickly,) grapefruit, and coffee, we headed to the mall. (No, not The Mall. I try to avoid the "black hole of death" at all costs, as does Michelle, even though she works there.) We tried to find a pair of red, low-top Chuck Taylor's for me. After several hours, and an Odwalla Strawberry C-Monster Smoothie each, I had no shoes. Other that the smoothies, we hadn't spent a penny. (Hey, the smoothies were good, by the way. No corn syrup . . . although each bottle still had 58 grams of sugar! Ingredients: orange juice, strawberry puree, apple juice, honey, concord grape juice, vitamin C, lemon bioflavinoids, and rose hips.) So, we drove over to Uptown to Urban Outfitters. Still no red Chucks. I did, however, buy a t-shirt with a print of several illustrations from Dr. Seuss's "The Lorax," and the quote, "I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees." ("The Lorax" is my favorite Dr. Seuss book, hands down.) I also bought a pair of China flats, although now we are being P.C. and marketing them as "canvas Mary Janes." I don't think it's wrong to call them China flats when "Made in China" is stamped on the bottom!!

We then stopped off at my apartment for a few minutes, so I could change clothes and drop off my shopping. We went over to Michelle and Ann's and I hung out with Ann for a little bit while Michelle changed clothes. Then, Michelle and I, (Ann wasn't feeling well,) drove downtown and had dinner at Gluek's. I had the mac and cheese, (German Spaetzle pasta in the best cheese sauce I've ever tasted -- it probably contained more saturated fat than I've had in the last month . . . oh well!), with a side of fresh fruit. We used my Minnesota Public Radio member card and received one of our entrees for free! The ambiance there is very cool, although it was a little strange to see a bunch of little kids running around a bar in downtown Minneapolis at 8:00 on a Friday night. (Michelle and I spent a long time trying to figure out where all the kids came from -- our best guess was there was maybe something like Disney on Ice going on at the Target Center? Who knows. It was a little odd.) Something else odd -- our server was wearing tall winter boots with cropped pants. It was, like, 40 degrees out last night. A fashion no-no? Oui.

After dinner, we walked over to the Fineline and saw White Light Riot, Omaur Bliss, Jessy Greene, and Vicious Vicious. The two bands we really went to see were White Light Riot and Vicious Vicious, so it was a loooooong night. (We didn't make it. We left partway through Vicious Vicious's set. I'll have to see them again sometime soon, preferably when they go on before midnight!) Here's my mini-review of the show:

White Light Riot: these guys never disappoint. They are musically tight, a lot of fun to watch, and babies (3/4 of the band are still under 21 years of age. It's kind of goofy to watch them jamming out with big, black "X"es drawn on the backs of both hands in Sharpie marker.) Their poor lead guitarist had trouble with his guitar, had to borrow a guitar halfway through the show, and ended up sitting down for a couple of songs because he couldn't figure out how to hook up his strap right away. The lead singer also accidentally threw the tambourine at the drummer. However, given they were playing another show later that evening at the Kitty Cat Klub, I think they breezed through all of those incidents just fine.

Omaur Bliss: these guys rocked! Well, that's if hip-hop artists can rock. I've never really cared for hip-hop and rap, although there's a huge underground rap and hip-hop scene in the Twin Cities. I guess I'll have to give hip-hop a chance -- I still don't like "booty" hip-hop, but I'm starting to warm to the intelligent, clever stuff.

Jessy Greene: these guys did NOT rock. Musically, I enjoyed them. However, the lyrics to her songs are mega-repetitive, (i.e., the choruses are typically the same phrase sung over and over again,) and I didn't care for either her or her backup singer's voices. And, as Michelle commented at one point, their hoochy thrift store dresses were really starting to get to her.

Vicious Vicious: I was too tired at this point to listen properly. I'll have to make a point of seeing these guys another time, and giving you the full lowdown. (Erik Appelwick, the frontman of Vicious Vicious, is also one of the geniuses behind The Hopefuls, who I love. Vicous Vicious definitely has a different sound than The Hopefuls, but I like it, so far.)

I have a serious case of "cotton in my ears" today, although I popped in the earplugs halfway thru the evening.

Today, Christine and I may be going shopping (for her -- although she has a sinus infection, so we'll have to see how she's feeling,) and later this evening, Tony, maybe Ann, and I are going to the Turf Club for Chris Koza's CD release party. I'm so glad Saint Paul went smoke-free as of this week, because the last time we went to the Turf Club, I had to do laundry right away.

Wish me luck -- it's "spring ahead" tonight, and I'm going to be out LATE! (And I have Church in the morning!)