Matt Nathanson's All Night Noise Tour

This Tuesday, my husband and I went to Matt Nathanson's concert at the 9:30 Club here in D.C. I know, I know, I was supposed to be sick. Well no matter how much self-pity I'm drowning in, I was NOT about to miss Matt Nathanson because I love him and this is my 3rd Matt Nathanson concert and did I mention I love him? So, I took a nap, pulled myself together and off we went. First a quick word about the venue, I really like the 9:30 Club. Apparently in D.C. that is akin to saying I really like kittens because everyone knows it's some super awesome venue, but whatever, I'm not super hip and had never been there. We had seen MN twice before at the House of Blues in Chicago which is a pretty decent venue but even though they weren't too different in size, the 9:30 definitely felt more intimate. If you are in D.C. and have an inkling to go see a concert, I recommend it for sure.

*Not from our show, but I wanted an action shot, you know?

Anyway, onto the actual concert. First of all, fun surprise, Vanessa Carlton was the opening act! I'm actually a big fan of her new record and have really been enjoying it, so I was super pumped to learn right before the show started that she was performing first! My husband was actually also excited, because he and his friends are super-weirdly obsessed with the song White Houses. I have no explanation for that. Anyway, she played some of her new songs that I love (Carousel and Fairweather Friend), a few I didn't know that I will probably download because they were lovely and her original hit, 1000 Miles. She did not play White Houses and Danny almost ugly-cried. Not really and he'll probably kill me for saying that, but he was bummed. However, I think the Vanessa Carlton surprise sighting was almost enough to brag about to his friends. They are so weird.

Next up was Matt. I call him Matt because I'm pretty sure we'd be friends if he ever met me, which is one of the reasons I love him. At all 3 of his concerts that I've attended, I've been struck by how personable he is and how he just seems like a really cool dude that I would want to hang with. He's funny and makes insightful comments about the inspiration for his songs and really responds to the energy of the crowd. I buy all of his records, but I will keep seeing him live over and over again because he is just a really good performer and brings something extra to his already great music. Also he makes awesome singing faces. See below:

 

This is soulful Matt.

This is Matt going "Oooooooooooooo" (See the song Laid.)

This is Matt belting it out.

And finally, this is Tambourine Matt. (That's not really a tambourine but it makes the same sound and you play it by doing the same shaky thing.)

Well that was fun, Thanks Google Images! Just a few additional highlights from the concert other than Matt's awesome singing faces:

• His covers. He always does a few and Tuesday's were amazeballs. First he did an impromtu version of La Bamba, which was both hilarious and intoxicating in that you couldn't stop yourself from hip-jiggling. He also did Whitesnake's Here I Go Again, which was fist-pumping tastiness and then finally he did a gorgeous acoustic cover of Prince's Little Red Corvette with his guitarist Aaron Tap. And let me just say, you hipsters over at The A.V. Club that didn't like this cover? Shut your stupid faces! It was so good and all of your jeans are too tight.

•  His mix of old and new songs. He did a great job of promoting his current record, Modern Love (go buy it now it's awesome) and playing stuff from all of his old albums, which hold a very dear place in my musical heart. When he played Pretty the World (his second song of the night), I about peed my pants with excitement. But I didn't because I'm a lady.

• His band. They are really really good and were doubly impressive because when Matt just decided to play La Bamba after someone cheered when he played the little opening riff between songs, they literally all just picked up the instruments and started joining in one by one. (Dear grammar police, sorry about that run-on sentence.) I'm sorry but that kind of musical ability blows my mind. I have been playing piano my whole life almost and I could not just sit down and start playing La Bamba no matter how badly I wanted to. So good.

In conclusion, I just want to put it out there one more time how much I love Matt Nathanson. He's talented and cool and as I said before, I'm pretty sure we'd be friends. I'm putting it out there like the Secret. Matt, let's hang out, not in a weird, stalker-y crush kind of way, but in a fun, listen to good music, drink beers and talk about pop culture kind of way. I think you'd really like my husband too, you're both cool dudes, so let's make this happen. Ok? Kthanksbye.

 

On Being Sick or as I think of it, The End of the WORLD

Me. RIGHT NOW.

When I was little, being sick wasn't so bad. I got to stay home from school, watch soaps and The Princess Bride (ok, that didn't start until I was like 8 or so because I was afraid of the Rodents of Unusual Size and the Six-Fingered Man until then), eat chicken soup, basically get a free lazy day. My mom would make me a special sick bed on the sofa that I got to feel cozy and snuggly on all day. Aside from the achy feverish feeling, it was kind of awesome. In high school, sick days got even better because by that point I had discovered the BBC's 6-hour Pride and Prejudice mini-series and I watched all 6-hours in their empire-waisted, British-accented, Colin Firth-filled entirety every time. I miss those days.

I also remember when I was younger whenever my dad was sick. My mom would always say, "When your dad's sick, no one else in the world is sicker (more sick?) than him." Well, thanks a lot Dad, because now that's me.

I used to be a trooper when I was sick. I would slurp my chicken soup and quietly watch TV without complaint. I would try to go to school the next day even if I still felt somewhat bad. Well now that I'm an adult, that is OVER.

I am no longer any form of trooper. I hate troopers. In fact, when I'm sick, I hate everything. No one feels as bad as me right now and I hate everyone and everything because of that. I'm like 15% sure I'm dying even though all I have is a low-grade fever and what appears to be some sort of cold, but whatever, it's SERIOUS.

The turning point was when I went to college and suddenly I kind of had to fend for myself when I was sick. I would feel sick, walk into the living room of my apartment and go, "Where's MY SOFA SICK BED?!?" I would walk into my kitchen and go, "Where's my CHICKEN SOUP!?" I'd look at my planner and realize I had a mandatory class to attend and go, "Where's my SICK NOTE?!" Oh right, you need a mom for that. I had a mom, but not with me in post-high school land (ok, so my parents lived 10 minutes from my college campus, but I didn't live at home anymore and who knows what she was up to when her life didn't have to revolve around me and my sick needs anymore!). And sick notes don't work on college professors. And the chicken soup from the dining hall tasted like booboo.

NOT the dining hall's chicken soup.

Then law school came. I lived in Chicago in a small apartment with my cat. Well, my cat was useless when I was sick. Even crappy chicken noodle soup wasn't a 10-step walk away. And so my self-pity during illness continued to snowball out of control.

Now we come to present time where I live in Adult Land. I have a job. I can't just take sick days especially because I'm saving my leave time for holidays, so I have to go to work. I have to wake up at 5:45 in the morning with a fever and mucus pouring out of my face and go to work and get everyone else sick. Suck it coworkers! I have to try and look presentable which is really hard when your face is running. Yeah, my face. Not just my nose because I'm sicker than EVERYONE.

Now I have a husband, so you'd think, awesome! Someone to pity me and take care of me! (He's back in town by the way, yay!) But no. He's a med student. Not that he isn't helpful to a reasonable degree, but he is every bit aware of just how sick I am, which does not match how sick I am in my head, 15% chance of dying. He just tells me drink a lot of water and eat Coldeeze which have a weird aftertaste and I hate them. The problem is, it's not him at all. He's actually great and perfect for a normal sick person. But I am not. I am a sick MONSTER. I don't even know what I want him to do. I just want him to pull an I Dream of Jeannie and do the crossed-arm, head-bob, winky thing and make me better. (Plus, seeing him do that would be priceless.) If I could go home now and have a sick day high school style, I'd probably still be a nightmare because I'm at the point now where my self-pity knows no bounds. Now go away. I hate you. I hate everything. I need Kleenex.

All-Time Favorites: Fleetwood Mac's Rumours

I think I'm going to start a series of posts of my all-time favorites in which I will pay special tribute to the movies, albums and books that have will always have my heart no matter what my fickle heart is obsessing over in the ever-changing winds of pop culture.

For today's All-Time Favorite, I have chosen an album: Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. I realize this may be a cliche choice particularly because Glee just did an episode devoted to the whole album, but I assure you, I have been a Fleetwood Mac fan for a long time. I had a musically hip mom and she exposed me to a wide range of awesome music from the womb. I mean there weren't many 8 year olds singing Evenflow by Pearl Jam on the way home from second grade, but I was one of them. I don't want to sound pompous because I'm not a music snob at all. I mean come on, I've written about Selena Gomez like 3 times. However, I also truly truly love Fleetwood Mac. When I say Fleetwood Mac, I'm referring to the line-up that made the band name truly famous: Stevie Nicks, Lindsay Buckingham, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood. In albums this takes you from Fleetwood Mac (1975 album) to Tango in the Night (1987).

I love Rumours the most for a few reasons. First, my very favorite FM song is "Dreams" which is on this album. The presence of that song alone is almost enough of a reason for me. Stevie Nicks is singer/songwriter perfection on this song and it's an ideal example of why she is AH-mazing. If that song isn't enough, the album also has "Don't Stop," which I bet will make you feel better no matter how sad you might be; "Go Your Own Way," one of the best break-up songs ever made; "Songbird," that song from Love Actually, yeah, it's a Fleetwood Mac original and it's gorgeous; and "The Chain" which is just a rad song, and it basically tells the story of all the craziness going on behind the scenes when this album was being made (see below). Ok truthfully EVERY song is good, but those are the best.

Second, the backstory behind this album is remarkable. While this album was being made, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were ending their long-term relationship and John and Christine McVie were ending their MARRIAGE. Maybe it's all that angst that produced such incredible music but I cannot even imagine being mid-break-up and have to go to the recording studio and sing about heartbreak while my ex provided backing vocals. To be a fly on the wall of that recording studio, although probably not, because a fly on the wall would probably get killed by a glass being thrown or something. I mean musician exes working in a tiny room together? There had to be some flying glassware at some point.

Third, and probably least important, I love the album artwork for this record (pictured above). It's Mick Fleetwood who is freakishly tall and Stevie Nicks in all her flowing-dress, ballet-slippered glory. Have you noticed I kind of love Stevie Nicks? I just feel like she made boho-chic beautiful and trendy way before Sienna Miller or that Olsen twin, not to mention, she's f-ing crazy talented. Anyway, everything about this cover is cool, from their Hippie-meets-Medieval costuming to his jaunty ponytail to the font used for the title. Plus the black and white image against a plain cream background? One word. COOL. I'm sorry, it's just the best word for them, end of story.

I mean really?! I want to be her. Not so much the personal life, but the musical talent and style? Yes, please.

So here's what I'm saying to you. If you haven't heard Rumours, then listen to it on Spotify. Then after you've done that, buy the album, because you need to listen to it more than just off of your computer. Preferably on vinyl, which I don't even have, but is very much on my wishlist. Then listen to every song and memorize all the words and appreciate beautiful music made in the midst of complete and total personal madness. God, they're awesome.

Wha???

The following is a list of things that made me go "Wha?" or something similar. The world is a crazy f-ing place.

Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace. AND PEOPLE ARE USING IT LIKE IT'S NORMAL. WHA?

Michele Bachman and Rick Perry are ACTUAL Presidential candidates. Seriously? I mean really, is that a joke? Democrat or Republican, can't we, as citizens of a so-called developed country, demand more from our leading presidential candidates?

According to People.com, 14% of people didn't like The New Girl. That's crazy because EVERYONE should like The New Girl.

THIS happened:

I've never been creeped out by babies before. Until now.

Parks and Rec didn't win any Emmys. That's some boo boo. However, Melissa McCarthy's win was pretty cute, even though she won for Bridesmaids.

I hate coconuts but legit love coconut water. How is that possible?

I'm from Indiana but I have never seen Hoosiers. This is something totally within my control and yet I remain surprised by it.

In the same vein, my husband has never seen Dirty Dancing. I can basically act this movie out as a 1-woman show. Maybe I should trade him Hoosiers for Dirty Dancing and then we'd both be better people.

Elton John's real name is Reginald Dwight! Do you think his husband calls him Reg? Reggie?

George Clooney is currently dating Stacie Kiebler, a former Dancing with the Stars non-Star and before her he dated Elisabetta Canalis, a current Dancing with the Stars non-Star. WHAT IS HE DOING?!?

This was a WTF in a good way:

Note the #1 Sex Champions Banner. Amazeballs.

Oprah's not on anymore. I still don't really believe it and I didn't really watch that often, but it's just something I counted on, like my pillow. What is a world without OPRAH!?

Christina Hendricks' boobs. I love that she's curvy and proud, but her boobs are so big and so emphasized, I can't help but be in shock every time I see her on a red carpet.

The following movies exist: Glitter, Gigli, Battlefield Earth and Death Race. I've seen 2 of the 4. I bet you can't guess which ones.

Snooki tweeted something insightful today. She said that Michael Bolton is a male cougar, which he kind of is isn't he?! But then she followed it up with: they should be called mougars. Also, I follow Snooki on Twitter. Who am I?

Gwyneth Paltrow managed to not look beautiful:

I'm never seeing Contagion.

You're welcome everyone. The world is crazy town and I love it.

In Appreciation of Manners/Friendliness

I realize I may be aging myself with this next question but what happened to manners? What happened to common courtesy? What happened to good old-fashioned friendliness? I was raised in a casual household but I was also raised with a heavy emphasis on being polite and kind. At 27 (almost 28, not too many shopping days left people), I find myself appalled at how many of my peers ad my elders seem to have gone without these very important lessons.

I mean really, is it THAT MUCH of an inconvenience to wait an extra 2.5 seconds to hold the door for a young lady with her arms full of groceries? Is it that hard to say "You're Welcome" when someone thanks you? Let me pull a me-in-grade-school and answer before you get a chance to: NO. IT'S NOT.

That's the thing about manners: they require minimal effort and, bible, those of us that use them can attest that the benefits outweigh the extra 5 minutes of time one spends in a day to be polite. People respond more warmly to you; you're setting a good example to those around you (particularly children); sometimes  you even get stuff for free, especially when those good manners are directed at an under-appreciated person who is serving you food or beverages, hello on-the-house dirty martini! I find this especially is the case if you are kind and understanding about a delay or a simple human mistake and let me tell you, i prefer a free cocktail to being a biatch any day.

I think part of my sensitivity to this manners/friendliness drought is that I moved from the Midwest to the East Coast. Now I'm about to say some not-entirely-positive impressions of the East Coast but please just hear me out East Coasters. For all the WASP-y upbringing of the many clean cut preppies that inhabit the Eastern seaboard, overall East Coasters just aren't a friendly bunch. Of course I've met plenty of friendly people out here individually but on the whole, Easterners seem to be colder, more isolated and less likely to go out of their way for another person than people from the Midwest. I'm sorry guys, but it's true and if you spend any length of time in the Midwest, even a big city like Chicago, you'll notice the difference too.

My husband and I went back to the Midwest for a week this summer to spend tie at my parents' lakehouse in Michigan and to visit friends in Chicago. We were honestly thrown off by how friendly people were. We had gotten so used to the collectively chilly attitude of D.C., we were borderline suspicious by the kind and attentive Midwesterners with whom we interacted at restaurants and stores. They'd say something really sweet like, "You two enjoy this beautiful day now," and we'd reply "Ok, what's your angle, lady?" In our heads, but still. This revelation that I was wary of kindness honestly depressed me a little bit. I'm a proud Hoosier, cornfed, love-thy-neighbor kind of girl! Have my 2 years out East really hardened me that much? What the French, toast?!

So from here on out, I'm on a mission to kill 'em with kindness and to really appreciate the people who are also nice and polite, rather than questioning their motives. Let's bring manners and friendliness back like Minnetonkas, big hair and bodysuits, but more like Minnetonkas and big hair because I'm actually not a bodysuit fan and I doubt that trend is all that long-lasting. Smile. Hold the door. Say thank-you. Oh and one more thing, read this post on Apocalypstick about being early, because being early is also good manners. You all enjoy this beautiful day now!

Interlude Post

So here's the thing, I just got back from Salt Lake late last night and I'm tired. Ergo, I'm also feeling lazy. I actually did work on a post in my journal on the plane which I will publish tomorrow, but for today, I'm just going to say a few things.

First: Salt Lake City is so beautiful. I think some people can be wary of Salt Lake because it's in Utah and there are certain cultural implications that people tend to make when they hear that. It is honest-to-god one of the prettiest places I have ever been in my whole life and actually a really cool town with lots to do. This weekend Danny (my husband), my father-in-law and I went up to Snowbird Ski Resort where they were holding Oktoberfest but where they also have all kinds of non-ski activities. Danny and I took the tram to the top of the mountain and the views were unreal. Here are some pics and please excuse the fact that they are all of me, I blame the photographer.

Seriously, the views were unreal. I love mountains.

Holy close-up. This was our sweet ride to the top.

Can you believe this awesomeness is only 20 minutes from Salt Lake?

So I also mentioned that this was Oktoberfest at Snowbird, which wasn't a huge thing, but you know I obviously had a tasty beer and a soft pretzel to celebrate Germany because I've got some German somewhere in my European-mutt ancestry, so obviously just doing my part with carbs. However, the BEST part of the fact that it was Oktoberfest was this:

Yeah, that's right. Tiny Lederhosen. Best. Outfit. Ever.

Obviously, if that adorable little boy's outfit is any indication, it was a magical weekend. It really was. I got to hang out with my in-laws including my super awesome sister-in-law, catch up with friends, eat some super great food (including dinner at Danny's Italian grandmother's house), and of course, I FINALLY got to spend some time with my adorable husband. All in all, a wonderful weekend. Also, Danny gets home in 6 days, yay!  I'll be back with some cohesive thoughts tomorrow fools.