Note to people who have to deal with me in the real world on a regular basis: I am undertaking a personal experiment this week and I am not sure what the results shall be. I have finally broken down and taken the television set out of my bedroom. Theoretically, this should help remove the clutter from my life, make it easier for me to sleep and force me to wake up earlier as I will no longer be able to lie in bed listening to the news every morning. That’s the theory anyway. There is a real possibility that I simply will not get out of bed and/or even be more bitter and grumpy than normal. Just saying, you might want to give me some space this week.
This isn’t the first personal experiment that I’ve undertaken and hopefully it won’t have similar results to the fabled “Optimal Level of Drunkeness” experiment, which I believe is still discussed in hushed tones at bars around the country. The idea was brilliant though. I’m a naturally quiet and serious guy and while I have a good sense of humor it takes a while for me to show it to people. (Computer screens are a much nicer audience). But there is a point on a Saturday night where after enough beverages I become a very witty and relaxed guy who is really fun to have around. The experiment, and yes this was done with rigor and numerous witnesses, was to pinpoint that exact moment and to time it to coincide with when this girl I really liked was going to join us at the bar. The protocol was top-notch going into the night.
Sadly, the protocols did not anticipate people ordering shots of tequila. As I said later, “I saw the optimal level and decided to run right past it.” Didn’t get the girl and ended up watching old tapes of Beavis and Butthead at my apartment later that night. This is why I warn people when I undertake these experiments.
Anyway, a few other notes from the weekend. Sadly, I did not attend the Redneck Games that the Kansas City T-Bones were holding this weekend. The promotion’s goal, and this is an exact quote, was to “find the biggest redneck in Wyandotte County.” Personally, this doesn’t seem like something you could achieve in a weekend. I’m guessing this would require at least six months, a double-elimination bracket, and several monster trucks. Sometimes I really don’t have to look very far to find humor in this town.
I did make my way to the Lyle Lovett and K.D. Lang show on Friday. I’ll say this about KC, the nice thing about a town that doesn’t believe in culture (or evolution, or filling in potholes) is that I can end up with sixth row seats for Lyle Lovett without any effort. K.D. was fine, given that I didn’t quite know what to expect. Basically I can’t complain about anyone who does a version of Leonard Cohen’s “Halleluiah” to end her set. (If I ever decided to go for a master’s in the history of music my thesis would be on that song and its evolution through cover versions by John Cale, Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright among others.) Lyle was awesome as always. He played a lot of new material as he should have a new album out relatively soon. He’s messing around with bluegrass again, more as a concept than a full blown, old-time sound. Still a good show except with two venue complaints.
First, during a few songs they completely lost Lyle’s vocals in the mix. To the point that you could barely hear him sing. I’ve gone to a lot of shows and losing the vocals is not common. This is the second show in a row at Starlight that this has happened and it makes me wonder who is running their sound board. The other point is that it is very odd to put a rather nice, open air theater right next to the zoo. Because this means that on a warm summer night you sit down to watch a band and the cooling breeze brings with it a smell that is almost, but not quite, like having an elephant sitting next to you. It just adds a bit of surrealness to a night that should be pretty straightforward.
The five random CDs for the week:
1) Cowboy Junkies “Early 21st Century Blues”
2) Toad the Wet Sprocket “Dulcinea”
3) Lyle Lovett “Lyle Lovett”
4) Carbon Leaf “Love Loss Hope Repeat”
5) The Polyphonic Spree “Together We’re Heavy”
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