ow my neck.

it's been a week.

last friday night my boyfriend and i went to ben's chili bowl before !!! at the black cat. there were two opening bands, mountain high and ld section II. mountain high was fun but a bit too much of a bar band. they had two drummers, which really added to their sound. ld section II just confused me. if you want to know why, just visit their website and listen to their music or read anything they've written. their set dragged on, and the audience was definitely not feeling it at all, save for a group of 4 girls who were friends with the two lead singers (one of whom is named justice) and knew all the songs. after they finally finished, everyone was ready for !!!, but their set-up took about an hour, the longest ive ever waited at the black cat. supposedly the lead singer was late. when they finally came out though, they were amazingly fun, and i dont even know their music. the lead singer danced with a cast and crutches, swinging himself around and pounding his leg on the amps until his cast cracked.


then sunday i went up to baltimore's fell's point to see the octopus project at fletcher's. fletcher's is a great all ages venue, really small and cozy. the octopus project is really, really fun live. the music is great, and it's really fun to watch everyone scurry around the stage, hopping over powercords to play instruments. the bass drum was lit up, the amps were covered with fabric creature covers sewn by Yvonne (see pictureee), the flip-haired female of the group. you can even take home your own little creature hand-sewn with love by Yvonne. seriously, check this band out. you'll love them.

so the rest of the week progressed slowly and boringly. lots of errands were taken - and made easier by my brand new day-planner (my father thinks it will help me stay organized - and so far it's working). i got a brand new beautiful art book for (essentially) free! and you can play too! go through your bookshelf and take out all those books you bought but never read, or maybe read a chapter and then put down. make sure they are in great condition, and take off any price stickers. next, take them all to your local border's (my brother the scam artist insists that borders is easier than barnes and noble), and tell them that you got them as a gift and you want to return them but dont have the receipt. they'll take them back and give you a gift card. sometimes they wont take certain ones back if they dont carry them in the store or they are in used condition, but they took back 4 out of 7 - and i scored 40$ which i quickly turned back in to buy Phaidon's Vitamin P - a really cool modern painting book. try it and comment to let me know how it went.

also, if you're in the mood for more free stuff, download the mp3 du jour from ampcamp. i fell in love with the lovely feathers. you can also hear lansing dreiden - aka ld section II (whom i mentioned up above) - it might float your boat.

last night i skipped the first ft. reno show of the summer - but im sure it was lovely as always. if you havent gone to a ft reno show, just do it, it's so fun - even if you hate the bands playing. i intend to go either monday or thursday (or both days!) next week, so let me know if you're going to show.

tomorrow im hoping to see B.I.K.E. at silver docs. i've never been before, so im pretty psyched.

666

well it's summer.

last night i dragged along 2 friends, gelsie and chandler, to the warehouse nextdoor to see mass movement of the moth, who was playing with the catalyst, haram, pygmy lush, and sail. mass movement is a local band and even if you dont like their music, their shows in the area are consistently amazing. mass movement shows are frequented by the nicest people in DC and their shows have the most inexplicable warm vibe. the music itself is DC DIY at its best.

it was sufficiently awkward. my exboyfriend (who is also an exfriend after he admitted to being a horrible friend but was too apathetic and lazy to try to fix it), a friend i used to have feelings for (who hates my new boyfriend for the way he treated a girl - who happened to be there as my exboyfriends date- she's very cool though), my new boyfriend, his friend, my friends, some random guy i danced with at a show, and me - all mixed into the pot. rather confusing. but aside from personal tension (and thank god no laguna-beach-esque drama), i had fun, and it was nice to dance with my fabulous and cute boyfriend at a fabulous and (not so) cute show.


the warehouse is a great place to see live music in DC. it's impossible not to have a good time, even if you never enter the venue itself. after a few minutes inside the narrow room we went outside, walked a few blocks to cvs, came back with paper and crayons, and sat outside the club drawing. everyone leaves the warehouse in between sets, so the street outside gets crowded with friendly people. if you want to make new friends, do what we did. bring a slinky. for some reason, everyone loves a slinky.

this week is !!! at the black cat. octopus project is playing up at fletcher's in baltimore, and my boyfriend and i may make the trek up there for some good times and good music.