Wednesday, April 30, 2008

father to feckless son

When was the last time I attended a warm Free Cone Day? I think it must've been 2005. Seriously, I'm running my space heater right now; it's 37 degrees outside, and May is less than 24 hours away. Ohh, Chicago. I won't miss this.

But there's a lot I will miss in a city I've gotten to know so well these almost-three years. Like being able to hop up to Park West tonight from my apartment in under ten minutes to see Elbow/The Watson Twins. This may have been an inadvisable break from my federal jurisdiction studies, except that during the encore I realized maybe, if I'm not feeling prepared enough at the end of the day tomorrow to take the test Thursday, I could wait and take it next Wednesday, stopping Thurs night/Friday to start studying for Evidence... blerg. Having a scheduled exam next Monday morning really puts a damper on things.

Right, I was talking about a concert: well, I've only seen Elbow once before, almost two years ago exactly, and the two shows were diametrically opposed. Two years ago, we were sweating it up at the Double Door, surrounded by smokers and generally miserable. Tonight, I got to sit down, I had a great view, I was pleasantly chilly (see thirty-seven-degree weather comment, infra), I paid $6 for a beer (wait, that part's not preferable), and I got one hell of a show. They had horns, they had violinists/female harmony vocalists (the ladies did double duty), and they still had that fantastic live presence I remember from the previous show, no question. Guy Garvey is a charming frontman, with such a thick British accent that at times I legitimately could not understand him. "Leaders of the Free World" kicked major ass, and the song from their new album that I'm addicted to ("Mirrorball") was absolutely gorgeous, as was "Switching Off," an old favorite. During that song, I was suddenly reminded of driving in the rain to Cincinnati for one concert or another, listening to WOXY and probably en route to the Southgate House or something. I love that music provides a marker for moments in my life. I wish I had more time to just listen to music anymore. I think, once I'm done with law school/bar exam study, I'll get that wish.

Anyway, it was marvelous, the Watson Twins were great as well, and I need to go to bed.

Oh, and my Last.Fm is back. Only there's not going to be a lot to see there for awhile, because I deleted all my user data. A few too many law school musical backing tracks up there for my taste. Top player was R.E.M. at nearly 200 plays, followed by the Decemberists, Sufjan, and... Michael Penn? I don't actually remember the last time I listened to Michael Penn. Maybe I left it on repeat while I slept or something.

Off to bed. Time to kick some more fed jur ass tomorrow. Maybe an exam Thursday. Maybe not. I can't wait till I'm done. This is abysmal.

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