Three dollars and 63 cents

There's a joke in there somewhere, but I'm too tired to think of it.

I'm on my second listen to this today:

A friend and I watched Burn After Reading Saturday night. My friend really hated it, and I wasn't that crazy about it, either. There were some great plot twists and a great cast, and while I thought all of the characters were interesting, it just didn't all come together for me. It's definitely my least favorite Coen brothers' film that I've seen, and I've seen just about all of them.

A second show for Chicago on 9/13 has been announced. The general sale will be next Monday.

My AGIB proposal got rejected in the first round. I wasn't all that disappointed since I've got another writing project going right now, but I do think somewhere down the line there needs to be a book in the series that looks at Wilco's post-YHF output. I was glad to see the YHF book on the shortlist didn't make the cut, because there's been so much written about YHF already. I'd much rather read something new.

I was surprised they didn't put second shows on sale right away this morning. That's how I got a ticket for the first leg of Vertigo--the first Philadelphia show sold out, and they put the second one on sale right away. I think they're making an effort to be more organized this time and might actually do a presale for second shows. Maybe New York will even get a third? It's a stretch, but I have a hard time believing they'd play there on a Thursday and Friday and take the weekend off. The next scheduled show is in DC that Tuesday. U2.com is showing a second Boston date for 9/21 (Monday) and

I think Live Nation links you to the TM sale. It seemed like Live Nation was going to handle sales, since U2 signed that big promotional deal with them, but all the presales have been through TM so far. I never thought I'd ever see the day I'd be relieved to be buying tickets through TM, but Live Nation's fees are a lot higher.

Ticketmaster, which is a relief, because given the fact that it crashed over Nickelback sales, I imagine the Live Nation site couldn't have possibly handled the demand of a U2 sale. Pricing for Chicago is steep--I got a great lower-level seat for the Boston show for $95 in the presale last week, but it seems like the whole lower level and quite a bit of the upper levels in the front half of the stadium are $250.

We trained my childhood cat to go for walks on a leash. He loved to go outside and eat grass. With my cat, I had a similar experience as Jen, and my cat freaked out. I never tried it again. I think it depends on the cat's age and temperament. You can train a young cat, but older kitties are more set in their ways. That pup cart is hilarious!

Happy birthday. I'll have a few in your honor tonight

Great show last night. I think performance-wise it was even better than the Valentine's Day show, which my first time seeing Jeff solo. It was the first show I ever saw at the Calvin, too, and I was really impressed with the sound quality, at least from where I was. The new songs sounded amazing, and Fake Plastic Trees and Remember the Mountain Bed knocked me on my ass. Honestly, the crowd got old after awhile, though. It was funny at first, especially the hoagie guy, but after awhile I just wanted people to shut up and let him play. I really enjoyed Pronto, too, even though we got there a

I'm ducking out of work early and hitting the road!

While we're talking about Nels and new projects, the Singers finished a new album this week. Scott Amendola had this to say about it in his email newsletter: No release date that I've heard of yet, but considering Nels recorded Coward last April and it didn't come out until last month, I have a hunch it may be awhile until we hear this one, though. The Singers will be playing at Redcat Theatre in LA tomorrow on a double billing with the Jeff Gauthier Goatet, eight years to the day they first performed together.

It looks like the ticket is sold, so I'm going to close this

Hot damn, that's a nice beer list at the Dirty Truth. I think that's the place I always mean to check out when I'm in town but never do.

My friend didn't realize I'd already gotten a ticket for Friday's show in Northampton and got one for me. Surprisingly, he hasn't been able to find a taker, so I offered to post it here. He bought tickets during the Calvin presale, so I'm guessing it's probably no further back than Row N, but he'll tell you for sure. He's asking what he paid for it, $31. PM me if you're interested, and I'll pass on his contact info. He'll probably just want to meet up before the show. I need to pick up my ticket from will-call, so we'll be there a little early.

I also listened to the deluxe edition of John Coltrane's Giant Steps and his Live at the Village Vanguard from other people's iTunes libraries stored on the campus server while at work today

I got #30 because I turned 30 recently

Mine arrived today. It's #30. Really nice packaging and a great EP. I have a hunch it's one I'll listen to on repeat a lot.

Scarnella--Scarnella