poppydawn

I was directly behind the VIP section, in front of John and Pat. I was at the entrance fence during Andrew Bird's sound check and saw three gals in Wellies. I thought about making an ass of myself and seeing if it was you and your gang, but decided to be shy and demure, for once in my life. Did you happen to have lunch at Po's on 39th? There was a couple at the table next to us, and I overheard them talking about being in town from Tulsa. The scream cracked me up! I was recently clocked at 109 dB; I was willing to challenge her to a scream-off. Hooray for people being willing

I kept tripping over a giant stick in the mulch, which I pondered throwing, javalin-style, at the announcer. Otherwise, awesome show! Andrew was fab. I got the impression from the beginning of Wilco's set that they weren't in the finest of moods, but that certainly changed through the show. It was a lot of fun to see them transform from being rather terse to fully rocking out. One of their best shows. Not happy about the VIP area. At least the people in there got into the show. Had they not, some of us directly behind them were planning a brawl.

We're at my parents' house in Sedalia, getting ready to hit the road in the next hour or so. I take full responsibility for the rain. This happens every single time I make plans to go to an outdoor venue in KC. Oh well. We'll just have to get all Woodstock tonight. I'm hitting Prospero's Bookstore on 39th first thing to see an old friend of mine. Thinking about dinner at Oklahoma Joe's. Meeting up with another old friend at the show. And hoping to somehow recognize a bunch of you people!

We taught my three-year-old to say "Diarrhea Pockets" when we walk down the frozen food aisle at the grocery store, so deep is the admiration for Jim Gaffigan at our house.

Thanks, but I was joking. Don't want to intrude!

Does that mean I'm invited for pork?

Mmmmm .... I want the pork with a side of the curry. Maybe some chili for dessert. I'm in the process of going back to work (catering director for a small restaurant) after a two-year maternity leave. Therefore, the old rules apply: I don't cook unless someone's paying me to do so. I think we're going to Fletcher's in a bit. Great food, plus this wall: (That would be the Uncle Tupelo/Son Volt/Jeff Tweedy Wall of Fame).

I saw Andrew Bird last spring. Awesome. Absolutely love him! Here he is on Letterman from a few months ago. I think he's going to be without his band this Saturday. Either way, I think he's a great match for Wilco. At the Columbia Wilco show, they did sound check from 4-5 PM. That sound check was completely open, and we got to watch the whole thing from in front of the stage. My KC contact told me that sometimes Crossroads sets up extra fences during sound check to prevent looky-lous. Bastards. Thanks for the head's up regarding the mulch. No cute shoes for me that night. If any of yo

And believe me, there are places I'd much rather eat during a rare trip across the state. It's been two years since I had a burnt ends sandwich from Arthur Bryant's and I'm hurting for one.

I can empathize. I once keeled over at a U2 show. Spent 13 hours outside in the freezing cold to get close to the stage, only to be so dehydrated and overwhelmed (I've got some claustrophobic and panic issues) that I wound up missing more than half the show. So disappointing. The little VIP holding pen looks doable for those of us with GA. I'll bet that was a fun place to be during the Gwar show. Maybe the people who paid more for their tickets got splashed with more slave urine. I didn't get in touch with my KC friend tonight, but I did remember something she mentioned last time we talke

I've got a friend who's been to a few shows at Crossroads. I'm going to ask her tonight if this VIP thing is typical for the venue and how it works. If I learn anything useful, I'll let you know. It seems terribly unfair to charge $50 extra for wheelchair access.

There seems to be a Dead Milkmen resurgence in my life this week. I heard "You'll Dance to Anything" at a party on Saturday. Last night, my husband mentioned that he was going to get some of their stuff from his peer-to-peer network. And here they are again. I've always been partial to "Going to Graceland" and "The Badger Song".

I am!

I agree with the Blue Note; absolutely love that place. Gotta disagree about the Pageant, though. I thought their 3/06 show there was excellent. It was one of the few times I've been to the Pageant when people actually seemed to care about the fact that there was music being played. It's usually too full of drunken yappers for my liking. My worst: St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, 10/06. It was a small gym. Wilco plays the prom! The acoustics were about as good as you'd would expect from a large room that smells like socks. Even weirder, after hiking all the way up a huge hill

Yay! It seems that SBS is winning over lots of new fans of might not have liked the "noise" factor of the previous CDs. I gave a copy to a friend's 17-year-old son. He loved it (no surprise; he's a guitarist), and insisted that his James Taylor-loving mom have a listen. Now she's hooked. I love converting people.

Generally, I don't like reunions of any sort. However, I'd love to see little hometown reunion UT show. Just one; not a tour. Shut down the streets in Belleville around the town square, set up the stage, and make for one hell of a fun night. Free tickets. Make money off the gazillion cans of $1 Stag that would be sold. Jay's brother John is a jazz guitarist who lives in Belleville. He's got a standing gig at my favorite restaurant. I get to see him for free all the time and honestly, I enjoy his live performances more than his brother's. Not that I have anything against Jay (who's doing qu

I drink Stag. Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat might be to your friend's liking. Their Matilda's a bit pricey, but good. Another vote for Boulevard. Their unfiltered wheat is one of my all-time favorite beers.

We definitely dig Laurie Berkner around here. Also, Dan Zanes. He was lead singer of the Del Fuegos way back when, and now he does "family" music. Some of his songs are definitely kids songs, but he also does lots of classic folk - Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, etc. His band contains a huge variety of instruments; it's because of them that we had The Great Accordan Obsession of 2005 at our house. Still, the music's excellent, and it won't drive parents nuts. He's done duets with people like Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, Aimee Mann, Blind Boys of Alabama, Loudon Wainwright III, and Roseanne Cash. Rea

It's kind of hard to find musical toys for infants, other than plastic shit that plays electronic music. You might go with some CDs. My daughter's 3.5 and she still loves a lot of the CDs she's listened to since birth. For when she's a little older, you'll win the Best Uncle Ever award if you get her a Little Tykes jungle band kit. It has a turtle-shaped drum, a giraffe bell, two monkey maracas, and a panda-shaped tambourine (or, as we call it, the pandourine). My daughter got her set a few months before she turned two, and it's amazing how much she figured out about music with it. Still lo

Damn. What else would you expect from a person whose gone through life with the name "Sharts"? Yeah, that was too easy.

Oh so many ... Wilco & the various side projects The Clash White Stripes Springsteen Johnny Cash U2 Andrew Bird Ramones Pixies Arcade Fire Ryan Adams Weezer (prior to their last album) The Smiths REM lots and lots of obscure garage stuff lots and lots of classic girl group stuff (although not crazy about Motown) lots and lots of classic rockabilly

I love Ryan, but I've given up on seeing him live, just for this reason. I don't understand musicians punishing the audience when they have tech problems. During the St. Louis White Stripes show in '03, Jack White had horrible sound problems and was obviously frustrated by the situation, so much so that he gave an intermission to get things fixed. Once they were up and running, he apologized profusely, then provided a super-long, ass-kicking encored filled with rarities. When I think of that show, I don't really think about the disappointment and frustration; I remember how awesome that enc

I'm amazed Smokey Bones even dared to try in Memphis. How long did that last? An hour? There's still one in Fairview Heights, IL ... a half-mile up the road from the restaurant Bon Apetit magazine recently chose as the second-best ribs in the country. Rendezvous was first, of course. And yet people still go to Smokey Bones!!! When I drive by I want to hang my head out the window and yell, "Dude! Second-best ribs in the country are over there!"

That's awesome! Thanks for being brave enough to use your voice (shaky or not) to speak for those who can't speak for themselves.

Years ago, someone sent me a "copycat" recipe for Olive Garden's breadsticks. Take rock-hard frozen bread dough, melt it, fashion it into a phallic shape, spray the top with butter-flavored Pam and garlic salt, bake. Seriously. That's an Olive Garden breadstick. I'm a culinary snob, and the existence of the entire Darden Restaurants family (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Bahama Breeze, Smokey Bones) makes me want to do horrible things with my 12" chef knife.