we went to see chicago (the musical) at the overture center today. it was fun, but good lord: that sort of “culturing” is expensive. i suppose when you’re paying for the likes of tom wopat the expenses add up quickly. i’m glad to say he delivered the goods.
today we took a tour of capital, a local regional/micro brewery. the walk around the premises was pretty interesting, and then we got a taste test of about 10 different beers of theirs. there’s nothing quite like sitting around a beer garden on a saturday afternoon “testing” shots of beer.
lea and i went to see the opera. a coworker of hers was looking to punt tickets due to last minute scheduling conflicts, and we, being the adventurous types that we are, took them off his hands. one trip to milwaukee later, and we can now say we have seen an opera. one can wax rhapsodic about (high) culture and refinement and what have you, but what it comes down to is that you like some things, and dislike others. this particular experience rates about a 5/10 for me. it was interesting and fun in that it was novel, certainly, but it didn’t do much for me beyond that. perhaps i’m not refined enough. after the opera we hit up a brewpub a block away for dinner, and received the worst service we’ve had in recent memory. so, basically, screw you, milwaukee.
this is what happens when every band member has their instrument cranked up to 11 for the entire show. at the annex, a small venue that wasn’t even really all that full, trail of dead put on a show that rocked the socks off of me and everyone else in the room. with two guitars, a bass, and two drum kits pummelling out the noise, trail of dead played amazingly loud songs, and not-quite-amazingly-so, but-certainly-loud-as-well songs. if i have any complaint on the evening, it’s that everything was so loud (have i mentioned yet that it was loud?): a fair amount of detail was lost in the distortion. that complaint was more than made up for, however, by the quality of the songs that they were singing, which they were not able to completely mask with feedback, and by the sheer energy with which they played. i’ve been in more energetic crowds, but i’ve never seen a more energetic band, one that jumps around and thrashes on stage as if for their very life. the set was pretty equally mixed between new and old songs, and they did manage to play two of my favorites from their back catalog (”another morning stoner” and “totally natural”). the bassist even flipped out and destroyed his bass, along with a few other instruments, on stage near the end of their set. the crowd, and one girl in front in particular, started yelling at them to do encores, conrad keely sort of laughed and asked what instruments they were going to play with. they reassembled enough of their gear (”who has the kick? you can have it back, we just need it for the encores.”), and played a few more high energy songs.
this was a great show. if you’re a fan of rock music that kicks you in the teeth, make sure to see these guys next time they’re in town.
today we took a gander around taliesen, frank lloyd wright’s home in spring green, wi. the tour was quite interesting, if somewhat overpriced. one obnoxious thing about the place, and many other FLLW creations, i understand, is the short, short ceilings — many times thoughout the tour i had to duck, lest i scrape my hair on the low ceilings. my dad, who is a few inches taller than me, had it even worse. still, interesting.
also, my parents brought out my new bookcases, which my father built for me as a graduation present. a bit late, as far as presents go, but i didn’t actually specify what i wanted until this summer, and they look fantastic, which makes it all worthwhile.
went to valleyfair again. there is something to be said for nostalgia and childhood: these two things combine to make valleyfair a much better experience in my mind than in the here-and-now flesh. this is not to say that i did not have an OK time, but it is to say that i remember being thrilled about going in the past.
for those of you who noticed that i was gone last week, you may be interested to know that i was in the boundary waters canoe area wilderness. the fishing was pretty abysmal, but the company was good (both brothers and my father, as well as two uncles and their sons). at some point, i’ll get a hold of the pictures from it, and i’ll post them. our trip went through entry point 45, morgan lake, and our target lake was vista, but full campsites caused us to deflect north to horseshoe.
my parents visited this weekend (which was very nice), and on saturday we wandered around madison a bit, stopping at some botanical gardens (which should be quite nice to walk around in come summertime) and the state capitol . during the capitol tour, i found out why wisconsin is called the badger state. ah, the things i missed out on by going to middle school in minnesota.
not the biggest cave i’ve ever walked through, especially considering the $12 admission price, but it’s still fun to wander through something so much other than the day to day.
to the two young boys seated in 226 S 9 and 10 tonight: i understand that you were caught up in the spirit of the game (though, to be fair to everyone else, it fully appears that you are always like this). i understand that you are big blazers fans. i understand that you are just boys, and therefore immature and male. you should understand, younger boy, that when i lost control in the middle of the third quarter, and in response to one of the few charging calls that went in minnesota’s favor i screamed so loudly directly behind your ear that it scared you badly enough that you lost your balance and fell backwards into your seat, that i was just venting some of the steam that you had been building up.
to the two adults seated in 226 S 7 and 8 tonight: i understand that you lead busy lives. i understand that you hate disciplining your kids, since you probably already inflict your long hours and emotional unavailability on them. i understand, male in seat 8, that you told the kids to “shut the f*** up,” but that they’re probably your girlfriend’s kids and you don’t have much sway over them. you should understand, though, whomever the kids belong to, that i sincerely hope they cause you as much pervasive stress as you have allowed them to cause on the world around them (i.e., us).
to my father and brothers: you should understand that, despite this screed, i had a good time, and do want to go again. besides, it was really funny when i scared that kid, even if it makes me somewhat of a child / bad person.