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Need to add to the list of shows:

Fri. 10/5/07

Comedians of Comedy Tour:
PATTON OSWALT
Brian Posehn, Maria Bramford, Jasper Redd, Brent Weibach, Sheng Wang
Roseland Theater

I wish Zach G. was gonna be there, but I will settle. This will be our first time to see a national act live. We are pretty pumped.

Digital Delay

Classes started this week at my place of employment. So it was a little hectic. I think Melissa and I both are getting into the jobs, and possibly starting to enjoy what we do a little. We won't get carried away with that notion. don't worry.

I had to fire up the central heat today. So this is the first time since we left Oklahoma that I had to fire up either AC(don't have it) or the heat. They are saying the rainy season, aka 8 months, has started this weekend. Bring it on!

On my bus ride down from "the hill" on Friday we drove through some crazy rain mixed with hail! It lasted about a minute and a half. I notice the "storms" here are just patches of clouds. It rains for a few minutes, sun, maybe some more clouds, a little rain. You never know. I kind of like the unpredictable way of it.

Here is a list of Concerts we have seen or bought tickets for through the end of 2007:
Aqueduct
Low
Feist
Neil Young
Caribou
Quasi
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Bill Callahan(smog)
(had to miss free Cat Power show because of work)

That is about 3-4 times more shows than we saw in Oklahoma in like three years. I really like that about this place. Pretty much most bands will come through here, if they don't already live here.

Let's see.... not a lot else going on. We swung and missed for dinner again last night:
Il Piatto - CitySearch Review

The place has a great atmosphere. We were pretty excited about it when we walked in, and also looking at the menu. Then we waited, and waited, and waited, about 15 minutes before someone came to our table. And what did they do? They gave us bread and water, and walked off. Can we order drinks? Waiting waiting waiting, about 10 more minutes this D-bag comes and says hello, then says "You guys ready to order?" Took no time to get us drinks first, tell us about the specials, the fish of the day, etc... Which we heard him do to the next table.... ugh... Service is rotten in this town. TERRIBLE! So the food was ok... priced about right, but sounded better on the menu.

I tried a pasta dish that had clams in it. This was my first experience with them. WTF? Why do people eat these things? I mean, I enjoy clam chowder, but eating them straight gets the big whatev. I explained the taste to Melissa as this:
Biting into a tough skin sac full of fishy salt water. First and last time with that.

Hit me with some comments, I feel like nobody reads this anymore. Which I still would be OK with. Thanks.

Tix

I have been using my cellphone as an MP3 for a while now. It has worked great. One device. Plus a great camera. Pretty much all the pictures I put on flickr are from that phone. But unfortunately it can't play .mp4 videos, which are how most Video Podcasts are formatted in iTunes. See, I don't listen to much music, I mainly listen to Podcasts. Lots of them. Mainly tech/Nerd related, mixed with some comedy.

So...

I bit the bullet and bought an iPod. I know it is ridiculous. Before you think ill of me, let me point out that I bought one of the "cheaper" ones. I went for the 4gig nano. Small enough to throw in my pocket, light enough to forget it is there. The screen is not huge, but it is sufficient for watching on the train and buses during my commute.

I think the Video Podcast by Liam Lynch, Lynchland, made this purchase worth it. OMG, this guy is great. If you were ever into Sifl and Olly (I think I was, I own 1 DVD and 2 VHS of every episode) then you know this guy. The first episode I watched caused me to laugh very loudly on the bus, making me look a little crazy. Which is not a big deal in Portland.

This morning was online ticket shopping day. I bought us tickets to the Low show next week at the Doug Fir. Then dropped 300 bones on super tickets to see Neil Young at the Keller Auditorium. This should be an amazing evening. It is an under 3000 seat theater from way back.

Neil Young means the world to Melissa. It is a part of her childhood. Her father used to sing her Neil Young songs. The family would all sing along to the albums on road trips etc... She introduced me to him, and I have been hooked since. I feel it connects Melissa and I together sometimes. We could be in a fight with each other, tense, and all we need to do is put on his Unplugged album, and we both melt back together. Is that sappy enough for you all?

So anyways....

We have succeeded in finding an AMAZING tex-mex restaurant here in Portland. Esparza's Tex Mex Cafe. Small place near Melissa's school. We were going to try a different one last night, but walked up to be told they had a 45min wait. F that. That is another issue I have found. These smaller supposedly great places usually don't take reservations. So you have to wait in line like an idiot starving. No thanks.
So, we decided to drive by Esparza's just to see if they had a line out the door as well. I had read that this is normally the case. Thank the good Lord they were wrong. We were sat immediately and thrown chips and salsa! Holy crap, I hadn't missed good chips and salsa so much. We were already in love. Service was pretty awesome here. Refills on chips? check. Refills on salsa? check. I think this was some of the best tex-mex we had ever had. Best part? pretty cheap! We had beers, and dinners, for $30 including tip. If you live here, try it.

Something we REALLY REALLY REALLY miss about Oklahoma:

Taco Bueno

mustard

Few things:

We went to Mt. St. Helen's last weekend to see what a living breathing volcano looks like. We also gave it a speech about not blowing up anytime soon again. I think it took it ok. You can go look at more photos in my photo stream.




Aqueduct played here on Thurs. as part of the Northwest Music Fest. It was a total blast. It was great to get to see Dave and Jay, and the other newer doods I don't know so well. We had dinner together before and then had to wait 3-4 hours before Aqueduct went on. What is there to do in that time? Drink lots of beer. Friday was not a good day. Anyway, the show was a lot of fun. The crowd really seemed to be into them. It appeared to me that a lot of people came just to see them. I started giving Aqueduct's latest album Give me Death some more listens during my commute, and man, it really has worked its way into my brain. Good stuff, and can't get it out of my head.

Something I noticed as my head was pounding yesterday, was how nice the people were at this show. I think we met and talked to at least 4-6 complete strangers. Just hanging out, everyone seems to strike up conversation with anyone. It wasn't forced or fake. It was really refreshing. I thought back to shows in Oklahoma, and I don't think I EVER talked to someone I didn't know. I was ready to hate the hipsters that night, but they didn't come to this show. Great crowd, and great times.


Our friends Matt and Lacey have completed their move up here from OKC. Matt and I have known each other since we were pretty small. It is great to have some more Oklahomies up in the greatest city in the US. Welcome you guys!

Cannot Wait.....

I am so excited for this show:

Bill Callahan(FORMERLY SMOG)
Tuesday, October 9
MISSION THEATER

I am so in love with the last two albums he has put out. Amazing stuff.
This all began when the band I used to be in, Subatomic Pieces, had the honor of opening for him.
I hadn't listened to too much Smog at that point, but man, when he started singing, it was like a punch in the gut, but it felt good.

Go watch/listen to this if you have never heard:
"Rock Bottom Riser"
Directed by Paul McNeil & Brendan Cook
Produced by Picturedrift
(Quicktime, 5.6 mb)