Stand and sway

Just got back from the Feist show at Neumo's...BRILLIANT!!!!! That girl knows how to rock it! I guess I should backtrack a bit--today around 5 one of our favorite customers came into the shop and Feist was playing on the store mix. Erin asked if I knew that she was playing tonight, which I did not. I immediately called my pal Kristine, who is also a huge Feist fan, and we decided to go. I love the fact that if Erin had come in 5 minutes earlier or later, we may never have known about the show. Yay for coincidences!

We got to Neumo's before the opening act and decided that we must have missed the memo on PDA for the evening. Seriously, in every direction there was a couple who really should have stayed home on the couch for that kind of action. Except by the bar, where Kristine witnessed this encounter between two hipsters:

Male 1: "So, how's your girlfriend? What's she up to tonight?"
Male 2: "Actually, we're not together anymore."
Males 1 & 2: stand in awkward silence

Maybe it was funnier because we had Mandarin & tonics in hand, but really, it was pretty awesome.

On with the show: the opening act was a charming singer/songwriter from Manchester named Stephen Fretwell, if I remember correctly. He did seem to be good at fretting, as most of his songs were pretty depressing. Couple really good songs, though, especially one about a girl named Emily who must really be a piece of work. But FEIST! She came out and had 2 mikes set up, with the second one attached to a multi-track/layering/looping device so she could harmonize with herself. She kept adding layers until there was this amazingly lush harmony going on, and then she would sing the melody over it all. Just fabulous; she has such a beautiful, unique voice. She's also one of the least self-conscious performers I've ever seen, which made her so fun to watch, and she's a smokin' guitarist to boot. She played a bunch of new songs that were all great, although I'm sad that we'll have to wait until January for the next album. By the end when she invited the crowd to slow-dance, even Kristine and I were ready to stand and sway with all the happy couples. AAWWW.

Something must be done...

So I like to do the NYT crossword puzzle sometimes before I go to bed. It relaxes me. Don't judge, people! But can I relax tonight? NOOOO...because there it is, in #18 across, mocking me: five-letter word, clue is "Breezy 'Of course!'" The first three letters are "n...a...t..." and cut to visual of me shrieking in abject horror. That's right, "natch" has now made it into the freaking New York Times crossword puzzle. It's like they heard my complaint and WANT to keep using it. Next thing you know William Safire's going to be profiling it in the Sunday magazine's "On Language" column. My only consolation is that if it's become this mainstream, it has to die soon...right? I'm going to try to go to sleep now, but first I'll have to read something else to erase this memory from my brain and calm my frayed nerves. NATCH.

Another Sunny Day

I am not a blogging type of gal, but when I wanted to comment on my pal Christine's blog, I was forced to sign up for one of my own. So here goes...my very first post. Mom would be proud.

We saw Belle and Sebastian last night at the Paramount, with The New Pornographers. It was their last show on their North American tour, and it was fabulous. I even scored this snazzy tee (see profile photo) to proclaim my love for B & S. I also have to mention how brilliant TNP are! They have so many great songs that I love, but don't always remember as being from them. Their two most recent albums are now getting heavy rotation in the mix, along with The Life Pursuit and Books.

Tangent...why are so many writers using the word "natch" lately? I even read it in a NYT article yesterday! Unless you are Ted Casablanca, you really don't need to use that word. Anyone with me on this one?