gabedouglas

The Molly Trixie will be riding to both festivals again this year!
If you or anyone you know is going, we provide transportation ( just split the gas with us.)

Bonnaroo - www.bonnaroo.com
Always the highlight to the summer. I’ve never been excited about headliners in the past 3 years, but that is quite alright with me, as the other artists more than make up for it, including this year. (Although I am excited to the Boss. And Trey put on an amazing show the last time I saw him, but I’m definitely not a phishhead. But schools of glowstick fish?? That is always an experience.)

10KLF - www.10klf.com
They put their money where their mouth is this year. Big name acts. (Although as usual I am looking forward to a handful, including Cloud Cult, Wilco, and William Elliott Whitmore) This is usually my vacation festival. I can go and see music, lounge, and be social or sit under a tree with a guitar up in the woods.

Always an amazing time.
We usually split food and spirits as well. There is ample room for sleeping in the Molly Trixie, but feel free to bring a tent if you want.

So my amazingly hot and witty wife hasn’t shown up yet.

I’ve got a ticket to Sigur Ros on Thursday.
Want to buy it?
Send me an e-mail and reasons why you should be a part of this magnificent night.

I saw them at Bonnaroo this summer and this became the MUST-SEE show of the fall.

RATM is playing in my backyard. Daft Punk is not playing in my house. One of the most.. err.. the most intense band to be seen in my lifetime is (supposedly) playing at the State Capitol in St. Paul during the Republican National Convention. I have friends in town who are staying with me from Duluth. Both are rather spontaneous events. And I am randomly doing my one closing shift of the month.

I knew Rage had been trying to play St. Paul anywhere during the RNC, but finally decided to play the Target Center (tomorrow) in lieu of St. Paul completely black-listing them. But about 4-5 hours ago tweets (twitter.com) and txts started coming that they were jumping on the Ripple Effect Festival bill with Anti-Flag.
My friend Faye told me to go to it before all this happened.

UGH.

Ridiculous.
I hope RATM performs acoustically.
I will not forgive myself for missing out on a giant piece of my own personal history for having to work.
As time passes I realize I need a completely fluid schedule and am usually okay with it.
But today I am restless and antsy and feel exactly the way Zach del la Rocha thinks the American public is: trapped.

So, I really enjoy being American.
But the time has come for the world to be introduced to me.
I’m going to Europe January 20th - February 3rd with my college graduate roommate Drew.
Our plans are Amsterdam, Munich, Venice, and some days spent in the Swiss Alps snowboarding.

Got any advice or suggestions for a first goer to Europe?
I am a tourist type person, but also love drinking cheap beer in dive bars anywhere in the world.

So I got dragged to a concert on a Sunday night. I was horribly tired by means of an exhausting week, a bender till sunrise hours on Friday, and a double-shift on Saturday that left me barely on my feet.

I remembered one thing. ‘Ocean’ is the single greatest song I have ever heard performed live.
Ever.
I’ve seen a good’n'plenty amount of songs live. And it is easily the best. Every time.

I manned up and got in the car to go to First Ave to hope they weren’t sold out. If they were, it wouldn’t be a night ruiner. They weren’t, but I have misplaced my ID.
They let me in.
We drank St. Pauli big girls during the opener, Brett Dennen. He was solid and good. Had an island vibe about his music, but was good hippie-driven rock.

John Butler did a lot more vocal harmonies than previous shows. ‘Zebra’ was great.
He played for about 40 minutes, then the band left and he played an introductory song.. An introductory song to ‘Ocean’.
Which always kills me. It just soars and seeps over the sides of my soul.
Organic, changing, and perfect every time.
It is just amazing. I would like to think it is reminiscent of seeing someone like Bach or Mozart play a piece over a number of years. With them slightly changing the themes and the melodies, but always having parts of the song where you know it’s going to go.

Hearing that song and the way JBT talks about music makes me want to be an ambassador of music to all people. I want to bring music to kids.
I want them to be flooded with music. I want them to be embraced by music.

I am safe.
I am stunned.
I am thankful.

I take 35W home everyday. I have been taking the 35W bridge or the 10th Ave. bridge off and on since the construction on the bridge started. I was in line to go to either of them at 5:55ish… I saw stop-and-go at the beginning of the 35W bridge, so I went to the 10th Ave. instead..
and waited.
and waited. over 10 minutes to turn onto Washington
and listened to KFAN.
and a caller called in and they said there was urgent, pressing news that the caller had.
I thought it to be a hoax or parody call about Kevin Garnett being traded, about Culpepper signing with the Raiders, or about Santana being mad about the Castillo deal.
It was not any of those.
The 35W bridge had collapsed as I waited.
People in big SUVs with air condition blasting had no idea what had taken place just a few moments ahead of them on 35W.. I watched people tap their fingers, annoyingly call people from their cars. I was perched up on the Washington Ave. off-ramp and trying to comprehend what had happened.
Those three or four.. or was it seven or eight cop cars going into the west bank at full speed.. I mean it’s the West Bank, cops have to look after things there a lot. But it wasn’t a crime spree.
The carnage.
The devastation.
I can hardly fathom it all.
My heart is with everyone I know and got a hold of me. And everyone I got a hold of.
I was shaken, but I am more than fine.

I saw my favorite up-and-coming band Manchester Orchestra at the Varsity tonight.
It was surreal hearing the haunting vocals as I ran lights and watched the news channels show angle after angle after angle of the wreck.

I stayed after at work today after they let me go early. Just a few minutes, to buy the Nike+iPod kit. Just to have a friendly little rivalry with a co-worker and our running. I’m going to take my running seriously for awhile now.

I hope you are all well and you all give an embrace to those around you.