This Tornado Loves You

They didn't allow cameras into the show, so there were no pictures of the actual concert. I had to surrender my camera at the box office, but not before I got two pictures:

The State Theater Marquee for the show.

Neko Case's Tour Bus.

The State Theater, however, did have WiFi, so I browsed my ITouch while I was waiting for the show to begin.

The opening band, Crooked Fingers was pretty good. Suprisingly for me, the crowd was people of many different walks of life, from kindergarteners who came with their parents to elderly people.

I was seated next to a couple from Niagara Falls. They had wanted to see her show in Toronto the day before, but it had sold out by the time they found out. About a third of the way--or was it halfway?--into the show, the guy (from Niagara Falls) sitting next to me got up and staggered out of the auditorium. At first, I thought that maybe he'd had too much to drink and couldn't handle his liquor. Several minutes later, an usher came to his wife and asked her to leave. I never got a chance to ask anyone at the State what happened, but I asked my dad on the ride home (he used to be a health teacher) what it might have been.

"Probably drugs," he answered, and guessed that it was likely a prescription drug like Valium. Back to the show.

Neko Case was FUCKING AWESOME. Easily one of the best shows I've ever attended. Her show was very well put together--she had a screen in the back that projected movies. Neko herself has an incredible stage presence and made witty small talk with her backup singer between songs.

As Neko pointed out, she was touring to promote an album, so naturally a lot of songs from her new album, Middle Cyclone, got played. She also played a lot of her older, awesome songs like "That Teenage Feeling", "Margaret vs. Pauline", the catchy "This Tornado Loves You", and two of my favorites, "Deep Red Bells" and "Hold On, Hold On". She and the backup singer promised us that she'd take the audience out to The Cheesecake Factory after the show. There's one problem with that: there's no Cheesecake Factory in Ithaca.

She played the longest encore I think I've ever sat through, but it didn't matter, since she's awesome. I think it was definitely worth shelling out the $25, plus the Super 8 Motel room fee, and I'd really love to see her again.

On my way out, I ran into Luke Fentchel, who used to run No Radio Records. Apparently, he's doing some lawyering now, and as I noticed in a couple of articles posted at the State Theater's window, writing for The Ithaca Journal as well. Luke was one of the early supporters of Are You From Bingo?

On my way to a lecture on "Cyborgs"...

How's My Job Search Going?

Of all the things I've blogged about lately, I've neglected to discuss one thing: How's my job search going?

I have an interview scheduled for Monday at the Ithaca Airport for a part time Adminstrative Assistant position. I'm doing this to keep the energy going. I'm still sending out resumes and filling out applications, but in all honesty, I'm not really that enthusiastic about it. I realize I have to work to live, but I'm getting bored applying for the same jobs in the same place. I realize I have to work to live, but if I have to work, I'd at least like to have something I can enjoy.

In this economy, I suppose I should be happy just to have anything at all, but I've been working these types of jobs since I got out of college six years ago. Now that I've found some direction in my life, I'd like to have a job that compliments it, and allows me to continue with what I'm doing now, and what I hope to do in the near future. This internship looks like a lot of fun, but it probably doesn't pay, and I'm probably too old for it.

I spent most of today finishing up Notorious, Donald Spoto's biography of Ingrid Bergman. While Spoto's biography was thorough enough, I thought he skimmed over a few key moments in her life...like all her Oscar wins. At some point, I want to check out Isabella Rossellini's autobiography, Some of Me to fill in the blanks.

Less than 48 hours before Neko Case...

Disappointments & Tribulations

It's 35 degrees and very, very windy, so I spent today hibernating. Hopefully, it'll be the last time I'll have to do that for awhile, since it's going to be in the 50s tomorrow.

I scheduled one more interview today for the DVD. I'm particularly excited about this interviewee, since I got more responses about him than anyone else I interviewed, and frankly, of all the interviewees, I had the most fun interviewing him. It will be my first interview after I get to Binghamton Friday Morning. I literally just got off the phone with the mayor's office, and I have that interview set for 2:30.

Later, I got a message in my inbox from someone who had solicited me to do website design for them saying that she decided to "go forward with another designer". It's disappointing, of course. Between this, and the "cease-and-desist" letter I recieved last week, I'm thinking that maybe now isn't the time to be too preoccupied with entreprenurial endeavors. It takes up a lot of energy. There are web languages and programs that I would have to learn to gain enough confidence to pursue design work. I will continue to look for work, though.

Earlier this year, I had Brian obtain a press pass for me for this year's Tribeca--that was before I knew I was going to SXSW. For awhile, I had been leaning toward no, because of SXSW and needing to see how unemployment would work out. But now as the date looms closer, I'm giving serious thought to going. If I go, I'll only go for the weekend--leave on a Thursday, return Sunday or Monday. I'll see where I'm at with the DVD, the job search, and I have the Neko Case concert coming up that week, too before I make any final decision. It would sure be nice to jump back into the festival circuit before long...

A-Ha!

Earlier today I traipsed down to Area Records to celebrate my getting unemployment. I've had my eye on The Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavillion for some time, and wanted to buy it as soon as I had the money.

I go up to the cash register to make my purchase, and the owner asked me if I was still working at Wegmans. I told him "no", without going into too many details.

"I hear that there's been a lot of changes. There's a new head manager that a lot of people don't like, and he's firing them for any minor thing."

I thought, "Bingo!"

Any animosity I had toward Wegmans is now gone. If anything, I now feel embarassed for them. I called and told both of my parents immediately.

Afterwards, I further celebrated by purchasing tickets to see Neko Case at The State Theater. I also did something new: I test-drove a car.

I went to Geneva Foreign & Sports and test-drove three Volvo S70 cars, 1999 and 2000 models. I don't think I'll be buying anything anytime soon, but I always thought that if I could afford a car, I'd buy a Volvo. You never know. I might win the lottery one day...