Carbon Copy

The Decemberists

Well, my first concert back in the states was quite the successful event. It's so nice to be back and to hear excellent live music, and there's no better band to start off with than the Decemberists. I saw them last March when they came. I had only heard Castaways and Cutouts briefly, but seeing the band in concert completely converted me, and I quickly found that I must listen to them often. "Grace Cathedral Hill" graced every CD compilation made for that year. Anyway, I was just super excited about seeing them again in concert, especially because I had missed their interim stop in SLC.

I was really nervous at first because the place was *packed* when we got there, which for some reason came as a surprise. We only heard the last song of the opening band, and then made our way up to the front in between sets. Luckily, we squeezed into a pretty sweet spot, even if it was the place that every photographer in the crowd came to for brief periods of time. I had perfect views of Colin, Petra, and Jenny, and could see the guys at the far end of the stage pretty well, though I wasn't close enough to get any really good pictures. I was so glad to be right up at the front because really what I love about this band is the dynamics between them. I totally fell for Colin at the first show. He's just so crushable. But another reason this concert was so fun was the company. We had our own little group of swabbies. And April had a fan.

I felt completely satisfied with the show. I loved the drums, the screaming, the stomping, the albatross call, the "Wuthering Heights" cover song. I swooned over Colin's little smiles and his cover of "I've Changed My Plea to Guilty." I bought a t-shirt (even if my rent check will bounce this month - it was worth it). And I got to take some pictures. Although, I'm not quite as satisfied with them. They turned out pretty grainy, but ... eh, good enough. Enjoy:

P.S.

This is what I'm listening to: Fiery Furnaces - Here Comes the Summer

There's No Place Like Home

I'm writing this in the comfort of my own dining room. I've got wires sticking out all over the place, mouse, ipod, internet, plug for the laptop. My phone is flashing purple beside me. (I really hate my cell phone in so many ways. Someone could get a hold of me whenever, and yet no one does.) And for the first time, I'm seriously annoyed with my little ibook. I just lost my whole iTunes library. I have no idea how it happened. It's not a huge loss because I have basically everything on CD already, but I had just spent a whole weekend at Matt and Izzy's importing a lot of their music into my library. I just want to whimper about it. (insert whimpering noises here).

So - I'm home. Back in Logan. Back to normal life, and I'm getting excited to leave. Maybe I would feel differently if it weren't so cold here, or if there weren't an inversion the whole time. Maybe if I didn't feel so out of place, I would want to stay, but... I dunno. Maybe my globe-trotting has just ruined me, and I will never be content again. Maybe I just need to pack up and move every 6 months for the rest of my life. The truth is, though, I hate moving. Well, at least I hate meeting new people. I like seeing new places. I really do like to be on my own, though. I noticed when I was in California just how much of a tendency to take off I really do have. I guess that's good, though, in some ways.

I will probably be moving to Indiana in about 6 months. I was accepted at Purdue with a pretty swell fellowship. My company was also solicited by William and Mary, but I'm only on the waiting list there for a fellowship. The George Washington University declined my offer of attendance. Who wants to go somewhere that forces a "the" on the title anyway. Not me. I'm still waiting to hear from University of Maryland. I thought maybe I would today, but when I checked the mail, nothin'. Well, actually something cool: my two new swab t-shirts. I'm happy about that.

Anyway, I'm still feeling disheartened about my iTunes calamity. I'm attempting to recover by downloading some stuff from The House of Leaf and Lime, and needed to kill a little time. Since I hadn't written for a while, I thought I might as well just type a little something. Now that I have the Internet at home, I will try to write more.