Hot and Humid but back to Sunny and Cool

Supernatural was good last week, too bad we don't get CW in HD (stupid Charter Cable). We also watched Pushing Daisies, which I found entertaining. The narration idea is not new, but the concept certainly is.

The Of Montreal show was last Thursday in Milwaukee at the Pabst Theater. We had dinner at the Water Buffalo. I got the rec off of the Chowhound site, and unfortunately our dinner was disappointing. They had 4 beers on tap (what? I thought I was in Milwaukee) and the beer was expensive. We had an appetizer that was tasty, but our entrees were nothing special (although I did finally get some tuna actually cooked rare!!). Duane and I shared a plate of macaroni & cheese that was penne in alfredo sauce (huh?). Everything seemed under-seasoned as well.

Unfortunately the show was lackluster as well. We did catch an opener that was hilarious (two dudes and pre-recorded synth tunes). We first saw Of Montreal at the Pitchfork Music Festival. I understand that a music festival is an opportunity to do a full blown show, because it doesn't have the carrying costs of a tour. There were stage antics and lots of original costumes. The Pabst Theater show had no stage antics, the lead singer barely acknowledged the audience, and everyone seemed to be playing to get it over with.

On Saturday Duane and I walked the 5K to raise money for an Easter Seals camp up in WI Dells. The walk was nice and not too difficult. I was having some tummy troubles and made the error of not going to the bathroom before walking (there was only 1 bathroom though). There were no portapotties along the walk either. We had a hair appointment that afternoon and I am now sporting the lastest fall hair color.

I had just enough work to do on Sunday that we couldn't do anything fun (like go to an apple orchard). We did watch Babel. I understood the point of the movie, but I was underwhelmed. I think it is in the genre of Crash, which I found much more moving.

So last night we were back in Milwaukee for the Regina Spektor show. We were back at the Rave (still a horrible venue). It wasn't extra smokey this time, because they had posted signs that Regina requested that people refrain from smoking. I think if you are paying money to see an artist that you like, you might respect that artist's wishes (given that there were mulitple other areas to smoke), but people still smoked. Regina did call people out on it, but that didn't get people to stop either. She played by herself on the piano and guitar for 1.5 hours. I liked the show, but this was not the right venue for her at all (and probably not a great impression of Milwaukee, this being her first time there). People were talking loudly over the music, although you could probably hear it ok if you were one of the people all smooshed up in the front of the stage. Duane and I had a beer this time (instead of a $3 glass of water). Heineken was the only import (and about the only non-Miller beer-they did have two Leinie's beers). We payed $15 for 2 glasses (they were 16oz glasses at least). Yikes! It did taste very good (even Heineken taps can taste skunky sometimes), but we didn't have another.

On Friday we are back at the Rave to see: Shiny Toy Guns, Yellowcard, & Blue October. Yellowcard & Blue October seem to be co-headliners. The show does start at 7, but it will probably be a late night. We bought all the tickets to the Rave shows at once, not having been there before. I can say that I will probably never buy tickets to a show there again.

I haven't mentioned that I will be going to Seattle at the beginning of November. Duane had an opportunity to travel to Hawaii for work and he needs the miles to retain his Northwest status. He would have to miss a show in Chicago (Hold Steady/Art Brut) though. He figured out that the show was playing in Seattle the following Sunday. He can travel to Seattle from Hawaii and stay there for a few days, at no extra cost to him (company pays the flight cost). I was not that excited about going, and didn't pay any attention to the details. Oops. That Saturday is the craft fair I was going to participate in at my nephew's school. I hadn't reserved a spot, but it was something I really wanted to do. I am sure Seattle will be cool though.

No new craftiness to report.