Frightened Rabbit and Death Cab For Cutie

One of my most anticipated shows ever was exactly what I hoped for and more.

The Greek is just an amazing venue and it was perfect for Frightened Rabbit and Death Cab for Cutie. It was their second night in LA and had I been able, I would have attended both.

Frightened Rabbit opened right on time and played most every song I needed to hear. At one point, just when I was on the verge of yelling out Backward Walk, which is something I never do, they started playing it. Talk about a magic moment. As a band they put on an excellent show, are extremely engaging and obviously the music is just top-notch.

Of particular note is the drummer for Frightened Rabbit (Grant Hutchison). While there are a lot of drummers that are incredible to watch, Grant rockets to the top of the list with his charisma and verve. It isn't often you get to experience a drummer who pours himself into the set with such intensity of passion and elegance of performance. A good drummer can make you notice a decent band. A fantastic drummer blows your freakin' mind and hooks you for life. The things I would do to watch him reproduce the aural orgasm that was Head Rolls Off have introduced a gray area in my normally black and white ethical code. Perhaps this is how crack addicts feel?

Of course, DCFC put on a great show as always. We go way back and there is no new perspective my commentary could add.

But Why'd They Do It

There aren't really good answers to this one. It has been on my mind a bit of late and there are lots of rambling mumblings that I've put to paper and discarded. When searching out what others say, it left me numb and the verge of cynical.

Then I came across something from a writer I've enjoyed...

They are driven by hunger or for the experience of someone being hungry once more for them. They find themselves in friendships that take an unintended turn or they seek them out because they're horny or drunk or damaged from all the stuff they didn't get when they were kids. There is love. There is lust. There is opportunity. There is alcohol. And youth. And middle age. And twelve-day-long writers' conferences in rustically genteel settings that give one the impression that the world one left no longer exists. There is loneliness and boredom and sorrow and weakness and self-destruction and idiocy and arrogance and romance and ego and nostalgia and power and need. There is the compelling temptation of intimacies with someone other than the person with whom one is most intimate.
-- Sugar

That was good enough for me.

Hot Chelle Rae, The Summer Set, We The Kings

Nights like this where pop punk takes over a decent venue are squarely on the short list of things I love. Give me a crowd that dances and sings along to rowdy semi-emo anthems and I'm a happy boy.

That's Amore

Someone recently asked my advice on planning a romantic evening. I replied that the answer would depend on who was involved. This was considered not particularly helpful so they pressed me to answer as if I was planning it. Here's my answer:

Romance means different things to people depending on their love language. For some it is time together, others need words or touch or enjoy gifts, and for some it is being served. With someone I've know for a while, I would know their love language and would design an evening around that specifically. Now, we both know that I am a fastidious student of the romantic and have a heartfelt belief in the grand gesture. So thoughtful and deliberate creativity would tell me if my partner would more value being alone together in a quiet place, sharing a unique experience, or something like being pampered with dinner and a massage. Romance, in my eyes, is about knowing and embracing the uniqueness we all have in the ways we are able to feel loved by someone else.

Their response was best described as *thhhrpppbbttt* which is typically referred to as a raspberry. At least there wasn't also an eye-roll.

In truth, this is how I feel. It is easy to distill down to a love language, but this knowledge must still be shaded with shared experiences and the practical realities of your common situation. The connection and history you share when leavened with a healthy measure of creativity and spontaneity is where romance can grow. For example, scheduling a night to go serve the community together and walk home by way of Yogurtland could well be the romantic pinnacle for a pair who met at such an event and have since lost time for such activities. Similarly, a couple who both work and are getting behind in the home chores might enjoy a picnic while a cleaning service beautifies the place so they can return for movie night in a clean living room. For romance to blossom it has to be planted in reality and will grow best when we dream just outside the realm of the mundane.

Don't roll your eyes! Not-so-deep-down, everyone wants a romantic like me in their life.