It’s been quite a week.

I worked monday at my office job, directly followed by about 5 hours at Starbucks. I had Tuesday off for Veterans Day, but for some reason felt really motivated to work outside. Thankfully, it was a beautiful day, so I:

  • blew leaves for about 2 hours and
  • filled 5 extra-large garbage bags with them. There were more than 5 bags worth in the yard, mind you. That’s just what Susan requested for use in her flower beds for the winter. The rest (probably three times again as much) went over the precipice on which our house sits. Then I
  • tacked Tyvek (registered) sheeting around the outside of the crawlspace under the laundry room so that I could then
  • move 10 wheelbarrows or so of crushed stone to fill the excavated gap on one side for proper drainage. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll need a couple more yards of the stuff. And in between these, I
  • did three loads of laundry, and
  • had supper ready for Susan… if she’d have gotten home at her usual time. However, when I don’t tell her when I anticipate her arrival, and she doesn’t tell me she’s going to be late… well, supper was still good.

So, busy day, and my hands were plenty sore. But Wednesday meant back to work, among other things.

8am – secret interview for new position in different department
9am – returned to office to turn on computer and read about two emails before
9:30 – two elderly volunteers arrived, only to have me tell them I have no space for them to work, and had to send them home. What kind of a jerk am I?? I kept reading emails (way too many) until
11am – another meeting, then back to the office at
12pm – choke down a sandwich while still trying to get through email (I still had unread messages until about)
3pm – anticipating another meeting, I try not to get into any intense projects, but finally at
4pm – the meeting happens and I was offered the new position! Not sure what I’ll do yet, but what a great thing to happen just before
4:30 – get in the car to go to Boston to go see my favorite band, The Sea and Cake!!! I’d been waiting for weeks. Their new album is amazing, and I had their whole discography on shuffle on my ipod on the way down. I made great time until
6:25 – when, just after crossing the Zakim Bridge, Route 93 South becomes a parking lot. I crept along in it until
6:45 – when I arrived at Tremont 647, Joy’s restaurant, for dinner with Sean, my dear but tragically misguided liberal friend (don’t worry, I couldn’t get a shot in edgewise as he baselessly insulted my party and candidates… but ’twas all in good fun!). We have a fantastic dinner (Andy’s ribs… I may have found my new favorite BBQ item in the whole world) right trough
8:00 – doors open for the show. But I had a Hendricks and tonic in me, and was, therefore, feelin’ fine, and not worried when it hit
8:45 – because I knew they wouldn’t come on until after the opening band. So I made my way to Cambridge for
9:05 – only to discover that the Sea and Cake go on at
…

10:45.

10:45?!?! This is why rock music is for the young. It’s a Wednesday night, for goodness sake!!! Don’t these people have jobs to go to?!?!  But, of course, they don’t have jobs, other than stumbling into class late, wearing their girl/boyfriend’s Che tee shirt, latte in hand and third-world-revolutionary hat yanked down over bedhead.

Oof… I was sore already, and I’d only been standing for an hour. However, after a noisy but talented band called Helms, and a rather odd little man who plays a great guitar but sings in a small child’s voice, calling himself Death Vessel (no, not kidding) finish up…

The Sea and Cake take the Stage.

The last time I saw them, touring to promote One Bedroom (not my favorite), they played too fast, and seemed a little rusty. They also played the Somerville Theater, and, given the opportunity, Boston fans stay seated, so it was a much different feel. They had a 5th person on stage, playing keyboard. It seemed… off. I know they do things in the studio that can’t be replicated live with just the four of them, so it’s to be expected that they’d need an extra pair of hands to make it sound like the album. But it still didn’t seem right.

Wednesday night they were at the Middle East Downstairs. It’s standing room only, and holds a few hundred hipsters with appropriate personal space. Bostonist has an interesting review of the show, though I didn’t find Death Vessel nearly as compelling as most others in the room. Oh, and when you get to the part about “older men” in the crowd, I look NOTHING like Sam Prekop. More like Eric Claridge.

My take on the show was much different from the above reviewer. This was the show I’d wanted to see since college, when a group of friends saw them with Tortoise and 5ive Style. They were tight and together and engrossed. They sounded fantastic, even through my old-man ear plugs. This was a band that had been together some 15 years, but acted like this show was the first. I swear they only own one instrument apiece. Sam on a beat-up, old, red Telecaster, Archer on a Silvertone (I think), Eric with a big-ol’ Fender, and John behind a simple, beachwood-toned 4-piece kit, sounding like the end of the world.

They played everything. Car Alarm, Crossing Line, The Biz, Parasol, Sporting Life, Bird and Flag, A Man Who Never Sees a Pretty Girl That He Doesn’t Love Her a Little (yeah, I don’t care that you haven’t heard of any of this stuff. My blog!) I was right up front (somehow) and hate attracting attention (no, really!!), but I shamelessly “rocked out”, bouncing my head and drumming the rhythm on my thighs as much to the beat as I could manage. And I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face the whole time. This, in sum, was the last show I ever wanted to see. In a good way, though! Not like I would have rather seen any other show than this one, but that, given one final performance to see, I got to see this. I can die now. Thanks, guys.

Although, before I do shuffle off this mortal coil, I would like one more thing. To anyone who finds this post and who was at this show… actually, to the girl who snagged the set list from the stage where Sam was standing: Could you email me that list? Yeah, I’m a total dork, but I want a playlist on my ipod of the songs, in order.

I got back to Joy’s place at about 1am (buh…) and collapsed on the couch. The next morning we walked Sophie, got coffee, and then it was back on the road to work.

Gosh! A point-by-point rundown of two days worth of work, plus a personal review of a band that nobody I know has even heard of. Entertaining stuff, to be sure! If you’re still reading, heaven help you… you can stop now.