EvelynEvelyn concert - with Amanda Palmer, Jason Webley, and Sxip Shirey

On my way to the venue (Corona Theatre in St. Henri), I saw Sxip Shirey walking in the opposite direction. I was wearing my Dresden Dolls hoodie and I grinned at him and he grinned at me. It was a nice moment of mutual recognition.

I waited in the venue for the guest list to be given to the box office - I won two free tickets in the Twitter competition - and listened to a group of people in line ahead of me talking about weed and informed consent. It was fun. I got my tickets, Izzy arrived, and we seated ourselves at a table in the centre, two rows back. The theatre was arranged like a dinner-show sort of thing with little tables with tealight lamps on them. Izzy and I blathered, paid too much for soft drinks, I noticed and said hi to a friend and acquaintance of mine. After an hour of waiting, the show started.

Sxip Shirey opened. Before this show I had never heard his music and knew nothing of it beyond "he plays that wacky instrument Neil and Amanda cobbled together out of a candlestick and multiple bike bells". He was fantastic. He told a story about his neighborhood in Brooklyn and then played three fantastic songs. His instruments include three penny whistles ducktaped together, five music boxes that play the same thing at various pitches, a red marble in a glass bowl, a bunch of handbells, several harmonicas, and a mixer that put effects on all these sounds and played beats behind. He was absolutely impression-leaving.

Then EvelynEvelyn came on, MCed by Sxip. I don't have much to say about their set. I enjoyed it a hell of a lot. The acting and music and comedic timing were all fantastic. The CD and now the show made it clear to me that the twins' odd behavior isn't a conjoined twin thing - it's a "raised by a string of crazy people who didn't treat them right" thing. They're naive and weird because they weren't socialized like most people we would consider "normal" - and being treated badly because they're conjoined twins just added to that. Anyway, no more of that. I really enjoyed their set. The highlight, I think, was the Chalice of Knowledge.

There was an intermission, and then Jason Webley played a great song with stomping and accordion and audience participation. He divided the audience into trombones and violins and namedropped Toronto (our nemesis city according to Montreal trope) to get us louder and louder. I like his accordion songs a lot, but I could barely understand what he was singing.

And then Amanda Palmer wandered out at the end of his set and they sang a fantastic smashy song together, and then she played her set. She opened with Astronaut, then Missed Me, then a cover of a Radiohead song, then The Truth, then Sxip and Jason came out and sang Electric Blanket her. Her last song was Runs In The Family, but during the first verse someone threw a Lady Gaga disco bra onstage and she stopped, put it on, banged out RAH RAH RAH AH AH and then started back into Runs In The Family. Sxip and Jason and Amanda and their hot tour manager all came out for the encore, which was a fantastic drinking song. They got us all "wasted" in a cheap manner by making us spin in a circle twelve times staring up at our own outstretched hands above our heads. It was hilarious.

After the show I bought Sxip Shirey's album and talked to him about Socalled, because his music reminded me of Socalled's. I joined his mailing list and Sxip told me about Luminescent Orchestrii, a gypsy klezmer punk mishmash band he is/was in. (I looked them up when I got home. They're good.) He signed my ticket and my copy of his CD. Then I spoke to Jason Webley and told him about Dan Kahn & THe Painted Bird, because his set reminded me of them. We started talking about his music, and he suggested I stick around after to talk more. Cooool. He signed my ticket, and then Amanda did. I didn't have much to say to her, oddly enough. Usually when I meet band people after shows I always feel a little adrenaline rush, and a compulsion to matter to them or interact on some personal level, but I knew I didn't have anything special to say to her, so I just thanked her for an awesome show and for doing everything she does, and went to hang out in the lobby and wait for Jason.

Izzy and I struck up a conversation about Ben Folds with another kid while we waited, and then Jason came out and we chatted for a bit. He said he really likes Montreal, and he suggested we all chill after, go out for coffee or something. He said they were leaving in the morning so he might as well not sleep the night. We talked about music some more - I told him I'm teaching myself accordion, I'm into klezmer music, I'm in between bands at the moment, music stuff. After a bit he went to talk to the tour manager for a minute and then we chatted some more. He asked me for my number in so we could meet up after he took care of some work, and later he decided he'd just go sleep since he was feeling too tired to go out. He asked me to email him so we could talk more, though, and I left him with the name of the band I thought he'd like.

I am so glad I'm not an awkward teenie anymore and can have an actual intelligent and interesting conversation with, uh, touring rockstars.

All in all, an absolutely wonderful concert experience. Concert karma is repaying me.

Today I see Cirque du Soleil with my family and Simon. I am so fucking stoked. What a fantastic weekend.

Obligatory Christmas rant from a Jew

So tonight's the first of eight nights of Chanukah. (Yes, I do pronounce the guttural, back of the throat, hard H sound.) I spent the first night of Chanukah playing Handel's Messiah and Mendelssohn's Magnificat with my orchestra and a choir, I'm going to be doing the same thing tomorrow night. I did it last year, too, and probably the year before.

I get really bitchy about Christmas. I hate how Christmas has become this big cultural monster eating up the entire period between November 1 (once Halloween hype is over, of course. Cobwebs and chocolate make way for tinsel and candy canes) and December 26.

I hate how it's become so embedded in the western culture that Christmas isn't a holiday of the Christian community, it's moved beyond that - there are Christmas-ians: people who don't consider themselves Christian, or don't partake in any other aspect of the Christian religion, but who do celebrate Christmas, because "everyone can enjoy Christmas spirit and cheer!" It's not a holiday that you celebrate only in your home or religious centre, the way most holidays are. Christmas isn't just the tree and the family and the presents in the morning. Christmas also means invasive, irritating, ever-present canned radio music and the infinite variations on the same jingles. Christmas also means themed advertising pushing us to buy stuff even more because that's what you do for Christmas! You buy presents and expect them.

Christmas (hey, look at the first six letters of the word!) is about the birth of an iconic figure in one particular religion. That has nothing to do with spending time with your family and friends, or exchanging gifts. Why can't there be a non-denominational holiday where people can celebrate love and friendship? Why does it have to be connected to religion? There could also be a gift-exchanging holiday, where we can buy presents for each other as a demonstration that we value each other and are aware of each others' interests. It could even be the same holiday!

I was going to make a joke about being a grinch, but it also pisses me off that disliking Christmas would make one "a grinch". I don't dislike happiness, joy, family, friends, food, vacation time, decorations, or music. I really do like the idea of families and friends coming together to spend a happy holiday together. I just hate the stupid fucking commercial bullshit that takes over the western world for two months every winter, and I hate that it's such a fucking gauntlet that anyone who doesn't celebrate it must run.

Coincidentally, I am celebrating my own religion's holiday for eight days, starting today. I want to light candles on my chanukiah, sing the songs, eat latkes, and see my family. I didn't do that tonight, because my orchestra was playing a Christmas-themed concert. I won't be doing it tomorrow, for the same reason. I'm glad my holiday has six more days. It's funny how Christmas is actually two weeks away and yet it's stepping on my Chanukah from all the way over there.

I wanna go Chanukah caroling. Booyeah, trolled yer holiday.

EDIT: Some things that occurred to me post-rant venty feeling.

- I know I left out "people who do it right" in this rant - but that's mostly because people who do it right don't make me want to rant.

- My irritation with Christmas insanity is not geared towards people who celebrate the birth of Jesus by coming together with their family. And yeah, it actually is pretty nice that people who don't believe in Jesus use it as an opportunity to see their family, etc.

- I don't have anything against exchanging gifts as a commemoration of personal appreciation of friends and family.

- I would be very interested in seeing some numbers and statistics measuring Christmas-celebrators, Chanukah-celebrators and Kwanzaa-celebrators in Montreal, because I know Christmas outstrips Chanukah in terms of number of people who celebrate, but that doesn't mean there isn't a significant Jewish population that could be represented in the mainstream culture. People get irritated by "politically correct holiday greetings" but the reason they're used is because people who use them are conscious that Christmas isn't the only holiday being celebrated by a large number of people at this time of the year.

- For the record, my family doesn't actually do Chanukah gifts. When I was little, my grandparents would give me Chanukah gelt - chocolate coins or loonies/twonies, but we don't actually exchange presents. I know that's not the case for most Jews, though.

things that have been occupying a lot of my time lately
simply syndicated podcasts
watching star trek online
watching whose line is it anyway online
stressing out about school
daydreaming fiercely about moving out
amanda palmer
genderfuckery
getting excited for winter break and actual hangout time with my boyfriend and my best friend and my friendfriends
lady gaga
thinking about how much i want to inappropriately jump demi lovato's bones
raging at twilight and twihards
super smash bros melee
being really vain
adam lambert

I just got invited to discuss gender in sci-fi on one of my favorite podcasts! And it can wait until after finals so I can actually prepare!

(I tweeted the makers of the podcast in response to their recent episode about women in sci-fi about a point I disagreed with, and I got a DM inviting me to speak at some point!)

I'm going to be combing Star Trek, Firefly, Dollhouse, Star Wars, Farscape, Doctor Who, The Fifth Element, a whole slew of comics and movies based on them, ummmmm I can't think of any others. This is so exciting!

Today's song of the day : Leeds United by Amanda Palmer

Picture of the day

I want to unpack all the objects I love into a new home. I want to live in a good apartment, with good people, in a good neighborhood. I want to furnish myself a happy, beautiful, comfortable apartment that is a good space to come home to.

I want a kitchen where I can cook all my favorite foods, where I can sit alone with my meal and a good book, or with people who matter to me.

I want to curl up on the couch and watch the TV shows I like on an actual television instead of hunching over my laptop, in bed. I want to play video games alone and with my friends.

I want a bedroom with a big, comfortable IKEA mattress sitting on the bedframe with the drawers underneath. I want Expedit bookshelves and a desk and a closet where I can put all my favorite things.

I want a cat, or more than one cat, to love and hold and play with and take care of. I want a friendship with a non-human.

I want safe space, where I can be responsible (and irresponsible!) for myself, and mature and immature. I want space that is mine.

blog-warming

So I have this blog now.

I wanted a public blog for non-emo venting, music recommendations, concert and album reviews, social commentary/ranting, and lists (lists make me happy).

Today's list:

top ten favorite albums ever
in no particular order
Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer
Empires - Howl
My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade
Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright - Poses
Rufus Wainwright - Want One
Rufus Wainwright - Want Two
Fall Out Boy - Folie A Deux
Fall Out Boy - From Under The Cork Tree
Marianas Trench - Masterpiece Theatre

some other favorites that are not all-time
but still much loved
The Used - Lies For The Liars
Phantom Planet - Raise The Dead
The Hush Sound - Goodbye Blues
The Hush Sound - Like Vines
Green Day - American Idiot
The Killers - Sam's Town
Against Me! - New Wave
Mindless Self Indulgence - You'll Rebel To Anything
Cobra Starship - ¡Viva La Cobra!