randomness

couple things...

• if you come and visit me in chicago, i will show you a good time. my old high school friend, bryce, is here visiting for a couple days. so what do i do? i scour craigslist in search of last-minute tickets to see dave chappelle do his stand-up act at rosemont theatre tonight. done and done. i've never laughed so long and so hard in my life. dave brought the good shit.
• for all of you colorado dwellers, my uncle just opened a vegetarian asian restaurant in aurora, co. very eclectic, trendy, and healthy. help a brotha man out and go eat there! drop my name, and i'm sure he'll hook you up. i'm his favorite nephew afterall! here's the link to windows cafe.
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• attention all chicago bicyclists: on friday, august 25 around 5:30 pm, let's meet at the daley plaza (washington and dearborn) for crtical mass. what is critical mass? in short, it's a worldwide bicycle movement. on the last friday of each month, bicyclists take over the streets of downtown chicago. next friday, the chicago critical mass will commemorate the first anniverserary of hurricane katrina. along with riders around the country, chicagoans will roll the streets to remind everyone that the tragedy in the gulf continues. this initiative is being organized by rising tide north america. they're asking massers to decorate their bikes or pass out flyers calling attention to environmental justice for the katrina climate refugees. i did one of these rides in denver years ago, and it was a blast. get ready to go thrift store shopping and by some crazy nawlin' threads. you know i will. email/comment me for more information.

music mania - part 3

lollapalooza. the mother of all chicago music festivals. two days of music bliss. my buddy from college, carl, came out to chicago for the week. he's a big music fan as well (we were in a college rock band together). what better way to show him downtown and its great music scene than to go to the fest. also got to meet up with an old high school friend, sara, at the shows. we got our groove on.

a sample of some of the bands we caught: gnarls barkley, common, kanye west, ben kweller, go! team, hot chip, wilco, and red hot chili peppers. amazing lineup. amazing crowds.

drunk carl, sara, and i gettin' down to kanye.

music mania - part 2

pitchfork music festival. an indie rocker's paradise. if you haven't checked out pitchfork on the the internet yet, you're missing out on some damn good music reviews. this site has such a massive following, a good review of your album can launch your career. it also means that this festival was sold-out.

this is where julie, my music partner-in-crime came to the rescue. she scored two VIP passes courtesy of her sister's boyfriend who works for emusic.com (another great site to score great indie rock/blues/jazz tunes). we had backstage watching/listening access. mingled with (male) rockers that all sported the tight, tight jeans look (i think i heard my balls whisper thank you to me). chowed on free food. drank free beer. left the VIP area every once in a while to hang out with the "commoners." ahh, it feels good to be important. or pretend at least.

i must say, we had the most fun at the side stage tent with the lesser-known bands and djs. we were digging cansei de ser sexy (css), a crazy brazilian band that had a lead singer wearing a rainbow/leopard skin leotard and glen kotche (the drummer from wilco) doing a jaw-dropping solo percussion set. we shook our booties to djs a-track and diplo. we liked diplo so much that we went to smart bar for his afterset and danced the rest of the night away. let me tell you, that girl can dance. she wore me out. nice work, jules.

the highlight of the festival had to be the icecream man. this guy is amazing. he's trying to roll in his icecream truck around the country giving away free ice cream bars. so for the VIPers, we had free, all-day access to this guy. the fat kid in me ate a lot of ice cream that weekend. i hung out there so much that i'm even on his website! *click on the link and click on page 2 of the pics*


truckin' to the grand finale, lollapalooza.

music mania - part 1

i left my ipod and all its glory at home for safe keeping during my travels. if you know about my love of music, you know there were some tears shed when i said goodbye it. that also means i was craving music as much as a fat kid craves cake (hey. i can say this, because i once was that fat kid!) when i got back to the states.

i confess. i went on a live-music binge. you see, i’m keeping my word about making this one of my best summers ever.

first stop, wicker park fest. my old stomping grounds. it was nice to be back and feel the vibe of this "i'll never wear j.crew but i'll blow all my money at second-hand boutique shops to look shabby-chic" area of chicago. rob walters, a great keyboardist/organist, and karl denson, one of my favorite modern saxophonists, played a free show busting out some funky grooves. it felt good. real good.

then a quick trip to indianapolis. i spent most of my short time there at home, getting fed. well fed. but i did take some time to go see my buddy will and go to “the roots” concert that was conveniently happening when i was in town. Of course, being indiana, the legendary roots crew were playing at 8 seconds saloon (click the link. you’ll be just as shocked as i was). yep, a country western bar. what?!? anyway, the roots put on an amazing show, while i was jamming on the country line dancing dance floor. that’s indiana for you.

i’m pretty picky with live hip-hop/rap. usually i leave shows disappointed, because most of the time, rappers just bring on a dj and play their songs exactly like their cd. with the roots though, they’re the complete opposite. they’re an actual band, with the lead “singer” being the rapper. they rocked the house, improvising, soloing, covering random songs, and providing massive energy. dope.

next stop, indie rock.