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![[I come from a Punk Rock family.]](family.jpg "[I come from a Punk Rock family.]")
"The Prettiest Star" by David Bowie. Play Count: 19
I rode my bike around the Willamette River today. It looks like the last sunny day for a little while. It was peak cherry blossom time on the west side. As I went under the Morrison bridge, I saw a sea lion swimming. No one else seemed to notice. #
The end of 2023 was made a little more complicated by the Portland Schools Teacher Strike. After it was resolved, we had a shorter winter break and lost a few days off during the rest of the school year. I hope we can keep it steady in 2024.
Oscar is going to be 8 years old tomorrow. It's so fun to watch him grow up. He's an avid reader and loves math.
I've been working on my iOS Site App. It's only on TestFlight right now. It's been fun to use it to see what I've seen on this day. Lately I've been digging into a historical archive I have of the data of my iTunes listening since 2006. I've learned more about SQL in the process. I've also spent a lot of time trying to "clean" the data so it is consistent over time. Once that is done, my hope is to be able to add this data to the program too. #
I read quite a bit more this year than I have for awhile. It's been fun. Here's what I read in order. I haven't quite finished the last one yet, but I bet I do in a few days.
My friend Dan invited me to this noise show. One of the performers was in a band with Dan's brother. It was like nothing I'd seen in a long time, and I had a good time. I'll describe the performers in order. Chaotic - When I first walked in a tall guy with long hair and a beard who has a mask on and a fuzzy yellow full body kid costume. The place is small and he runs up the alley between the booths and bar just yelling right in my face. I just stood there trying not to laugh. It was over crazy fast beats. Musical - Laptop, bass, and lots of pedals. Hypnotic - Lots of pedals and some more we could not see in a box. No computer. Interesting hand held trigger. Complicated - More twisty cables than I’ve ever seen hooked into a laptop. Perhaps included a 3D render of the performers head projected behind him?
Mark Arm still has his voice. I've no idea how; if I even tried to do it, I'd break down coughing. They went through all the hits. It was so much fun to see them. Aladdin is such a great place for a show too. We had a great spot. We could see it all. I went with my brother and two other friends. My family was just getting sick, so I had a unique night. I wore my mask the entire time, and I didn't drink any beer. I do not know the last time I've seen a show without having a beer! I liked the songs of Mudhoney's that I hadn't heard before. It was also interesting to see them shortly after I'd finished reading Steve Turner's "Mud Ride" memoir. I really should get the rest of their catalog. Seems like they'll keep on rocking, and I'll be sure to see them again.
I wasn't always perfect about tracking the dates of shows. Early on, I guess I'd write them down without a date. In later years, I'd remember going to the show but wouldn't have tracked it soon enough to know the date. Bill Johnson helped me out on Facebook with six unknown dates from Starcourse shows. He found a list of names physical folders archived somewhere at the University of Illinois. Thanks, Bill!
Now I just have to find an archive of Blind Pig and Trito's shows from that era too. #
Devo went out on tour to commemorate 50 years of de-evolution. They played many of the hits. I looked back and re-read what I wrote about other Devo shows I've seen. This show was similar, and it was also super fun. It started off with an introduction from Big Entertainment's Rod Rooter in 2023. He's balding and has turned over the business to his son. He still dislikes Devo. The band then started with more synthesizer songs, and the latter half of the show was more guitars. The core members are all in their 70s now, but I wouldn't have guessed it unless I already knew. The graphics shown behind the band were great. There were bits of the videos we all knew. Mixed in were new graphics that iterated on classic Devo iconography. The energy domes rendered in 3D twisted upon each other into infinity, for example. Towards the end of the show during "Beautiful World" they displayed a graphic while Booji Boy was saying they'd see us in 2073 with 100 years of de-evolution. He wanted us to mutate. See you then!
While planning a trip to Los Angeles to see friends I haven't seen in awhile, Marc suggested we try going to a show. The Breeders were playing "Last Splash" in its entirety. I went with Marc, Dennis, and Marc's friend Julie. We were in the second to last row up in the mezzanine. It was a beautiful venue. The band were about the size of an iPad on your lap however. Regardless it was a fun show. It sounded terrific. Kim Deal seemed to be having fun. About halfway through she said "This is the last song on side one. Almost time to get up off the couch to flip the record." Another time she said "Things are getting weird" and the bassist and drummer switched instruments, which is what I guess happened on the record. After they finished the record, the first song of the encore was Kim's "Gigantic" from "Surfer Rosa". Kim was on bass for this, and it was awesome. They played even more hits from their career in the encore. The opener for this show was Belly, but we did not watch them since we were all catching up with each other. During the encore, Tanya from Belly, who was on "Pod", played "Happiness is a Warm Gun" with the band. It was a great night out with old friends.
Almost like clockwork, Osees came through town 364 days since I'd seen them last. Instead of sitting on the mezzanine, I was on the floor this time. The openers were terrific; they were super fast and loud. Osees started playing over the PA music to start their set in a flash. The band was the same lineup as last year. It once again was awesome to watch the two drummers. There was a mosh pit near us for most of the show. They played all the hits; I had a blast. It was one of those shows were things are going so great that you just have to laugh out loud. I got to go with another old friend who has moved to Portland. We caught up before and after the show. I am very tired as I write this the next day.
I've been updating this web site for 25 years now! Thanks for reading over the years. The site started sometime before the first entry on 9/6/1998, but we'll call it 25 years.
I've been building an iOS application that displays all the shows I've seen. Send me a message if you'd like to get a link to try it out. Thanks again! #
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