The Brian Jonestown Massacre

I don't go to many shows these days, but I made an exception for this one. In fact, I drove over an hour to SLC on a work night, so you know I wanted to see them. Arrived in time to see the entire opening set of The Quarter After, which was a mistake. They were quite boring and bland--not sure why Anton (of the BJM) let them on the tour, as he is very picky about music.

The Velvet Room is a pretty cool place to see a show. The stage is huge and the place is big enough to accommodate a large crowd, yet you still have that intimate club feel. I went to the front of the stage for the second band, The Warlocks. I'd heard their stuff before and was impressed, and they were pretty good live. Had it not been for the poor sound mix, they would have been great. Instruments drowned out the vocals. They are a seven member band, including two drummers and two sexy seductresses on keyboards and bass.

Fortunately, Anton was in good spirits tonight. I saw him shuffling around the club throughout the night, and then he had a nice chat with his mom on stage before they went on. Anton's not your normal rock star. The more I think about it, he seems to be a cross between a schizophrenic perfectionist and autistic. Mix that with plenty of alcohol, and you're never quite sure what will occur on stage.

Thankfully, tonight's crowd was mostly well behaved and didn't try to antagonize him into walking off stage, fighting with his band, or kicking an audience member in the head, as has happened on many other occasions. We did get to witness a classic Anton moment though when he abruptly stopped midway through a song and reprimanded his band mates for f-ing it up. After a quick audience vote, it was decided that they would do the song again instead of moving on.

Anton keeps a very tight reign on his band members, which is why so many (dozens) of them have moved on to other projects, The Warlocks being one of them. The only unchanging feature of the BJM is Anton himself and the music. Speaking of the music, it was great last night. The sound was really good and Anton was pitch perfect as always. My only complaint, and it's a small one, is when they let a song go on for far too long, doing one of those extended jams at the end. I hate those.

Overall a great show. I'm glad I went, even if I didn't get home until 2:00 am and only got 3 hours of sleep last night. I just need to make it through today and then crash for a nap after I get home.

Kayaking on Provo River

Dave and Julie drove down this morning to garage sale with me. We both found some good bargains. Drove back with Dave to his house to help him put together his shed. Worked for a couple hours and then loaded my kayaks into his truck and headed up Provo Canyon. (FYI: These are the sit-on-top style of kayaks)

Because of all the snow and rain we got this year, the river is higher and faster than I've ever seen it. It would have been suicide to try running the lower section. Above the damn near Nunn's Park it was much calmer. We left my car there and drove up to just below Deer Creek Reservoir where others were launching rafts and kayaks.

I gave Dave a quick lesson on steering and we were off. The flow was pretty fast and there was nice spacing of rapids along the whole way. Dave flipped over twice, but managed to hold onto his kayak and paddle until he could climb back in. With the snow melt, the water was quite cold.

The scenery was beautiful along the way. It was a great time to go because the river will probably never get this high again for a long time. As it was we had to lay flat against our kayaks to slide under one bridge. Exited the river at the damn and made the mistake of getting out on the wrong side of the river. Had to hike a ways down a trail with the boats before crossing to the other side at a bridge.

I foolishly locked my keys in Dave's truck back at the top, but we managed to hitch a ride with some guys. We rode in the back of their truck with a friendly black lab. Drove back down, loaded up the gear, then hit Carl's Jr. for some dinner. Love their criss-cut fries. Drove home after--sunburned, sore, and tired. Great day though.

Cat Tales

It was a rough day at work yesterday. I had a friend at lunch tell me the cat might start screaming out, drawing attention to it. What if it died in the cage? What if it pooped all over itself?

Then my uncle, who is a true animal lover, offered me $200 to release the cat and never do this again. While it was a very generous and tempting offer, I decided I'd rather not drive around in a dirty car for years to come. Besides, it put me in the worst mood every morning right before driving to work. Since I'm already prone to severe road rage, the last thing I need is an additional catalyst before I even get behind the wheel.

I called Animal Control to schedule a pickup after work, but they told me they don't schedule. They just come when they can. Plus, they aren't allowed to go into a garage or shed. They said I'd have to bring it in myself or keep it another day. Great! The last thing I wanted to do is move the cat around again or worse, put the fur shedding machine inside my car.

Pulling into the driveway, I was dismayed to see the old lady next door pulling weeds in her front yard... within perfect view of the shed and my car. I went inside to think. Decided to get the cat some water asap. Brought a bowl out and opened the door. Thankfully the cat was ok and there was no poo in sight. Cracked the cage door open enough to slide the water bowl in, but the car went crazy again and knocked it over. Fine.

My window of opportunity arrived when my neighbor hobbled inside for a drink or something. Placed a towel down in my trunk and grabbed the cage. I wore leather gloves this time so I could hold the cage better without fear of being clawed. I have to admit, I did feel guilty when I shut the trunk on the poor kitty. Reminded me of a scene from Goodfellas.

I was just in time, as the old lady was making her way back out. Quickly started up the engine and turned on the stereo to cover up any potential cat noises. Drove across town to Animal Control. Thoughts that went through my head on the way there:

1. What if I get pulled over and the cop says: "Pop the trunk"
2. What if the cat pukes all over my interior?
3. What if I get rear ended?
4. What if the cat passes out from the heat? I'm not giving it mouth to mouth.
5. What if the owners are there looking for their cat when I arrive?

None of that stuff happened.

The cat was calm when I brought it out of my trunk, probably because of the blinding sunlight. Carried it inside and got my $50 deposit back. Not that it will make cat lovers feel any better, but the cat wasn't wearing a collar, nor was it groomed in any way. It was a huge ball of fur that hadn't been brushed in ages and looked to be a wild cat from all appearances.

And so ends my cat story. At least I hope it ends here.