One more thing...

Check out Le Emily's NIN recap - I left out some key points, but Emily covered it all!

And please go and check out the new album from Leaving Rouge, Elsewhere. You will not be dissappointed. Big Matt approved.

...Hang in there...

Okay, I've moved on to Coke Zero. Energy level is decreasing...must have natural energy source...fooooood...remember, this is living! This is feeling alive!

Nine Inch Nails vs. Toledo

Roadtrips are always fun, right? Right. No Toledo traffic, a decent Mexican dinner at a restaurant with antler chandeliers (yep, that's right, Mexi-moose!) and Tecate (yums), watching coporate types 'speed dating' (they were just there on a bar crawl...still funny to observe, as we failed to steal their free drinks)...actually, I've never driven through 'downtown' Toledo. It's an attractive area - lots of restaurants on the water, tall buildings, boats. We missed the opener on purpose, and we got ready for Muscles McGee and the rest of the band.

FANTASTIC SHOW! It was like watching them in a high school gymnasium, but without the cheerleaders and much better sound! At Joe Louis, we were on the far side of the stage, so we never received the full effect of the video presentations or light show. This time around, we had a perfect view of everything...and the venue was so small. There couldn't have been more than 6,000 people there. We got our 'costume change' (long sleeve dress shirt to sleeveless shirt - YES!) and we got hit with so much muscle (TR decided to flex for effect during "Getting Smaller"...well, he certainly isn't...) and so many hits - lots from 'With Teeth', not enough from 'The Fragile' or 'The Downward Spiral' (we only got 'Closer' and 'Eraser'...boo), BUT WE HEARD 'DEAD SOULS'! Fun fact: Ron was The Crow for Halloween one year in high school. If you get him drunk enough, he just might let you take a look at the picture.

BUT here's where Ms. Complainy comes to town. During the previous night's show in Grand Rapids, TR walked off stage after a lighter hit him in the face three-quarters of the way through Hurt. He threw down his keyboard and stormed off - minutes later, the house lights came on, and Mr. FuckHead-Lighter-Javelin-Guy got a serious beating from the crowd. Usually, the curtain comes down, they play a song, curtain comes up, they rock out for a couple more then end with 'Head Like A Hole', destroying everything on the stage. Hot, meaty aggression - best.

So last night, NIN goes right into HLAH, without the curtain. I think, 'what a fucking diva..I bet they'll just end it here and not play 'Hurt' or go into an encore.' Guess who was right? ME. A mic stand was thrown and TR tossed his guitar up like a little girl. No destruction, no mayhem. They walked off the stage and house lights came on.

I completely understand his reaction from last night - he should walk off if someone is being THAT disrespectful. But Toledo loves you guys! We rocked out! We sang, we clapped along, we didn't throw anything (well, aside from ONE bra), and you take from us the ultimate sing-a-long opportunity. Back at JLA, every single person was singing along to 'Hurt' and you know what? It was kinda moving. It meant something. So, Trent, get over it. We drove an hour-and-a-half. We made the effort to come and rock out. Don't punish us because of a FuckHead who doesn't represent the majority of your fans.

He'd better get over it before NIN get to Richmond, or Amber and Chris will come after every single one of them with shovels.

So far, so good...

Dillinger Escape Plan+Electric Six=Extreme Wake-Up Call.

And it worked. Nothing like a mid-week roadtrip to make you feel alive. Liz -1, My Body-0!

Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY

Two days until we get our faces blown off by aggro-rock and supreme hotness. Check this out:


Aaron North is gonna go OFF in Toledo on Tuesday! YEAHHHHHHH!

So, I've been called a wuss. Not the first time, trust me. This time, I'm gonna throw all wussosity out the window. A certain Sassy Sarah has called me out and now, with my head held high, I will walk the walk along with the talk. I am going to try out for the Detroit Derby Girls. This Thursday, I'll check out the meet and greet and see if I can throw down. Yeah, I'll be a rookie, but if I can wear hot little outfits and play Bully for a day, you'd better hide your lunch money. I'm comin' for YOU!

And EVERYBODY loves Dance Dance Revolution. It was officially unveiled on Friday and it was a hit. Nothing like some alcohol, some Euro-Japanese-synth pop, and some friendly competition to spice up the evening. It's only just the beginning...survey says that on Wednesday at Maplehurst, there will be dance dancing and drink drinking. Don't be afraid...we all have to learn sometime.

New Music Thursday

Muchas gracias to Le Emily for the Goldfrapp and Ladytron...I feel much better this morning. It's gonna be a great day!

On cloud 999...

Most of you know that I am a die-hard Liam Lynch fan, along with two other awesome bitches. Well, here is a recent post from his journal:

...I'm also working on a lot of music and music videos with my friend Matt Crocco of Sifl and Olly fame. We're currently putting the finishing touches on possibly the most psychotic song we've ever made. I'm working on a lot of computer animations and graphics for the video now. This video may cause you to have the urge to eat spiders after you view it.
love,
Liam

I cannot fully explain how happy this makes me. PLUS he now has a video podcast available through iTunes called Lynchland. PLUS the 'Tenacious D' movie, directed by Sir Liam, will be out later on this year - rumored release in Rocktober.

Order now and get a free cheetah. Get me directions to llama school. I'm Baxter Griefdeath and this is my friend, King Splash. ANSWER THE PHOOOONE....sorry about that. He's such a sweetie. Just look at him! He gets into my head and then it's all over, kids.

We're gonna ride that Dorkwave from here on out...

Dorkwave - aw, shit, they did it again. Some notes:

Wearing paper streamers is the new essential party accessory.

Jax and Toddy stuck it out for the first hour - thanks, graaahs!

Pinatas are always supposed to be light-hearted, never dangerous.

I wanted to shoot down that stupid cupid kid with his own goddamn arrows.

Mary Abraham, you are a dance, dance revolution - and I love you!

Dancing to "Love Will Tear Up Apart" is a foolish idea. But since when has being a fool ever stopped anyone? Best way to go about this is to sway and look pensive.

Ron exchanged heated stares with a shirtless bitch of a man. "The dance floor is over THERE." Ron had the upper hand - his shirt was on. Guess what? When Corktown is at capacity, you are the dancefloor. Ass.

Peabs is crazy...and I still don't know what an Abe Lincoln is.

Fishnets + Marilyn Manson boots = Hot Girl Overload.

To whomever stole Jackie's coat - we're coming after you.

Dancing to Loverboy and Blondie all in the span of ten minutes? It don't get no righter. And I heard some "Funky Cold Medina."

The table on the other side of Leo's screaming "Opa" and cheering everytime a plate was lit on fire was the perfect punctuation mark for the evening. It was like their birthdays, Hannakuah and Christmas on one delicious plate.

I haven't had a rock and roll night like that in a long time. Emily will have photos soon, I'm sure. As always, tons of fun, my throat is killing me, and I just finished a hearty Sunday breakfast at Toast. Details about The Dirty Show tomorrow. Time to watch some movies...and remember Trent's warning:

"SOMETHING'S GONNA GET BROKEN!"

WOXY vs. $9.95/month - Steel Cage Death Match

To most, this is old news, reported first by Big Matt, but I just wanted to put in my two cents. WOXY is now offering a premium pay service for $9.95/month. You get a CD-quality broadcast stream, TBA incentives, exclusive music news and blog access, and early download privileges for the Lounge Act sessions. Um, yeah, you can also have over 150 channels through the satellite radio provider of your choice for 2-3 dollars more per month. This is clearly a desperate attempt for WOXY to stay afloat. The station claims that:

"Unfortunately, at the moment, advertisers just don't know what to think about us. Are we a website or a radio station? Is our audience local or (inter)national? How do we track who's listening? Everyone is intrigued by what we're doing, but advertisers are not quite ready to throw enough ad dollars our way to make it work."

I think that this a poor excuse. Your sales team is the group that doesn't know what to think, or apparently how to sell. The business model is out there, it's just that those who are in charge of WOXY haven't a clue how it works. It isn't hard to gather tracking/demographic information - there are services out there for just this purpose. I'm not trying to wag my finger at anyone - the station got really lucky after they went off the air when they received a general grant from, and I quote, "two anonymous angel investors" who gave them the capital to start up again as an internet-only station. I can only assume that there was little planning for the future and now they have to start charging.

Now, The Bright Side: they are still going to offer a low-quality stream free of charge. Personally, I can't afford to spend ten dollars a month extra on something I've had for free over the last year. Things like gas, beer, food, and comic books are much higher on my survival list. I will continue to listen to WOXY and I will donate now that they have an applicable link.

I just hope this ends well. KEXP is always my second in command, so at least I have a back-up. More as this develops...

SORRY - I don't know why my fonts are all effed up.

Here we go...

Some upcoming shows to get you hungry for more...

3/05/06 The Damnwells - The Shelter
3/08/06 Teo Leo/Pharmacists - Blind Pig
3/18/06 Ben Folds-Michigan Theater
3/24/06 James Blunt - Majestic Theater
4/01/06 Electric Stick - Magic Stick
4/04/06 Poison the Well - Majestic Theater
4/05/06 Beth Orton - Majestic Theater
4/07/06 Maria Taylor/Mates of State - Magic Stick
4/07/06 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Blind Pig
4/15/06 Metric - St. Andrew's Hall
4/18/06 Death Cab For Cute/Franz Ferndinand-State Theater
5/10/06 "Shirts for a Cure" Tour w/ Thursday, Minus the Bear, more-St. Andrew's Hall

I'm sure I've left something out - looks like spring has sprung!

Quote of the Weekend

"Does Trent Reznor realize that he makes the perfect songs for strippers to dance to?" These songs include Sunspots, With Teeth, Reptile, Please, etc.

I don't think that he does, but I couldn't agree more. Thanks to Jax for saying what we were all thinking.