there's more to life than this

Eh, top o' the mornin' to ye. Where to start?

Observations on sound: I'll take a moment to reflect on The Day of Attention , the MPE show at the Smell and Hrvatski at the Silverlake Lounge. I'd have to say that the highlights of the DOA were Steve Roden and Quiet American. The performances were all delayed due to a noise level war with the theatre/playhouse next door, causing Brad Laner of Electric Company to lose patience and take off before he performed. I actually liked just about everything I heard and saw at DOA, from the quiet, beautiful soaring pieces by Steve Roden to the wall of sound by a dapper young man whose stage name is something like Cyracyiku (it wasn't on the bill, I didn't get the spelling). The Quiet American is a guy named Aaron who travels the world recording sounds, then reassembles and sometimes remixes them. For the DOA he picked out a bunch of sound files and then set his software to assemble them back together randomly with fades -- we didn't know that until after the performance, and it would not have occurred to me that it was random at all. The result of the randomness was a harmonious blend of ambient sounds--trains, conversations, crackles, cricks and swells. It was a long night but well worth it.

The MPE show at the Smell was also satisfying -- for both the sound experience and the hangin' with fun folks. MPE were seemingly louder than usual -- but I really enjoy the attention to subtlety within the force of big sound. The other groups were all enjoyable in their own, relatively quieter way. Trios and duos of wind and stringed instruments, humming and tapping and blowing and clanging. The funny thing about the final performance is that their choice of clothing (either suited or otherwise well-dressed) and interaction with the surrounding environment (the floor, the walls, flushing the toilet nearby) reminded me of "Stomp!". I know that is probably considered a huge insult, but nevertheless it was my impression. Had they been more shabbily dressed I may not have felt the same way, which is a strange phenomenon. The cartwheels (cheerleader tryouts), penis hats and conversation between bands was fun, as was the hot chocolate, goofin' and thinking up bad things for Truth or Dare Jenga afterwards.

Lastly, the Hrvatski/Greg Davis/Lexaunculpt show was very good. The sound system at the Silverlake Lounge is just amazing -- I was right next to one of the floor subs and the force of the vibrations was such that my pant legs were moving on their own. My body and my clothing were all being just vibrated beyond my control. It was a great feeling! Lexaunculpt and Hrvatski were really good -- I think half of my enjoyment of these shows is watching the performers get off on the music. I know it's probably selfish but it's fortunate for me that these shows tend to have small audiences -- I can get up close and really share the performance -- and, I can rest assured that I won't have a claustrophia-induced blackout panic attack.

The Vagina Monologues were also good, but not nearly as funny to me as it was to the rest of the guffawing audience. In his pre-show nervousness a young guy two seats away from me joked/commented that the show was a great place to pick up hot chicks. Kim Coles and Judy Tenuta were great -- Amy Smart came across as very unsure and shy at first but seemingly "came" into her womanhood later in the show when she read the piece on taking ownership of the word cunt. The Coronet Theatre is also conveniently located across the street from the LIVE NUDE GIRLS theatre as well as the Trashy Lingerie store.

Earlier in the day my mom, sister-in-law and I redeemed our holiday spa gift certificates at Amadeus. I am now figuring out how to put both massages and sky-diving into my monthly budget.

This has probably been the longest birthday celebration ever for me -- today I'm going out with my cuz to have lunch and a movie (she couldn't make it to the family shindig), and next week will have a birthday-related lunch with J. I've had a lot of great experiences and conversations over the past couple of weeks, and am looking forward to more and more. Who says that the party ever has to end? Heheheheheheh...