I was on vacation with my relatives in Florida when John Entwistle died in 2002. While we were in the van, getting ready to go wherever, my aunt told me, “Oh… The guy in that band you wanted to see died last night.” I don’t remember if she said guitar player or guy, but I spent that trip to wherever thinking “IS IT PETE? IS IT ROGER? IS IT JOHN? WILL THE TOUR GO ON? MAN THAT SUCKS FOR MAURINE.” I was supposed to go with her and two other online friends to see the Who at Madison Square Garden, but because I’d have to sleep over my friend’s apartment, my aunts and dad said no. I never told them that I met these friends online. The new york girl was “the friend I met at the Met,” which is kind of true…

So we came back from the trip, my dad came back from the Philippines, and I somehow convinced all of them to let me go. I don’t remember if I said, “WHAT IF THE OTHER TWO DIE??? THEN I WON’T BE ABLE TO SEE THEM EVERRRR.” or said something about being a good kid who doesn’t go anywhere. It was probably a combination of both. Because of the backstory and the show itself, it’s probably one of, if not my favorite concert… and I lost the blog post about it.

Last night, I saw the Who (or to some people “Pete, Roger, Ringo’s son, and the guy who was brought in to play bass when John died”), but this time with my younger cousin. He doesn’t listen to the Who often, but I think he really enjoyed the show. How can you not? I can’t even imagine what it would be like to see them during the late 60s / early 70s. The setlist was basically the same as the show I went to in New York, except with all the new songs added in. (update: I found the MSG show setlist and it totally wasn’t the same, but that’s okay) By the way, I kind of like the new songs a bit more now that I’ve heard them live. I really wanted them to play Substitute, but they played The Seeker, which made up for it.

Highlights for me: The crowd booing the opening act*, The Seeker, everyone singing along to Behind Blue Eyes, the graphics on the screen during the Wire & Glass mini-opera (hello layout inspiration!), everyone going nuts and screaming along to Baba O’Riley, Sparks, the whole freaking show.

* The opening act was Peeping Tom. I didn’t really like them. Everyone around us hated them and probably thought the same thing, “What the hell are they doing opening for The Who?”

P.S. People who get so drunk at concerts that they start falling down and knocking into families should just stay home. Same goes for people who throw bottles.
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Last night, my roommate told me that they might use our campus apartment for tours and we get paid for it. She said someone was going to check our apartment and, if it’s clean enough, they’ll use it. Immediately, I start cleaning up my side of the room because it needs it and $$ for cleaning my room and showing it off to people? SURE.

I was almost finished cleaning when I paused, turned to my roommate and said, “This isn’t some kind of elaborate plan to get me to clean my side of the room, is it?”

It wasn’t a joke, but it would be a great way to trick a roommate into cleaning his or her side of the room, wouldn’t it?

If only it worked for other things:
HEY! SOMEONE WILL GIVE US MONEY IF YOU WASH YOUR DISHES.
HEY! SOMEONE WILL GIVE US MONEY IF YOU SHOWER.

I haven’t written about my senior project class yet. I don’t know why I’ve been putting it off. Let’s see… We’ve been put into teams and each team is working with a small buisness from the area. We’re designing a logo, a brochure, and a website for them. Exciting and scary.

What does our client do? I want to say, but I don’t want to say… because it’s mob-related.

Not really. I made that part up.

If your day/night/life/whatever cannot go on without knowing (it’s not that interesting!), comment and ask. I’ll email you back.
My partner is nice, but I think he hates me. I also have no idea what his style is like, but I got a bad feeling when he looked at my logos and said that he liked the logo that I thought was pure crap.

The Black Keys new album, Magic Potion, is out today. Since I never actually bought their albums (Hello, eMusic free trial!), I went out and bought this one.

Right now, I’m pretty much agreeing with Pitchfork’s review of it. I’m only 7 songs into it and it’s good, but — How do I explain this? I got into them a few months before Rubber Factory was released. Thickfreakness and The Big Come Up blew me away… Then I listened to Rubber Factory and loved that. Those three CDs are filled with songs that I’d blast in my car, dance around to, and just have fun listening to. Magic Potion is good, but it’s not close to The Big Come Up. It’s no Thickfreakness. It’s definitely no Rubber Factory. Right now, it’s kind of putting me to sleep.

Then again, this is my first listen. Maybe I will end up loving it the second time. I’m also a bit angry. I had a really horrible time getting this CD today, and I might be expecting Magic Potion to be the best freaking thing I’ve ever heard to make up for it.
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Maurine: i don’t know a lot of their songs at all, i downloaded an album but never listened to it. i believe they’re swedish though so you can cry out ‘I LOVE SWEDES’
Denise: “PLAY DANCING QUEEN”

[judging from the singer's accent, I think Snow Patrol is from Ireland]

Augustana opened. I don’t really remember much about them. The bass player needed a haircut.
Snow Patrol was good. I recognized the first song. and Chasing Cars. and somewhere a clock is ticking. I wish I knew the rest of the songs. I also wish that they played longer. It seemed like a really, really short show. The crowd was really, really enthusiastic. (really.) Denise was surprised.
I need to go back to the Electric Factory when all my friends are 21. I bet the upper level has a great view.

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Oy vey, facebook. OY VEY.

[names are blocked out because i don't want you to search for my friends on facebook.]

At the beginning of the semester, I usually copy the location and time of my classes onto a piece of paper because I am so freaking scared that I will go to the wrong class. ( WHICH HAS HAPPENED TO ME EVEN THOUGH I WROTE THE RIGHT INFORMATION DOWN. I SPENT ABOUT 15 MINUTES IN CHEMISTRY IV BEFORE I REALIZED THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE NEXT CLASSROOM. )

So, this semester, I have an anthropology class that is being held in the building that the school renovated last year. I expected to feel a little lost. What I didn’t expect was to find a freaking STORAGE CLOSET instead of my classroom! I felt like that high school freshman who is given directions to the swimming pool on the roof. I just stood at the door and thought, “Oh my god, I’ve been punk’d by my school. This is the correct information. WHERE IS MY CLASS? WHAT THE HELL DO I DO NOW?”

(I ended up finding my class and I was still there on time. Actually, that’s a lie. When I found the class, I stood outside of the room like an idiot for a good 10 minutes because I thought all the people in the hallway were in my class and were waiting for the people who were already inside the room to leave.)

maurine: THE CROCODILE HUNTER IS DEAD, THAT IS WHAT IS UP, DENISE.
me: I KNOWWWWWW
….
me: OH MY GOD I JUST HAD A LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU FLASHBACK
maurine: I BET IT WAS JUST LIKE THAT.
me: i am going to find the sting ray that killed my friend and then i am going to kill him
maurine: oh SNAP we have tto get jack hanna on this NOW.

In honor of my last move-in, I’m posting the photo from my college ID, which was taken on my first move-in day. I was having a really BAD day that day. I seriously thought that I was smiling when they took that picture. A few months later, my ID snapped in half. They offered to take a new picture when I bought a new ID, but I didn’t want a new photo. It’s something to talk about when family members or friends see my ID.

update: oh snap! they gave me a new ID when I moved in (but no offers for a new picture), which is fantastic because the little strip on the back of my old one was peeling off.

Vox Hunt of the Day:

Take a photo of a hand-me-down.

These are my dad’s boots. He bought them in Newark around 1981 and wore them when he got married to my mom. My mom was always telling my dad to get rid of them in the 90s, so he hid them in the garage. I found them a few months ago. They’re in really good shape for a pair of 25 year old boots. The boots I bought four years ago look worse than these do. They don’t fit him anymore, but they almost fit my feet. I just need really thick socks while wearing them.

P.S. I have 2 Vox invites for anyone who wants one.