SHAFTWAXER

So I recently saw a great band called Umphrey’s McGee at the Chicago Theater. I’ve been seeing them for a while, and I really do enjoy their music. I think over the last year or so, they have really stepped up their playing in terms of being a great jam band.

As a band, they got their start in bars, so to have loud, rowdy, drunk people was probably the way it always was. As they got bigger and more popular, they moved out of bars and into clubs and theaters. Unfortunately, most of the drunk fucks followed them. This was unfortunately the case when I saw them. I guess I probably had gotten some delusional idea that it might be a little different at a show in such a nice venue. I obviously was wrong.

Here’s what I don’t get. Why would you get so fucked up at a show that the chances of you remembering what the hell happened are low? Or why would you spend most of the concert out in the lobby waiting in line to get more to drink? But most importantly, why did you waste $35 on a ticket for a show you clearly are not paying attention to? I’m continually astonished at how loud some of these shit heads are talking to each other at the show. They spend so much more time talking to each other than listening to the band. Blows my mind. Seems like a better alternative would be to wait until a day or so after the show and buy the official soundboard recording from the band for $10, play it on your stereo really loud, and drink cheaper while talking really fucking loud to your friends in the comfort of your own living room.

The other joy of joys for me is that it seems like no matter where I go, there is somebody about 17 feet taller than me, and this person without fail will stand directly in front of me. When I saw them for new years at the Aragon Ballroom, it was general admission and an open floor. Short people like me can’t see the stage unless you fight like hell to get up front or get really lucky and manage to stand on the sides on a step. Thinking it would be better at the Chicago with seats and a balcony, I instead end up with Gunthar the Giant. Amazing.

As soon as TicketMaster starts putting a height requirement on some seats, there might actually be a valid reason for their outrageous ticket prices.

That would be me, sitting here with a crazy medicine head. I was doing fine up until I got to a certain point yesterday, then within minutes I went from a healthy boy to a bag of sinus. Fortunately, I had the woman to take care of me and put up with my restlessness last night. As miserable as I was, it was really nice.

Yesterday was interesting to say the least. We went to the east side for a family party. I also knew that this was going to be the first legitimate time for me to have “the conversation” with her parents. It shouldn’t have been much of a surprise to anybody, and considering the little strands of info and other hints, I think anybody with 2 brain cells to rub together could probably figure out that it was going on. I was not at all concerned with their reaction, I know that they like me and approve of us and all that. But still… It’s big. Really big. And it’s important, so after being just fine all day, as we were getting to that point, I started getting nauseous. An extremely attractive prospect isn’t it? It all went well enough. It went on for a while, but all was well. I knew they would be OK with it, and I just pretty much was honest about how I felt. I was clear that I was not asking permission, she’s a big girl who is smart and independent enough to make decisions on her own, but considering how important her family is to her, it was very important to me that they were OK with everything.

As our leases both run out soon at different times over the next couple of months, the process of finding a place to live that will work with her job prospects started to come into play. We found a place that isn’t huge, but will definitely do the trick for us. I really only want to be there for a year before we find a house. There is no point in tossing your money at a management company when you could be investing in yourself instead. Besides, I’m starting to get these strange urges to paint rooms and shit like that. What is most significant about all of this, however, is that the place is on the other side of the state. I’m actually looking forward to this, I think it will be a nice change for me. I have a lot more friends and co-workers over there, but really in the end, I’ll be happy living with her.

Work is going very well. I’m much further ahead this year than I have been in an extremely long time. I’m very focused and very happy with the quality of what I have been turning out. I’m trying to get as much done as fast as I can so I can take a week off and focus on moving my shit out of here in a couple of months. I’ve been here longer than I have been any place since I lived at home before college. I’ll miss some things like the trees and stuff, but it’s time. Time for the next step.

Time to head back to the couch.