This video is of the first two songs at the Guildhall on Monday. There are others popping up now, and some from London on Tuesday (which was also excellent), but the person who filmed the linked vid appears to have been standing three or four people to my right and maybe a couple forward, because that is damn near my view of the stage. Heh.

My sciatic leg is still twinging some but eh, worth it! It didn't help that I went to another standing-only gig on 8 April - Matthew Good, acoustic. Just him singing and playing guitar. (Well, plus his guitar/sound tech cum bartender, lol.) That was at Hoxton Square Kitchen and Bar in the Shoreditch area of east London, which has a massive bar and seating area that must be gorgeous in daylight with all the windows, and then a totally enclosed, totally black back room with a stage and a square old wooden bar, that holds 450 people. It was glorious, at least once I managed to find the damn venue - the relevant Tube station is Old Street, which happens to be located underneath the centre of a roundabout with bits of the same streets running off in all directions. I eventually texted Jack and said I am between these two intersections, which way do I go? LOL.

Matt did a show at a different London bar the following night, and posted this video afterwards. I wasn't anywhere near that close - I stayed by the bar at the back of the room for this one, as it was stiflingly hot in there and there was a bit of cool air coming in from the exit doors. And he didn't come down into the audience like this at the Hoxton show, perhaps because the disco ball was inoperable, which he did express disappointment about, lol. But the feel of my gig was very similar to what's in the video. Also, I actually saw Matt very close up, as, being a back room, there was no backstage and he had to both enter and exit via the main doors by which I was standing! So that was cool. It was also cool that not a person blocked or bothered him when he left. Great crowd.

Wanna hear Paul Anka out-diva anyone I know and rip his crew a new one? Dude. O_O Your language, Paul, for shame! ;-D Reminds me that A at work was talking about Bob Saget's comedy routine this week and how foul-mouthed he was, and T kept going, "Really? Bob Saget???" *sporfle* I honestly think that this is why it continues to surprise people when I swear: I don't sound or look like I *should* be well-acquainted with the word 'fuck' if you don't know me very well. It's like the last drama competition I was in, back in high school. The required monologue was a piece by the queen/stepmother in Snow White and my drama coach said that we were going to work on my body language and economy of movement because nobody was going to believe from my sweet voice that I was evil. :P Of course, come competition day, I was sick and could barely talk, so it didn't matter. My Adjudicator notes did compliment the economy of movement though so the original objective was achieved even if I didn't place. Amusingly, that thought kept popping up whilst originally watching S2 of Roswell, because Jason definitely had excellent economy of movement as Max. :D

matociquala was bemoaning the lack of a hair-petter and someone in comments suggested that this should be a hire-able service, under much the same umbrella as hiring a dominatrix is legal because it doesn't actually involve sex. That would be lovely. Not that I have the funds for a hair-petter, Domme *or* sex worker, lol, but I'm totally on board with missing that sort of thing far more than sex. Quite seriously, I think that the rampant rise of depression in the Western world and a lot of other societal issues can be linked to lack of human contact. Sick babies die if they're not touched, you know. That basic need does not go away just because you become an adult. (More or less, anyway.)

I'm tired today. I did finally get the long sleep I'd wanted, nine hours with minimal interruption - and I even got a kitty sleeping with me for the last couple! Nibbs condescended to enter my bedroom for reasons only he knows. *eyeroll* I'm about half-done my cards. There's those and lots of other stuff to do but I'm having a cocoon-y day where I just want to curl up somewhere and none of it absolutely HAS to be completed today, so I think I might take a little nap.

ETA: OMG how did I forget to link the most adorable photo of Matt Good EVER??? Even if you don't care about MG, look at the pic. He's asleep all cuddled up to his puppy. *warm fuzzies*

Mmm White Russians are yummy. I'm indulging in one and then I'm going to go pass out, lol. (Er, not from one drink, just in general. :P)

The Daily Show writers have this video on YouTube about the strike, done in excellent TDS style. Funny *and* informative, whee.

This is writer Elizabeth Bear's post with an AMAZING painting by Dave Leri that's serving as cover art for her story, Hobnoblin Blues. Her decidedly wibbly description from her previous post:
"I do not get like this about illustrations, but that's the dude. It's perfect, right down to the seventies crotch-shot of the sullen rock star in the strategically frayed jeans in front of the peeling bill-plastered brick."

You get why I linked it up now, right? ;-) Hee. It really is an awesome piece of work.

I didn't know that there was actually a Bridge School Concert collection of songs performed at the school benefits. I'd link, but it's on iTunes, and I can't even look at it because I don't *have* iTunes. *scowls*

Re: the song currently playing: the first time I put on the Hospital Music CD in the car and really *listened* to it, this song came on - it's the closer - and I thought, "OMG that's awfully optimistic for Matt!" And indeed, it is a cover. :D I can't tell you how amused I was that my world was NOT turned upside down by Matthew Good: Sudden Brightsider. Ahahaha.

(Yes, much better day. ♥ )

I *knew* Matt Good would be touring for Hospital Music and yet I guess I blithely assumed that just as with his last tour, it wouldn't come this far east, and I completely forgot about checking his website. Except it is. He's playing right here, in a smallish venue where I would LOVE to see somebody good play, on October 11th. It is, of course, sold out.

I am an idiot. :-(

Cheerfully stolen off looking_spiffy. :D

Ask me anything you want about any of my stories: how I thought of the idea, what I did to write it, what I was thinking when I wrote it, what I feel about it now, what I wish I'd done differently, etc. Or ask any of the characters from particular stories something you want to know, and get an answer from them, or both.

Since 'twas nearly a year ago that I last did this, and there's been rather a lot written since then! Understatement, hee.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Getting paid double-and-a-half time to work today and still getting a paid day off on Wednesday for Independence Day does not suck.

Also, Matthew Good's voice makes me wibble. I'm just sayin'. ♥

Lastly, I know that there are some new people reading the Homecoming+ Mike/Billie arc over at The Establishment. And, well, est_mikebillie might be inactive since there are no new logs, being as the story is done, but I've made a post for any generic commentary anyone might want to leave for the lovely and talented authors. If it's worth squeeing about to your friends, it's worth letting the writers know you love it, too, even if it's just a, "Hey, dude, this is hot!" ;-) *gentle nudge* *climbs off soapbox*


ETA: Anyone who might normally text me - y'all know who you are! - please refrain from doing so until after noon Atlantic time tomorrow. The mother needs to borrow my cell phone in the morning and I'd really rather she didn't accidentally wander through my saved text messages while trying to figure out how to make it stop beeping. *cough*

Peculiar day. The friends I usually spend my time with were off today and Jeff is gone of course, so I spent my lunch and that mostly alone. I haven't done that in a long time and it was strange. I think the strangest part was that it took me quite a while to adjust to *not* spending that time alone, because I always had in previous jobs - I'd read or write over my lunch hour. The one temp position I had when I was doing that gig here was right downtown during September, and I'd walk down to the waterfront and eat lunch watching the kids go on Theodore Tugboat and the guys and their motorcycles, just enjoying the sunshine. September in Halifax is fucking beautiful. It's interesting that I've now grown so accustomed to having friends around me in a lot of situations, so that it feels odd when I'm by myself. Not a bad change to happen. I still need actual solitude and it's not like I can't figure out what to do with myself when nobody's with me (not that, you pervs, I was at work), it's just good to have company that I care about. :-)

I have an interview meme to do but I'm completely stuck after looking_spiffy's random supergroup suggestion broke my brain so I'm putting it off for tonight. Yes, darling, I know that means it'll go up after you leave for Download but you'll be able to see it later and it's your own damn fault anyway. :P *tangoes with you*

In other news, last semester I played APA-style advisor for an English major's psych papers and I'd totally forgotten that she said she'd make me a Green Day collage. Et voilà! Armageddon Flame by linzeestyle. :D Unexpected prezzies are wonderful, thank you hon. *smooches*

Quote of the day: my mother was asking the rhetorical question of why hadn't she done something the easier way, and my dad piped up with this gem:
"We don't understand how your brain works. You talk to shoes."

I cracked up, anyway. xD

Other randomness: I have decided that I prefer the album version of Prime Time Deliverance to the acoustic. The latter is gorgeous, but it cuts off almost the entire original end of the song - which I *like* dammit - and I don't so much like the sampling that replaced it. However, either version or damn near anything else Matt Good's done makes for excellent angsting music so yay.

Aieeeee! I'm having a music afternoon, lol. I've moved on to the Matt Good videos and guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh, dude. Post title is a subtitle type thing in the vid for The Future is X-Rated, which is *awesome*. Heh it stops right in the middle for a fake PSA about helping people to get good-looking. And AND I just about died at the sign with "I hear Matt Good's a real asshole." (Who turns around for asshole?) Ahahahaha *squidges canis_takahari* Dear God, girl, this is killing me. He's such a mischevious BRAT in some of these! xD And some of them are just this big inside joke that doesn't make sense until you've seen them all. *laughs at the gnome*

Next up after I've made my way through all the Good-ness: the documentary from SHOW: A Night in the Life of Matchbox Twenty. *g*

It's another beautiful sunny FUCKING COLD day, lol. By the Canadian definition thereof, not the Californian. ;-) *loves on her Cali people even if they're warm weather babies*

'Tis a good thing that I sacked out and died night before last b/c this morning I woke up wicked early again. I don't know wtf is up with this habit but I don't like it, and it's getting to be a real problem rather than an annoyance, especially since it doesn't seem to matter when I go to bed. It's just that when I wake up a few hours later, my brain kicks into gear and I can't get back to sleep. I've always woken up several times a night but it's usually the kind of "awake" that entails stumbling and the inability to open one's eyes more than a slit, you know? Not this sudden eye-popping wide awake shit.

I updated tasjordan last night, btw, with some rambling about passion. One reason I've been thinking about that, specifically as it relates to love scenes, is b/c I'm basically stuck at a love scene on every one of my current projects. Not only is that annoying, but it's BAFFLING. I mean that's usually the part that flows the *best* for me. Maybe I'm overthinking it or something; I really have no idea. I'd suggest lack of horniness but I think that would conflict with my conviction that listening to Matt Good growl in your ear is practically enough to cause an orgasm all on its own, lol.

Even just the expression "fly by" sounds exhausting tonight, lol. Me going to bed veeeeeery soon. Which is disgustingly early in my *own* time zone, never mind Pacific, but I'm so tired and really not feeling good. So yes, sleep, and lots of it, so I don't *get* sick blech.

I was talking to Cass about wishing something was on the weekend instead of a Wednesday so I could go, and she nodded absently in agreement and then two minutes later, she goes, "I can't believe I heard that come out of your mouth. Since when has it being a Wednesday ever stopped you?" Erm. *blush* She has a point, lol. Except the event in question is the Matt Good concert in Toronto, which is 1800 km away, so in this case it's unfortunately applicable. Gah, especially since it's right before Easter weekend - a long weekend - when I might have been able to swing it, as insane a drive as it would have been. Why the hell couldn't he be a normal Canadian and tour during the fucking SUMMER??!!

(On an amusing side note, I keep typoing his last name as Goof. This seems eminently appropriate. :D )