Today's been one of those busy-in-the-AM and dead-in-the-PM days at work. Something I don't really mind, since relaxing on a Friday afternoon is better than working. Things have been enjoyable enough, listening to lots of Guided By Voices and emailing friends far away who are stuck in the same office predicament I am. Got the coffee buzz going so well the office banter somehow got tuned out.

I took the slowness of the afternoon to catchup reading all the sites I try and keep up with. Armando is back from Europe with photos, and I found this link to updside down pictures pretty entertaining.

Congratulations to not only my brother Andy, but to my friend's Rachel, Ben, and Jason, who are all graduating from college this weekend. I'll be basking in the sun and the reflection of thousands of purple gowns tomorrow at my alma mater's graduation ceremony.

So tonight I'm missing the Pinback/Crooked Fingers show to play an Amscray show over in the East Bay. Most of my equipment is not functioning properly, so I'm going to try and wing it with my backup gear. A little nervous about it, but by the time midnight rolls around and we take the stage it either won't matter, or I won't mind.

Have a good three day weekend, ya'll.

Holy Fucking Shit. Elvis Costello was grand last night. We got there right before the opening band, American HiFi played. Talk about bland with boring sauce. They sounded like a weak, watered down version of Blink 182, who are themselves a weak, watered down version of Green Day, who are...you get the picture. Super blah.

But then Elvis came on, and I enjoyed the the regular part of my show from our seats against the back wall. He played some old stuff and a lot off When I Was Cruel. I actually liked the newer songs quite a bit live, the setting and the band (2/3 of The Attractions) gave new life to songs like "Spooky Girlfriend" and "15 Petals," and "When I Was Cruel No. 2." All in all it was quite enjoyable, but the real entertainment came for the encores.

Taking a cue from our friends, we tried to sneak down the middle aisle closer to the front. When security told us to turn around, we ducked down a row about 3/4 of the way to the stage. As the guard walked past us to tell some other people to get out of the aisle, we ran down to the very front, about four people back from Elvis' feet. So the band came back out and played a slew of old songs through three encores, including a rare balls-out version of "Pump It Up," and we had a blast. The show was *so* much better up front where we could see Elvis acting out the lyrics, his fine guitars (including one that had his name written in cursive in what looked like mother of pearl down the neck), and the great keyboard setup (including a theremin and a Hohner Pianet). He looked liked he was really enjoying playing the songs and empasizing lyrics, and I was trying to check out the analog tape loop machine he had setup to his right. They closed the whole show with what could be the best song I have ever seen a band play live, a perfect version of "I Want You" that had the large crowd absolutely silent. Near the end of the song he stepped away from the microphone and belted out the words from the front of the stage, and even though he'd been singing for a couple hours, the man's voice sounded perfect. Wow. Thinking of that moment still gives me the shivers. I was not disappointed, not in the least.

Thurday feels like Friday, just thinking about the three-day weekend makes me want to call in sick tomorrow.

Elvis Costello

Driving by downtown Berkeley this evening, we saw the four(!) tour buses for Elvis Costello & The Imposters. I'll be at the show tonight, luckily it's in the East Bay so I don't really have to worry about parking or sitting in traffic. I've never seen Costello, so I'm sure it will be a mighty fine treat, and, considering the cost of the tickets, I expect him to come out into the audience, mix me a drink of my choosing, and then sit on my lap and play my requests. "Tokyo Storm Warning" anyone?

As promised, here's my review of the Ugly Casanova album. Having a word limit was very difficult this time, it was hard to explain exactly *how* I think this album succeeds. Fans of Will Oldham, Slint, Papa M, Califone, Black Heart Procession, or Modest Mouse should go down today and drop their hard earned cash for Sharpen Your Teeth. You don't hear recommendations like that from me often, now do you?

Coming Soon...hopefully: My thoughts on the Frank Black show, my soggy Sunday, and a couple words about the new Star Wars. Maybe it was the Jack Daniel's mixed with Diet Coke, but it wasn't *nearly* as bad as I was expecting. Now, lunchtime.

MP3 of the week: After the busy weekend, I wound up on the couch looking out the window at the rain drying up, listening to Gram Parsons singing, and watching the cat sleep in the line of sun streaming through the window. Sometimes the resting is the best part.