Switchfoot at the Copernicus Center

Copernicus Center
Last Wednesday my best friend won four tickets through q87.7 to see Switchfoot at some place called Copernicus.  Yeah, I hadn't heard of it either.  Some place on the far north side of Chicago just a hop and a skip from the I90 exit at Lawrence Ave.  It was actually a very beautiful place that housed a decent number of people.

Seeing Switchfoot last night was probably the most... intriguing kind of concert that I have been to.  In fact, as my friend put it, it seems more of an event than a concert.  The whole thing started with a movie screening.

Yes, that's right, a movie screening.

The movie was a documentary about the band's world tour and how it had inspired a great transformation in their outlook on music and life.  The thing is, it could have been an interesting movie but it was just so boring.

Soooooooooooooooooooo boring.

The whole movie basically consisted of them doing various things in different and interesting cultures...I wish.  The movie was actually mostly about them surfing.  I'm not kidding.  A movie about a band's world tour and playing music around the world was completely littered with scenes of them surfing at different beaches around the world, or talking about surfing, or talking about how great it was that they got to surf with some famous surfer dude that I don't know.

I don't know how they messed up making this movie interesting.  They were going to different parts of the world and exploring different cultures.  Yet, every time they moved to a new location, it was all the same shit.  Just clips of them surfing.  It was all interchangeable.  When the South Africa portion in your movie seems the same as your New Zealand section, it makes for pretty boring shit.

I know the band is named Switchfoot which is a reference to a surfing stance.  Still though, no one cares about Switchfoot because they can surf.  They care about Switchfoot because they're talented musicians.  So I don't know why the director of this film felt the need to have so many surfing scenes.  It would be like if Green Day's Bullet in a Bible was nothing but the band racing around in go-karts.   It would be interesting for like three minutes and then get really old.

The 90 minutes it took this movie to end felt like an eternity.

Switchfoot at Copernicus Center 9/25/2013
But enough about that.  Let's get to the performance (which was ironically shorter than 90 minutes long).  Like I said, it was intriguing.  The band was not at all like the alternative grunge band that I thought they were.  The whole concert was feelgood, lighthearted jams about how life is good or that life is going to be good once we change the world.  One or two songs like that is fine but, a whole concert?  Not really my thing.  Though, they did play "Dark Horses."  That song was cool.

What was just really a shame was that they didn't play "Meant to Live."  I mean, what????  I don't know why they didn't play their single most popular song.

On the contrary, one thing they were good at was connecting with the audience.  Sure, it was a pretty tame crowd, but the singer was able to stand in the crowd and sing.  Pretty cool for the hardcore Switchfoot fans in attendance.

Overall, the show was very low key.  It would have been alright if they just played music and there was no movie to bore us at the beginning.  One thing that you can give Switchfoot is that they are about as far from being a sellout as you can get.

I can't say that I'm a fan of this new and incredibly laid-back Switchfoot.  I wouldn't make the effort to see them again.  It's just not my thing.








Copernicus Image:  http://copernicuscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/Copernicus-Theater.jpg?dbfc6c
Switchfoot Image:  
http://image.pollstar.com/WeblogFiles/pollstar/1006211247256990960_728483_v3.jpg

A Puzzling Response

So, while writing the previous blog post How to be a Socially Awkward Dweeb Around the Opposite Sex, I remembered a time where I was honestly confused about what a female's genuine emotions were and, quite frankly, what the hell had just happened.

It was Junior year of high school and I was in band.  Band was first period and I played the Baritone Saxophone.  Because of this, I got to sit next to the Tenor Saxophone player who was a very pretty blonde girl.  We would occasionally converse about whatever on the account that we sat next to each other.  Much of this included making jokes and messing around.

One day at the end of the school year, the band director was talking about some kind of music performance that the kids in the top audition band would be performing at.  He said that we should all go because it was the equivalent of prom.  In fact, he was calling it "Prom 2."  He said we should bring dates and dress up and that there would be dancing and stuff.  Of course, he's kidding about all of this (I think).  Amongst all of the silliness coming out of the band director's mouth, the blonde Tenor Saxophone player asks me if I would go to "Prom 2" with her.  Naturally (or very obliviously I'm not sure), I respond with, "Pfft!  No!  hahahahaha!"  She seemed so astonished at how blunt and obnoxious my response was that she wouldn't talk to me the rest of the class.  Whenever I tried to talk to her she would put her hand up and say, "Nope, don't even talk to me."

The thing is, here's the kicker.  I still, to this day, have no idea if she was joking or not.  I don't know if she was actually asking me out and I don't know if she was honestly offended by my response.    I think that it's more unlikely that she was asking me out than she was offended.  However, I think that there's a significant chance that she was just joking.  I just really couldn't tell at all.

But anyhow, as you can see from my previous post, I'm not always the greatest at traversing these casual social situations.  In fact, it was brought to my attention, by my dear friends, that calling a female "man" is not really a big deal at all!

This sequence of events still baffles me so I would like to hear what you have to say about it.  Throw your thoughts down in the comments.  Was she upset?  Let us know what you think!

How to be a Socially Awkward Dweeb Around the Opposite Sex

So, I said a few posts ago that I should do some posts every now and then that's not related to music or video games.  So here it is!

I was inspired to do this post because of something that happened earlier today.  I was walking south on Normal road in DeKalb heading to the Psychology/Computer Science building.  There were a lot of people walking north on the sidewalk.  In fact, I may have been the only one heading south.  I really am the true pioneer.  And I'm telling you all of this because it's not only relevant, but very important information to understanding this story...yeah...

Anyways, I'm walking and there's this pretty girl walking the other way.  I notice that she's eyeing me from a decent distance.  Of course, since I'm very socially comfortable around women, I get somewhat uneasy that there's a beautiful brunette looking at me without a disgusted look on her face.

A quick tidbit to clear this up.  I don't really get afraid or nervous of anything.  I never panic for important exams.  Even ones that will make or break my grade.  I rarely freak out, even the time that I had to juke out of the way of a car to avoid getting hit.  Really the only exception to the rule is heights.  I have trouble walking to the edge of a cliff without feeling uneasy.

The main exception to this rule though is that I cannot handle social interaction with beautiful women.  So, this is why I feel uneasy that a beautiful girl is looking at me this way.  I'll probably explain later why I think that this is a struggle for me.  But for the sake of this post, this is what you need to know.

Back to the story Mason.  You don't even have ADD but you get sidetracked more than a three year old in a toy store.  Sheesh.

So, there I was, this girl is ever sooner approaching and she gets within speaking distance and compliments me on my shirt.  Well, for the record, the shirt I happened to be wearing today was the shirt with the album art from My Chemical Romance's first album.  I found this interesting that she would compliment me on this shirt because she didn't look punk, emo, scene, or hipster.  She looked like, more or less, a typical kind of girl.  I think she was wearing a t-shirt and jeans -

Ahem....um....Mason, please get back to the story.
Sorry, um, where was I?  Oh yeah, she complimented me on my shirt.  Well, this is the good part of the story.  Also, I think that this sums up my ability to socialize with females on the most awkward and messed-up level possible.  But yeah, when she complimented me on my shirt, you will never believe my instinctive response.  Even I could not believe the response out of my mouth.  I'm really just a fuck-up when it comes to girls....My god.... I mean, what the hell am I doing?

Oh wait, I forgot to tell you what I said.

But the words that came out of my mouth were, "Thanks, ......man."  I mean, what the hell was I thinking?  Not only did I call her "man" but I also hesitated before saying it like I had thought it through first and then decided to call her "man."  Of course, I didn't do this on purpose it just kind of came out... after about a second of silence between the Thanks and Man.  Also, the problem with waiting that long to say man comes off as that I am trying to emphasize calling her man.  So, I made a typically bad line even worse by the pacing that I used between words.  I couldn't even make this shit up.  I'm really horrible.  I need serious therapy!

It's like when a pretty girl is within a social situation I'm involved with, the logical processes in my brain just completely shutdown and let the madhouse take over.

So, now it's time to learn from my successes at being a Socially Awkward Dweeb Around the Opposite Sex so you can learn how to be one too!  Let me give you some tips on how to completely creep-out, weird-out, or unpleasantly surprise the beautiful girl you find yourself in a social situation with.


1.)  Be me (Or Willosaurus)

Willosaurus is a serious competitor with me for worst with girls.  If you don't know him, don't ask...


2.)  Make sure that you fiddle with your hands and crack your knuckles constantly while she talks

Hurray!  Nervous Habits.  And seriously, she will find the constant popping and crackling of your joints very, very attractive.


3.)  Don't answer any phone calls or texts from females

They love it.  I swear.


4.)  Hide in your bedroom and avoid social interaction

The best way to make yourself look like a social dweeb is to admit defeat and hide in your filthy, cramped, fortress and play Final Fantasy VII for the fifth time through.  About the only way you can impress her more is by calling her a man (hahaha...yeah...)


5.)  If you have a cold, don't blow your nose unless if it's at the table in a restaurant (like Chili's) and she's right in the middle of eating her sour cream and onion soup.  Otherwise, let the snot run down your face until it's seeping back into your mouth and it's thick enough that you can't swish it in-between your teeth.

Well, that was oddly specific...


6.)  If you're at a bonfire, make sure that you bring fireworks and nonchalantly throw them into the pit without warning anyone.  Then continue to do it saying that it's not a big deal.

Also add in that you've been hit in the face with said fireworks and that it's not a big deal because you're ugly as fuck anyways.


7.)  A great way to avoid social contact is to have your headphones on and pretending that you can't hear what anyone's saying...even if you can actually hear everything.

You have no way of proving I did this.  I will NOT plead guilty!


8.)  Take a knife and etch a gory billboard into your arm about how ugly and pathetic you think you are.

This way, you don't even have to say anything to fully inform a female about how alone and miserable you truly are.


9.)  Track down a girl on Facebook that you met and talked to for fifteen minutes with only the knowledge of her first name.  Then ask her out via messaging.

I'm a pro with the search bar on facebook.  XD


10.)  Ignore a girl that you sit next to in class every single day until the end of the semester when you decide to ask her out.

I hope you're taking notes!


11.)  Wait until the week before your Senior Prom to feel a sense of longing and desperately ask quiet girls in your math and science classes if they would go with you.
So, I was thinking, ya know, prom's coming up and, well, if you weren't going with anyone, I was wondering if you would go with me?

"Sorry, I'm going with a group of friends instead."

(Yup, Mason, you're going to die alone.  hehehe)


12.)  Make sure that everyone around you knows how discontent you are with your appearance and social awkwardness.

Writing about it on the internet is a great way to get this information out to a large volume of people.  Then it's a downward spiral from there.  You will be in a constant loop of socially awkward events with the girls that you fancy the most.


Riot Fest 2013 Day 1

So, this past weekend was Riot Fest!  Three days of kick-ass bands and roughhousing!  Here goes for my experience of having a three day pass in punk rock paradise.

Riot Fest is what used to be a punk-rock festival that traveled around from year to year.  Now it just happens in a few different locations every year only returning to Chicago every year.  Also, the festival's lineup offers a little more variety getting a few bands that you wouldn't consider punk.  But, it's still mostly punk.

I was there last year but I only had a one day ticket for that Saturday.  I saw Minus the Bear, Dropkick Murphys, and Rise Against.  Basically, it was a really good time.  Such a good time that when the lineup for Riot Fest 2013 was announced, I did not hesitate to buy a three day pass at that very moment.

To get my bitching out of the way first, probably the worst part of Riot Fest is that it's in Humboldt Park.  Now what most of you probably think is that I don't like Humboldt Park because it's in a shady area.  Actually, I can verify that Humboldt Park is definitely a better neighborhood now.  You should feel safe walking down the street, even at night.  Just don't be an idiot and walk down dark alleys or be unaware of your surroundings.  Being with a group is also a good idea.

Now the real bad part of it being in Humboldt Park is that it's difficult to get to.  In order to use public transportation to get there, you either need to transfer buses, transfer from the L to a bus, take a bus and then walk the rest of the way, dish out a bunch of cash for a cab, or you could walk the whole way.  From Ogilvie Transportation Center to Kedzie and Division (the entrance to Riot Fest) was an hour and twenty-six minutes in order to walk the whole way (according to Google Maps).  So, it's really just a pain to get to.  Whereas, Lollapalooza, which is in Grant Park, is only about a ten to fifteen minute walk from Ogilvie Transportation Center.  Much more convenient for those of us who have to commute from the suburbs to get there.

You can always drive yourself.  The issue with driving yourself though is that it's not downtown.  There are no parking garages.  There's very little parking to find for outsiders.  Most lots in the Humboldt Park neighborhood are for residents and require passes.  Basically, if you have a car, you'll be taking a while to park it.  And when you finally find a spot, make sure that it's not a place where it will get towed.

I wasn't ready to risk getting my car towed or driving around forever to find a spot.  I just took the train and a couple of buses.

Anyways, enough of that shit.  Once you enter the festival, you have walked through the gates of punk-rock heaven.

Yellowcard:

When we got there, Yellowcard was just starting.  I've been wanting to see them for awhile now so I was glad that they were here.  They put on a pretty stellar show.  It was high energy and the crowd got into it.  They got a large circle pit going for a bit, until it just kinda got stuck.  Though, my best friend and I found ourselves at the front so that was pretty cool.  They played a good amount from Ocean Avenue.  They kicked of the show with Breathin', and also included Way Away, Only One, and, of course, ended the show with Ocean Avenue.  They also played a couple of songs from Lights and Sounds.  However, they did not play the title track Lights and Sounds which was disappointing.  They played mostly stuff from their new album which were actually really cool songs.  I may explore that album a little more in the near future.  I would also like to add that they played Only One in a different key.  I can understand that since the key it's in on the album requires Ryan Key to sing really high.  It still sounded cool in the different key though so, I approve.

Bad Religion:

Bad Religion at Riot Fest Chicago, September 13, 2013
My first reaction to Bad Religion is how old these guys actually are.  I always new they were old but it didn't really strike me until now that these guys are old.  They didn't play like old men though.  They were high energy and just cranking out one song after another.  I don't think they ever played just one song and stopped.  They get into it to.  The bass player was moving all over and the singer knows how to pump a crowd.  Most impressively, Bad Religion sounded really fucking good.  They sounded just like the album most of the time.  Also, the harmonies were flawless which is something that a lot of live bands don't do as good as the album.  Bad Religion rocked.  I'm so glad that I got to see them.

GWAR:

I've never been a GWAR fan.  I think their music is pretty mediocre metal.  However, I knew about their live show so I figured that I really ought to see it.  It was pretty fantastic.  It's funny, it's bizarre, and if you're close enough, it's gory as hell.  Some of the things that they did included jizzing blood out of a dick strapped onto the guitarist's waist, a reenactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (a very gory one at that), and a buzz saw spraying blood all over the crowd.  My tall best friend could see better than me so you would have to ask him for the details but basically, for the crucifixion, they cut Jesus' limbs off starting with cutting off his legs at the waist.  It was fucked up.  My best friend and I got in the pit towards the end of the show.  It was a pretty good pit.  There were a lot of guys really aggressively going at it in there.  It didn't last long though.  For the last song, they sprayed blood from that buzz saw and my best friend and I got covered in the dyed water.  It's hard to get the color out as well.  I had blood all over my face for the rest of the night.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts:

Joan Jett put on a solid show.  Considering her age, she brought quite a bit of energy.  The Blackhearts sound really great live.  They sound just about the same as the studio recordings.  Also, the guitar player from Against Me! joined The Blackhearts for a song that him and Joan had written together.  It wasn't bad.  Don't get me wrong, it was a really good show but it is rather overshadowed by the other punk greats that were at the festival this year.

Sublime with Rome:

Sublime with Rome and Joan Jett were playing in basically the same time slot.  When Joan Jett ended I did manage to catch the end of Sublime with Rome.  They seemed okay.  It's also a very laid back show but, then again, from what I know, Sublime does have very laid back music.  They sounded good.  I can't really say much more beyond that.

Fall Out Boy:

Fall Out Boy was about the most.........shocking.......performance of the night.  Not because of Fall Out Boy themselves.  Fall Out Boy sounded fine and had a high energy show.  If you like their music, I'm sure you would have really enjoyed the concert.

What was shocking about Fall Out Boy was the fan base.  Just the sheer volume of people there to see Fall Out Boy was astounding.  I was standing in the back by the sound booth and everyone around me was singing all of the words back.  Not to mention that a mosh pit opened up back there as well.  That was really weird.  Also, I got to see a cat fight.  That was pretty interesting.  This group of girls were trying to leave and they weaved their way past this one girl that completely flipped out.  She yelled at the other girl for pushing her (because pushing never happens at a punk festival) and they started having a shoving match until the girl trying to leave grabbed the bitchy girl by the hair and punched her four times in the head.  I had a thought of breaking up the whole thing but the bitchy girl deserved what she got.  She got put back in her place.  We left shortly after that for a few reasons.  One, they had to stop the whole concert because people were ending up on the ground in the front.  Two, my friends and I didn't really care about seeing Fall Out Boy.  We just went home.


Bristol Renaissance Faire Music Scene

Come one come all to the- haha, just kidding.  I'll try my best to not sound like a spokesperson for the damn place.  I'll do that if they pay me.

Anyways, for those of you who don't know, the Bristol Renaissance Faire is a place just north of the Illinois/Wisconsin border off of I94.  Basically, the idea is to take you back to medieval times (there's an official year that it's supposed to take place in but I don't remember now).  There are hundreds of actors that dress in costume and numerous acrobatic, comedy, musical, and demonstration shows to be seen.  Probably most notably is the jousting at the jousting arena, especially the final show of the day.

Anyways, I'm not writing this to talk about the whole faire.  That would take FOREVER!  Will I write a series on the faire?  Perhaps.  I'm not sure yet.

I felt inclined to write a post about the music scene at the faire though.  Why?  Well, because most of this blog site is littered with music related posts (which I ought to change up sooner rather than later).  Also, the musical acts are probably my favorite part of the faire.  I could probably spend the whole day just watching music acts if I really wanted to.  However, this would probably drive the other people with me crazy so I am willing to go to the other kinds of shows too because, well, they're really good too.

The music scene at the Bristol Renaissance Faire is unlike the genres of music that I typically listen to.  If you went through all of my music related posts, you would probably conclude that the music I enjoy is mostly punk, rock, and 90s alternative.  Well, the music scene at the Bristol Renaissance Faire has slowly but surely been moving me to enjoy other genres as well, particularly, more traditional genres of music.  In fact, I find myself with four CDs on my shelf that I had purchased from the various bands at the faire.  I don't listen to them often but it is definitely more than never that I give them a good listen.

The Minstrels of Mayhem
To start, my favorite band at the Bristol Renaissance Faire would have to be The New Minstrel Revue.  The New Minstrel Revue (formally known as The Minstrels of Mayhem) are an Irish Folk band that performs traditional Irish Folk songs along with originals.  Most of their songs are about drinkin', sailin', or just being a regular old plebeian.  If you make your way to the Renaissance Faire, I highly recommend that you check them out.



Billy Miller
Next is Billy miller who I actually just saw for the first time the last time I was at the faire.  He does folk music that's a combination of guitar, flute, and pre-recorded organ tracks.  It's neat.  I'm not sure how much I like him yet but I'm sure I will catch one of his shows next year sometime.




    



Craig of Farrington
Craig of Farrington is also an interesting musician.  He does old folk songs as well.  They tend to be more on the humorous side but he is still a very talented  lute player.  He often teams up with The New Minstrel Revue at the end of the day and plays the bass (you can actually see him in the picture of the New Minstrel Revue).  I don't think that I would be too interested in seeing his solo performance again but he goes well with the New Minstrel Revue
Rambling Sailors
Rambling Sailors are a duo that does sailing songs as you might expect.  They keep it simple and get the job done.  They certainly don't wow audiences but they make for good background music as you're walking by.


The Dreadcrew of Oddwood
The Dreadcrew of Oddwood are a pirate band that are not regulars at the Bristol Renaissance Faire.  They're from San Diego and tour across the United States playing their tunes.  I happened to catch them the two weekends that they were at the Bristol Renaissance Faire.  They were pretty great the both times I saw them and I hope that they come back in the future.


VaNa Mazi


Out of all of the acts of the season, VaNa Mazi impressed me the most.  Like the Dreadcrew of Oddwood, they tour around the country playing...wherever I suppose.  VaNa Mazi is from Austin and they are, what I could best describe as, a fusion of Jazz and traditional world music.  The music gets really complicated at times as they play in some more obscure keys and time signatures like 7/4 and 9/4.  The songs will often switch in out of time signatures as well, giving someone a 4/4 beat to clap along to in the middle of the song.  The band's instrumentation consists of a drumkit, double contra bass, guitar, violin, accordion, and, most spectacularly, clarinet.  The clarinetist was phenomenal.  He could play fast, yes.  But also, he had completely mastered the concept of dynamic change.  He could go from mezzo piano to fortissimo instantaneously.  His fortissimo is also the loudest I've ever heard on the clarinet.  The clarinet was the only instrument not run through a PA other than the drums.

Now that the faire season is over.  I'm really anxious to see what next year's music scene is going to look like.  I really hope that The Dreadcrew of Oddwood and VaNa Mazi come back again.  Keeping my fingers crossed for that!

More info:

Billy Miller:
http://www.windwoodflutes.com/

Craig of Farrington:
http://www.craigminstrel.com/ (though this site seems to be down)


The New Minstrel Revue:
https://myspace.com/newminstrelrevue


Rambling Sailors:
http://ramblingsailors.com/

The Dread Crew of Oddwood
http://www.thedreadcrewofoddwood.com

VaNa Mazi
http://www.vanamazi.com
www.reverbnation.com/vanamazi




The Bristol Renaissance Faire:http://renfair.com/bristol/




All pictures taken from:
http://www.renfair.com/bristol/thefaire/entertainment.asp