What a weekend. A genuine Friday the 13th, one of the best concerts of the year (Porcupine Tree and Tony Levin’s band at the Fillmore), and one of the longest, busiest, most expensive, but fun, days of the year.

And how was it a Friday the 13th? Well, besides that being the date, and besides the digits adding up to 13, it was the first concert I have ever been to where shirts were completely sold out when we first arrived. So no shirt there, and the merchandise selection was rather poor. On top of that, Steven Wilson’s amp went out in the middle of their first song, causing about a 20-minute setback as the roadies switched his amp for that of John Wesley, and worked on getting John a new amp. Once Steven’s new amp was ready, he played an acoustic version of “Even Less” as well as an acoustic cover of “Thank U” by Alanis Morisette.

The rest of the show was most impressive. The first half, spanning over an hour and barely reaching 7 songs in number, was comprised of entirely new material that had not even been recorded in the studio. All the new stuff was fantastic, with a lot more psychedelic influence (like older PT) showing through, as well as some nods to harder prog-ish bands like Tool and Meshuggah here and there throughout the songs. After a five minute break, the band returned and tore through an amazingly energetic set of classic material, including an extended version of “Open Car”, an absolutely phenomenal performance of “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here”, and an old but rare favorite, “Buying New Soul”.

1. Open Car
2. The Sound of Muzak
3. Buying New Soul
4. Arriving Somewhere But Not Here
5. 3
6. The Start of Something Beautiful
7. Trains
   ENCORE
8. Halo
9. Blackest Eyes

Following the show and the subsequent work day — where I discovered, much to my upset, that my hours had been rearranged much to my disadvantage — JH and I took off to the Renaissance Faire in Gilroy. The drive was extremely long, probably the longest single trip I’ve ever driven myself, but it was incredibly worth it. Shops, food, entertainment, costumes, culture, everything one could want in the wonders of the Faire. I was dressed in full pirate regalia so I enjoyed the pleasantries thereof, while taking a full day to wander around all the vendors, wishing for some things and purchasing others. My purchases included a pair of pewter necklaces, a new hip pouch (black suede with a pewter skull-and-crossbones button), a dangly string of beads to hang from a bandana, a tankard loop, and lots of good food and some mead.

Not a whole lot to do, but tons to see, including exciting performances by the Faire “jesters”, two performers by the names of Moonie and Broon, whose hilarious jabs at the audience were accompanied by impressive feats–such as juggling torches, while suspended on one foot on a tightrope; or juggling an apple, bowling ball and torch and eating the apple midway through each juggling pass. The Faire closed with a performance by the two of them together, setting various things on fire (always the highlight of a show) and drinking far too much beer than ought to be safe for their line of work.

It was an incredibly fun weekend. The crashing back to reality is a little difficult — as I mentioned, my new work schedule is going to effectively kill any plans that I might want to have on future weekends, but I am hearing rumors that it is only temporary. And then of course there are bills to pay — a fun circumstance to run into once you get back from spending a hundred bucks at the Faire, but I imagine I’ll survive fine. For now, I am off to go wash my old car and put it out for interested purchasers.

I must reiterate — is it reiterating? It’s been a while since I posted — how fond I am of the way things are going lately. It’s odd to muse about such things on a blog and not sound so cliche and trite, but it’s very true. My job, even with the imperfections and the irregularities of its staff, is enjoyable and passes through the day surprisingly quickly. My income, while short, is substantial enough to maintain all that I need to pay, including all my bills and insurance issues. My friends are surprisingly available, a phenomenon that was rarely experienced in many years past — not just out of prejudices borne against me behind my back, but moreso out of genuine lack-of-time.

So why do I need to get on and blog?

Well, it wouldn’t be a blog if people didn’t read it, would it? After all, that’s the whole reason blogging has turned itself into a right industry. People keep diaries, yes, but the idea of a diary that you bury within your sock drawer under piles of old clothes is a fading concept thanks to all the technology we have. And aside from that, how many people are really private about their most inner ravings? Just hop onto a random MySpace or LiveJournal and see what you find people talking about. Some subjects are reeking of personal drama; others are astonishingly honest and introspective. Everyone loves gossip and a lot of people like to listen to, and write, inner thoughts. So, thus, I have plenty of reason — both for myself as a writer, and for my readers — to keep on blogging.

Rather than a few big posts on concerts, I’ll just go over the big points.

1. Flogging Molly was incredibly fun and intense. The biggest downside was the fact that I got my glasses destroyed (the frames, though, not the lenses thankfully) and I also spent most of the show pressed against the thick steel bar that makes up the barricade at the Warfield. However, I now have a vast collection of good ‘Molly photos, and as with all ‘Molly shows, I never feel more alive than when I am singing and cajoling on as they play. Wonderful show, and wonderful people met, too. (The drive home was FUN… I had to tape my lenses onto a pair of 7-11-storebought sunglasses and buy new frames the next day.)

2. TV On The Radio and Man Man were both fun, wild shows in tiny places (The Library far moreso than the Independent, of course, but still pretty small) with too many indie kids to count.  Tunde, the lead singer of TVOTR, is amazingly energetic, possessing almost as much energy as Eugene of Gogol Bordello; Man Man, of course, were just as awesome as they were when they opened for the Firey Furnaces, and personally I found them to be much better as headliners. Definitely bands I want to see in the future, but I hope that in times to come, they have a shorter wait between bands and before they begin the shows.

3. While I knew that Rob Zombie would put on a badass live show — from cage dancers and fireballs to the amazing guitarwork of John 5, not to mention the most elaborate stage setup I’ve seen not including Tool — I was blown away by Godsmack, a phenomenon I was not expecting. Not only was it a wild, fun set, with a band that really didn’t take themselves too seriously (a bad factor I am noticing in MTV-friendly bands), but Godsmack had the best big-budget surprise I’ve ever seen — a bit before the encore of the set, the back of the stage OPENED and a SECOND DRUM SET was wheeled out with Sully (the vocalist) playing bongos and toms on it. So imagine a full metal band playing “War Pigs”, with 2 drummers, explosives, fire, and a drum battle raging through it all, and that’s how it was. Magnificent — one of the best metal shows all year.

4. Sufjan Stevens didn’t quite kick the ass of the Polyphonic Spree, as I do not think any band can pull that many people with that much energy onto one stage, but he certainly gave them a musical run for their money. Sufjan was joined by a string octet, a full horn section, full rock band, and 18-person choir (the Pacific Mozart Ensemble) — not to mention that the entire stage cast was dressed in karate-gi-type uniforms and wearing giant butterfly wings (coupled with feathery circus masks). Beautiful, wonderful, epic music that filled the theatre — if TSO had a lower budget and an indier feel (and stripped out the metal of their songwriting) it would sound like this.

Aside from that, there are not many goings on. But I will be providing a full report about my goings-on at the Ren Faire this weekend, as I imagine there will be much in the way of wacky hijinks and devious shenanigans.