What's Up This Weekend?

As of this morning, I didn't have anything to write about so I was just going to bemoan the fact that my good friend had just taken off for Cabo San Lucas and my legal assistant was spending Spring Break in Satellite Beach, FL while I was looking out the window at a dreary cold Columbus. But then I went home for lunch and found something worth crying about. Was it a large glob of wasabi on my sushi? No. I was watching Obama do his online town meeting and a few tears trickled out as the realization washed over me that we finally have a leader with a brain who knows what is going on and can actually talk about it off the top of his head. Beautiful things have that effect on me.

Thursday, tonight, Happy Chichester is at Due Amici (free!) and Super Desserts, an amazing new band with guitar, banjo, mandolin, bass clarinet, violin, viola, sitar and glockenspiel is at The Treehouse. And if you haven't seen Hamell on Trial yet, you need to see him at Rumba. Great music and great humor all in one dirty old punk.

Friday, the action is at Rumba. My old friends The Wahoos and The Mendelsonics do the happy hour and then Paul Abbott's Pocket Full of Sunshine should be one of the events of the year in local music. Paul got just about all of Columbus' finest to each record a song with him and put it on a 15 track compilation CD. Many of those musicians will be there including Derek DiCenzo and Happy Chichester. I will probably have to forgo checking out bands for Comfest to see this.

Saturday, there's a good new rhythm and blues group, The Cellar Hounds, at Ruby's around 10 PM. Miss Molly is doing a CD release at Dick's and Bookmobile is at The Treehouse.

It's not Cabo San Lucas but it's allright. mark

What's Up This Weekend?

I've been doing a lot of intellectualizing lately about Comfest controversies on the egroup. But I've come to realize that sometimes, you can definitely over-think things. Like earlier this week when it was so beautiful outside, I went out to take a walk down Walhalla Ravine and my cat, Riblet, followed me to the end of my street before crossing Indianola. I was afraid he might try to follow me across the busy thoroughfare so thought it would be a good idea if I picked him up and carried him across and a little ways down the ravine. Of course, he ran right back across the street and came within a whisker of getting smooshed. If I had just let him decide, he probably never would have crossed the street. Since then, I haven't felt too smart.

Thursday, tonight, The Spikedrivers do the happy hour at Rumba and then Megan Palmer scoots downtown to join the Hopefuls at Due Amici. Ghost Shirt is at The Treehouse.

Friday, Derek DiCenzo does the jazz thing at Dick's, Earwig and the seemingly-anything-but-invisible Ghost Shirt are at Rumba and The Wet Darlings and Dr. Kenny Delicious are at Oldfield's.

Saturday, Lydia Loveless and Fox & Hounds are at The Treehouse. mark

The smartest people in the world
Had gathered in Los Angeles
To analyze our love affair
And possibly unscramble us
And we sat among our photographs
Examined every one
And in the end we compromised
And met the morning sun
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
They say the left side of the brain
Dominates the right
And the right side has to labor
Through the long and speechless night
And in the night
My father came to me
And held me to his chest
He said there's not much more that you can do
Go on and get some rest
And I said yeah
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much
Maybe I think too much

Lyrics by Paul Simon

What's Up This Weekend?

Mary Matalin lights James Carville's fire. Megan McCain lights mine after seeing her interview with Rachel Maddow. She's smart, 24, looks more like her mother than her father thankfully and she's a moderate Republican who just attacked Ann Coulter in her blog on the Daily Beast. There is something to be said for the passion ignited by intellectual friction.

What Was for Dinner This Week? In so many ways, I'm like a 12 year old who is just tall enough to drive a car. Like when I make food. While joyriding in the kitchen, it sounded like a good idea to soak some fish in milk and coat it with flour and crushed stale tortilla chips from my Fiesta Bowl party. Sauteed in olive oil, it wasn't bad. I also stripped away the mold from the half of a pomegranate meant for Christmas morning mimosas and added the little rubies to my salad with a mango vinagrette. Yummy!

Thursday, tonight, comedian Neil Hamburger shares the stage with the former Hugs & Kisses whose new name shall remain nameless. Magically Delicious is at Dick's, The Floorwalkers and Jason Quicksall Band are at Due Amici. Dr. Kenny Delicious, who I recently discovered is a fantastic blues-rock act, is with Mt. Carmel at Ruby's and Ghost Shirt is at The Treehouse.

Friday, Death By Banjo is at Byrne's, In 3D is at CBR's, Grassohol is at Dick's, The Randy's do the happy hour at Rumba, The Ladies of Longford are at The Shamrock Club, The Spikedrivers are at Skully's, Moon High is at The Treehouse and The Kinsey Report is at Thirsty Ear.

Saturday, Megan Palmer is at Dick's, Ghost Shirt is at Ruby's, the band that played my street party last year and graces the cover of The Alive this week, The Drowsy Lads, are at The Shamrock Club, and Eric Metronome and Couch Forts are at The Treehouse.

Monday, This Is My Suitcase is at Bernie's and Julie Neumark and Megan Palmer are at Rumba.

Tuesday, Couch Forts and Ghost Shirt are at Skully's.

Bon appetit. Erin go braugh. mark

I suffer through a lot of television commercials and I often fight back at the ones that irritate me the most. I might quickly change the channel or add my own dialogue to vent my sarcasm. There is one for a cut-rate funeral home where the head undertaker sits there railing about the $700 billion dollar bank bailout as a prelude to his pitch to stimulate the economy by sending off your loved one at his place. "And we're shovel-ready!" I chimed in.

Thursday, tonight, The Surly Girl Saloon will be a nice venue to see Couch Forts. Ghost Shirt and Paper Airplane are at The Treehouse.

Friday, Paul Goll's new band, Deerhead and a band with buzz, Mt. Carmel, are at Carabar. Couch Forts move just down the street to Circus with Alwood Sisters and Darynyck. Its usually worth taking the chance to check out Hugs and Kisses with a bunch of bands at The Summit. I will be enjoying Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at Rumba along with Deer Tick. His first CD was a masterpiece and there is new one out.

Saturday, one of my favorite alt-rock bands, The Lindsay, come out of the woodwork for a show at Carabar with Church of the Red Museum. Soul Satyr is at Dick's. Happy Chichester is at Rumba with The Dig from N.Y. I believe. The Treehouse has the annual Townes Van Zandt Tribute with perennial hosts, Eric Nassau and Casey Velker and many others including Paul Goll, Matt Monta & Bree and Miss Molly. mark

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

Lyrics by Tennessee Ernie Ford