Thursday Recap and Weekend Regrets

(Photo from Gorilla vs Bear, Lykke Li show in Dallas TX)

Lykke Li at Antone's 2/19/09:

Before I went to the Lykke Li show at Antones, my sister Linda went to the free in-store performance that Lykke Li did at Waterloo Records earlier in the day. Linda called me before I was about to head out downtown and said " Richard your gonna have such a great time" in an envious but positive tone. Unfortunately for sister, the show sold out and she couldn't buy a ticket a couple days before it. I felt bad, but I warned her well in advance that it had the potential to sell out. I was kinda of shocked I was able to buy my ticket when I did towards the end of January. So when Linda told that she had a great time at just some sort of promotional appearance, I got even more giddier then I was before.

I arrived at Antone's 20 minutes before the concert was scheduled to start at 9:00 pm. I got a cold tasty beverage from the bar and went to the side of the stage to get a decent spot because there was already good amount of people waiting in front of the stage. As I waited for Lykke Li to grace us with her presence, I bumped into a friend of a friend named Lydia. I went solo to the show and so did she, so it was nice to have someone to chat with while we waited for opening act Sarah Jaffe whom is from Denton TX.

Sarah Jaffe, eh, was good. I don't think I would go out of my way to see her again like at SXSW or anything, but she had a really pretty voice that accompanied the intimate acoustic vibe of her set. Some of her songs where pretty catchy, and she did try, towards the end of her performance, to get some crowd participation...something about holding hands or humming. I can't really remember, but I do remember Sarah Jaffe not having much of a stage presence, and being quite monotone when speaking to the audience. She kept saying how excited she was, but this was a little conflicting considering her reserved demeanor. So if your into soft acoustic sets or songs that S.P.E.L.L out the lyrics, then this might be your cup of coffee(shop rock).



When Lykke Li first came on, she started her set off smoothly with Dance Dance Dance. She had the energy of a red bull and trashed around the stage like a banshee. Towards the end of her set, she even got up close and personal with the front row by getting in the audience. Her voice was crisp, clean, and it didn't disappoint(me); reference the video below. She is cute, adorable, and quirky; she showed this by playing some covers, including Everyday I'm Hustlin'. During the show, I got the feeling that she was some what frustrated, maybe because she wasn't getting a responses from the Austin crowd she may have been getting in other cities. She said(not verbitim) a few times "this is our last show before we take a month long break, come on and make some noise!". I know for a fact, I was distracted because I was trying to take at least one decent picture half the show, so I wasn't screaming like a 14 year school girl, nor was I like the girl(not Lydia) next to me who seemed to know every song word for word(kinda of annoying since she was the only one singing...in my left ear). I was having a horrible time with my camera though. Out of 152 pictures, only hand full came out semi-presentable(I was the annoying guy constanly sticking his camera in the air, getting in your field of vision, and taking pictures every minute). Its a damm shame bout the pics...













I would definitely see her again, and next time I'll scream, sing along, and take better pictures.

Thursday night continues...Wild Life 2 at the Parish. A quick recap:






(Left to Right; Bird Peterson, Go Go Garcia, and Ryan Ulloa/Birthday Boy)

Wild Life 2 was a fun way to dance the night away after Lykke Li. It was a tag team event between eight different local deejays, in which all pitched in to support and make this a pretty cool free party at the Parish. Lots of Electro being spun that night, which I have no problem with because I heart it sooo much. I got to dance to some of Bird Peterson set who slipped in some Hip hop(which I can not dance to for some reason), and he then blended in a few Dubstep tunes which I was pleasantly surprised by. Much Thanks to David AKA Richard.Gear of Alter of Bang. and Josh aka Joshua Distance of Robot Dance Music for being such awesome host.


Philip Glass Weekend Regrets:



Over the Weekend there was a show I regret not going to at the UT Bass Hall. Philip Glass was in town Saturday February 21st. You may ask who the heck is Philip Glass, and others will say duh. For those who don't know him, he is one of the most popular modern day composers around. There are not that many of 'em round ya know. Per Wikipedia, early admirers of Philip Glass include, but not limited to, Brian Eno and David Bowie, and he has worked with such artist as Paul Simon, Mick Jagger, Leonard Cohen, David Byrne, Suzanne Vega, Natalie Merchant, and Aphex Twin.



I was so close to buying the $60 ticket, but I decided not to at the very last moment because I'm trying to maintain a strict self discipline when it comes to going to shows. I over did it last year with going out to concerts, so I'm trying to keep my sanity and avoid going broke by only going to 2 events a month. I had already reach that 2 show limit for the month of February before I found out about Glass's performance last week.

I am glad that I told a friend about it though. He took it upon himself to research Glass's work, and he made the decision to make the drive up from Victoria TX to see the performance, so a least someone I know went. He told me it was excellent, and the show consisted of operatic singers, two pianos(Glass on one), and some strings and horns like a cello and saxophone. The composition was put together around Glass's interpretation of Leonard Cohen's writings for the Book of Longing.

Speaking of Leonard Cohen...



He too, has added tour dates and will start his US tour in Austin TX April 2 2009 at Long Centre. Tickets go on sale this Friday February 27th at 10am. The tickets are supposedly going for(price wise) any where from $80 to $500. Its pricey but the man hasn't toured in 15 years.

Two Artists...



In the moment.

A New Years Eve Story

Well, I'm kinda looking forward to New Years Eve. A new year and new beginnings, right. Two things I would like to do would be to go to Marfa TX or Monterry MX.

Marfa TX:



In Marfa, I don't think anything extremely special is going on, but I wouldn't mind partying with the locals and artist out in the middle of West Texas. I associate Marfa with amazing minimal art and the ex terrestrial Marfa lights. You can't go wrong with that to start off the new year. By the way, Yacht is playing in Marfa on January 31 2009. That's kinda of an interesting FYI.

The other thing I would love to do is go to Monterey MX to party it up with Mad Decent and Culnsweet:



I've been really really interested in going to Monterrey and other Mexican cities. I think this would be the perfect opportunity to go and also have a lot of fun. The price of a 150 bucks and the drive scares me though.

So since I don't have a whole lot of money, I'll probably just stay in Austin TX and have a mundane but always fun weekend. First Nite will probably grab my attention during the day if I'm off from work, and Black and Tan will have me Dancing to the



and Ocelot!!!!!!



Heres another installment from my Story:


Part II of the Story

Before Ram Random Rich can autostop, drop, and evol-ve. He must travel in his time machine with his pet falcon Nostradamus to tell his brother a riddle;

miniature stairs sit upon a 90° slope, and into the galaxy washes away glass candy hopes. These bruises fade away like family trees uprooted by the storm surge of the gulf coast's Siamese twin cat. I'm so so so scared and frightened. What if it misses or what if it attacks. Impulse, react, for its a fact, you can't take it back. It=Love. The warm wheelchair AED heart affair and the winged pyramids over Washington's disguise infiltrate my soft sun spot. 360° of logic are showered in the fragile evergreen awe.

This gibberish must be solved, or the Marfa lights will blind Tricky Rich like that of "essence-draining". As his brother studys the riddle like Dante in front of the Gates of Hell, Ridic Rich reads his twin nieces a bed time story....

On Thra, a planet, there are three suns; the Great Sun, the Rose Sun, and the Dying Sun. Many creatures and races inhabit the planet, but the dominant race is the urSkeks, who came from another world and are the guardians of the Crystal of Truth. The Crystal harnesses the forces of nature, especially the light of the three suns, for the benefit of all on Thra.

One thousand years ago, during the Great Conjunction of the three suns, the urSkeks cracked the Crystal of Truth, and split into two races; the hunchbacked, gentle beings known as urRu or "Mystics" and the vulture-like tyrants known as Skeksis. In that moment the Crystal became the Dark Crystal. The Skeksis drove the urRu from the castle where the cracked crystal resided, then instituted a reign of terror over their world. Their wrath was particularly directed toward the elf-like Gelflings, due to a prophecy that promised the restoration of the crystal and the end of the Skeksis' power. The prophecy, rediscovered in an ancient Gelfling city, read:

“ When single shines the triple sun,
What was sundered and undone
Shall be whole, the two made one,
By Gelfling hand, or else by none. ”

Jen believes he is the last of the Gelflings. After his parents were killed by the crustacean-like "Garthim" (soldiers conjured by the Skeksis), he was raised in a lush valley in which the urRu reside. When Jen's master urSu is on his deathbed, he calls Jen to his side and reveals that his destiny is to "heal" the crystal by finding the shard, which may be found at Aughra's observatory. As this occurred, urSu's Skeksis counterpart, the emperor SkekSo, dies as well, resulting in a confrontation between the Chamberlain SkekSil and the General SkekUng. Deciding to settle this with the "trial by stone". SkekUng becomes emperor and SkekSil is exhiled from palace in rags. Moments later, the Skeksis are quickly made aware of Jen's existence.

Jen reaches Aughra, a wisewoman character of unknown species, and discovers the needed crystal shard, which is hidden among others like it, by playing music on his flute, to which it resonates. In the process, Jen learns of the upcoming Great Conjunction by means of Aughra's orrery-assisted predictions, but learns little of its connection to the shard before the Garthim arrive and destroy Aughra's observatory, capturing Aughra but failing to capture Jen. Jen spends the night in a swamp, while Aughra is taken to the castle of the crystal, where she indignantly rebukes and mocks the Skeksis, scoffing at their blustery claims of power and promising Jen's arrival to destroy them. Meahwhile, the urRu urIm, hearing the calls of the Crystal, gathers his kind so that they can begin their trek back to the castle.

The next day, Jen awakens in marshes, where he is frightened by a doglike pet known as Fizzgig and meets another Gelfling, Kira, whose existence he never suspected. They stay for a night amongst the Podlings who raised Kira after the death of her parents, only to be ambushed by the Garthim. Kira, Jen, and Fizzgig escape the attack, but many Podlings are captured by the Garthim and taken as slaves. In frustration and despair, feeling responsible for the Garthim raid, Jen discards the crystal shard. Kira reassures him that he had nothing to do with the attack; "It wasn't your fault... the Garthim have always come ".

In the morning, as they awaken, they discover one of the houses of the old Gelfling City, where Jen reads the prophecy of the Crystal and Kira recovers the shard, learning that it is part of the Dark Crystal and must be reinserted to restore integrity. Jen and Kira are then confronted by the disgraced SkekSil, who attempts to trick them in believing he would help them, but they refuse and escape him. Riding on furry, long-legged Landstriders, the Gelflings quickly arrive at the castle of the crystal, just in time to see the Garthim that attacked Kira's village. Kira, followed by Jen, ride to attack the Garthim and try to free the captured Podlings while the Landstriders fight the Garthim to distract them from the rescue effort.

The Gelflings fail to rescue the Podlings and find the Garthim, who have slain the Landstriders, closing in on them at the edge of the deep, rocky moat that encircles the castle. Sweeping Jen and Fizzgig into her arms, Kira jumps off the cliff, revealing that female Gelflings have wings. At the bottom of the gully, Jen and Kira enter the castle via the Teeth of the Skreesh, an undefended sewer entrance to the lower parts of the castle. SkekSil meets them again and attempts to convince them to offer peace to the Skeksis. As Jen and Kira attempt to escape, SkekSil seizes Kira. Fearing for Kira's safety, Jen strikes SkekSil, using the crystal shard as a dagger and wounding SkekSil's arm. Concurrently, the urRu chanter urSol suffers a spontaneous wound on his arm in the corresponding location. Enraged, SkekSil forces Jen into a wall, inciting a cave-in. SkekSil then takes Kira prisoner, believing Jen to be dead.

For capturing Kira, SkekSil is restored to his position as Chamberlain. On the suggestion of the scientist, SkekTek, SkekUng decides to regain his youth by draining Kira's life essence, recalling that the potency thereof allows a Skeksis emperor to maintain his youth for longer periods than did that of the Podlings on whom SkekTek was forced to rely since the Gelfing genocide. Only a few drops of the "everlasting essence" are drawn from Kira before she, urged by the captured Aughra, calls out to the animals imprisoned in the laboratory, who break free and attack SkekTek. SkekTek falls into a volcanic pit to its death, resulting in the urRu Alchemist urTil's disintegration into flames. Kira escapes as her bond with Jen gives him the strength to escape the cave-in, but he is separated from Fizzgig during a confrontation with the Garthim. Aughra manages to escape her prison while urRu enter the castle.

While the two Gelfings meet back up at the central interior chamber where the crystal is housed just as the three suns begin to align, the Skeksis arrive to prepare for the immortality that they will gain from the Conjunction if the Crystal is not restored. Jen leaps onto the Crystal, but the shard falls from his hands; Kira grabs it, but is surrounded by the Skeksis. Leaving herself open, she throws the shard to Jen as the Ritual Master SkekZok kills her. Once the Conjunction begins, an enraged Jen places the shard in its appropriate place, unifying the crystal as the urRu arrive. When the Garthim shatter and the Skeksis' influence on the castle crumbles, the urRu and Skeksis reunite into their original urSkek incarnations. The urSkek leader, UngIm, speaks to Jen of their history, communicating directly with the consciousness via mystical sign language. UngIm restores Kira to life, then with his brethren departs the current plane of existence, leaving the Crystal and an injunction to "make [the] world in its light" to the Gelflings. Outside, the devastated world has been instantly restored to its former beauty and harmony.

To be continued.