Friday, October 17, 2008

oh what a night



the US Census Bureau phoned to clarify my information, about 15 minutes on the phone haggling over my answers to the recent Census forms mailed to my house. after, a call from my sister, we chat.

when my delays bring me to the Warfield, the Kings of Leon are already on stage. They are two songs in.

rustling up a beer is not so easy under the new regime. frustrating, in fact. eventually at a third bar i get a cold one poured into plastic cup and turn back into the crowd of young sweaty hipsters. an absurd exchange occurs with some dude who basically tells me i'm too tall when i step into an empty space on the floor. this is a public space and we all have general admission tickets, i remind him. we have been here all night, he says, and you are in my friend's way. i turn all the way around mid-song and behind me is a 5'2" girl. you must be joking, i think to myself. he keeps on yammering throughout the song about how i should "duck". there are two or three rows of equally tall people standing in front of ME. what i really want to say is : GET SOME PLATFORM SHOES AND BUCK UP. i won't be here long.

this is the new generation. they feel entitled.

in my whole life, an exchange like that has never happened to me. i have been to hundreds of shows in all kinds of venues. sometimes, three concerts in three different venues all in one night. slammed to the ground in mosh pits & come up with no eyeglasses to sitting pretty in the balcony at Carnegie Hall and hearing an orchestra patron fold their eyeglasses into jacket pocket in the third row.

i am a roamer. i travel solo. i move about the house, mingling in the crowd, watching and listening from many perspectives. i'm on the balcony, i'm in the parking lot, i'm at the bar, i'm in the crush, i'm in the fray. i like the mixing, the movement. it is live. this is THE SHOW.

[back to the show]

seeking sweet sound i find a prime location on the back of the second tier, along the tier wall, looking out over the sound board to center stage and offering a fine panorama of the house. it doesn't hurt that a particularly choice eye candy comes with it a few inches away, and with a momentary nod in the dark i am now hip-to-hip with my fine neighbor.

absorbing this guy's pheromones, i have an air of calm finally. my hair floats behind me and using my boots along the back of the wall i hike myself up another twelve inches higher and hang steady with elbows. i close my eyes and listen. this is rock and roll.

now i can draw this, in the dark.
they fill this space, these Kings of Leon.

on behalf of KoL, Caleb dedicates a song to us, the audience.
if we can do it justice, he says if i recall correctly. it is: cold desert.
special (ones walk on) without sound
i've always been known to cross lines
this is why i came here. for this very moment, this flow of musical communion. it is rather unexpected, the intensity i feel personally. i am drawn in, the pull of night. we share this, me and these kings of leon. i could be walking alone under meteor shower in a state of exhausted delirium. i am surrounded by people and the crowd is talking an audible chatter over this quiet song until it builds to a rousing finale they can shake their fists at.

my second drawing is made closer to stage, off to the right. a staff guy comes over and momentarily shines his flashlight on my book as i draw in the dark. damn, i pulled a blue pen not a black one. not noticed in the dark. i continue on with the drawing all the same.




ponying over to the bar for a last beer, I pull out only a few singles from my wallet; panic look, no wad of $20s from the ATM. all pockets turn up no cash. i curse my unfortunate philanthropic freefall onto the floor of the Warfield, which makes tonight an expensive public foray: almost $200 for a little over an hour.

Kings of Leon finish up and the house lights come up.
the Warfield is not quite the familiar place it once was for me.

at home shortly thereafter, a quick dig in my wallet left here on the kitchen counter turns up my ATM pull. not so expensive after all. i am curled up with the dog watching a movie by 11:30 PM. on a show night. hmm, the times, they are a changing. i guess i am okay with that.

---

Releaser pheromones

Releaser pheromones are powerful attractant molecules that some organisms may use to attract mates from a distance of two miles or more. This type of pheromone generally elicits a rapid response but is quickly degraded. In contrast, a primer pheromone has a slower onset and a longer duration.

Primer pheromones

Primer pheromones trigger a change of developmental events.

Territorial pheromones

Laid down in the environment, territorial pheromones mark the boundaries of an organism's territory. In dogs, these hormones are present in the urine, which they deposit on landmarks serving to mark the perimeter of the claimed territory.

Trail pheromones

Trail pheromones are common in social insects. For example, ants mark their paths with these pheromones, which are non-volatile hydrocarbons. Certain ants lay down an initial trail of pheromones as they return to the nest with food. This trail attracts other ants and serves as a guide. As long as the food source remains, the pheromone trail will be continually renewed. The pheromone must be continually renewed because it evaporates quickly. When the supply begins to dwindle, the trailmaking ceases.

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Friday, October 03, 2008

find the river

Find The River
R.E.M.
(Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)

Hey now, little speedyhead,
The read on the speedometer says
You have to go to task in the city
Where people drown and people serve
Don't be shy. Your just deserve
Is only just light years to go

Me, my thoughts are flower strewn
Ocean storm, bayberry moon
I have got to leave to find my way
Watch the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way

The ocean is the river's goal,
A need to leave the water knows
We're closer now than light years to go

I have got to find the river,
Bergamot and vetiver
Run through my head and fall away
Leave the road and memorize
This life that pass before my eyes
Nothing is going my way

There's no one left to take the lead,
But I tell you and you can see
We're closer now than light years to go
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
Fall into the ocean

The river to the ocean goes,
A fortune for the undertow
None of this is going my way
There is nothing left to throw
Of ginger, lemon, indigo,
Coriander stem and rows of hay
Strength and courage overrides
The privileged and weary eyes
Of river poet search naivete
Pick up here and chase the ride
The river empties to the tide
All of this is coming your way

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Monday, September 08, 2008

revelry :: only by the night

the Kings of Leon are keeping me company. a few weeks till they arrive to play The Warfield, looking forward to the live energy, swimming in that. soundtrack for the river is heavy on Kings, and the new release: Only By The Night. they kind of haunt me. hypnotic. over and over i listen.


R E V E L R Y kings of leon

what a night for a dance, you know i'm a dancing machine
with the fire in my bones and the sweet taste of kerosene
i get lost in the night so high i don't wanna come down
to face the loss of the good thing that i have found
woo hoo hoooo
woo hoo hoooo

in the dark of the night i could hear you callin' my name
with the hardest of hearts, i still feel full of pain
so i drink and i smoke and i ask you if your ever around
even though it was me who drove us right in the ground
see the time we shared it was precious to me
but all the while i was dreamin' of revelry

gonna run baby run like a stream down a mountainside
with the wind on my back i won't ever even bat an eye
just know it was you all along who had ahold of my heart
but the demon and me were the best friends from the start
so the time we shared it was precious to me
all the while i was dreamin' of revelry
dreamin' of revelry

and i told myself oh the way you go, it rained so hard it felt like snow
everything came atumbling down on me
in the back of the woods it was darker than night
palest of the old moonlight
everything just felt so [empty]
dreamin' of revelry
dreamin' of revelry
dreamin' of revelry
dreamin' of revelry

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