Hey everyone,
Sorry for the extended absence. You know how it goes at an office, even for ghost dogs: you take a vacation, and they make your life miserable immediately before you leave and after you return. So mainly I've been catching up this past week, but the husband and I had a wonderful time in lovely Ireland!
Pretty, isn't it? If you go to Ireland any time soon, I really recommend heading up north to Antrim. That was my favorite part of our Irish travels.
Meanwhile, on St. Paddy's day proper, I am decidely NOT enjoying the luck o' the Irish. This morning I leisurely checked my work email before showering and walking the dogs to find that the head honcho had sent out one of those group scolding emails re: timeliness that I'm sure was only meant to be addressed to like me and a couple of other people, but this company is very passive-aggressive like that. So really, I have no one to blame for myself with regard to my chronic tardiness, but it's still a bummer on St. Patrick's Day, and really, I pay this company back tenfold with unpaid overtime.
Then when I was making my morning tea, I spilled some boiling water on my fingers...ouch!
Good thing that tonight is a much-anticipated
Flogging Molly concert! This L.A.-based "celtic punk" band is one of my husband's discoveries...he checked them out while Iris and Ro and I were rocking out to Saul Williams at last year's Lolla. He became an instant fan and bought a bunch of their albums, and listening to them in the car with him, I was converted as well. So although I'm not super-familar with song titles and such, I know that I will definitely enjoy this concert experience. Provided I don't get hit by a bus or some such beforehand. And I will do my best to bring you a full review sometime in the next...oh, year or so.
Unfortunately, in my rush to get out the door this morning, I forgot the camera, so no A/V goodies, but I'll do my best to steal some off of YouTube so that you get the general idea.
In other news, Trent wrote a huge
anti-scalping rant, which I think is meant to deflect anger that if you see the whole NINJA package (if the whole "NINJA" name thing is not due to the pernicious and super-gay influence of Rob Sheridan, I will eat my metaphorical hat), you may be paying up to $150 for the best seats/general admission. Panic ensuing
here.
Luckily for us in the Windy City, NIN will be unaccompanied by either JA or Street Sweeper, and I suspect that this is because those other two bands will be playing Lollapalooza, and there's a whole contractual thing re: when bands are allowed to play Chicago before or after the show. So our ticket prices (according to the presale, which sold out in a millisecond before Ro and I could score tickets) will be around $45. Normal Trent prices.
I must say I'm disappointed that tickets in other cities are going so high. I know, thanks to JR, that there are a LOT of factors that go into pricing, but we are in a recession, folks! I also know that there are a lot of people who would be willing to travel to multiple shows, given that it's being billed as The. Last. NIN. Show. Maybe. Not. For. Forever. But. Definitely. For. A. While. But these ticket prices are too prohibitive for those diehard fans. And...whatever, I guess. No one is forcing anyone to buy tickets or not buy tickets. If you're that diehard and poor, maybe you should settle for nosebleeds rather than not go to the show. Maybe you're pissed and want to say, fuck it, and not go at all, and I think that's a valid reaction.
I think what I'm most annoyed about are the strange venues and cities on the tour. I guess maybe it's a Live Nation thing. But I was hoping for maybe a Milwaukee or Madison show...you know, something easy to get to from Chicago, so that I could hit an extra show. But the closest they're getting is Noblesville, IN, north of Indianapolis, and eh...forget it.
So expect a lot of wailing and [gnashing _of_teeth] on NIN boards, and expect some defensive blow-up from Trent any day now over it.
(It's okay, Trent, we still love you!)
It's kind of funny because although it's cool to have NIN and Jane's Addiction on the same bill, were the two fan groups THAT interrelated that they each wanted to see ticket prices shoot up like 150% to see both acts at the same time?
Anyhoo, it's back to the proverbial grindstone for me...I'll be back soon to tell you all about the reasonably priced and festive Flogging Molly!
