I told myself that I wasn't going to do to Maggie what I did to Molly. For Molly, who I had from puppyhood, Halloween costumes were a way of life. The norm. She didn't seem to mind the outfits and she loved the extra attention that she received from the neighborhood kids.
Cowgal Molly ~ 2007
Hot dog Molly ~ 2008
I really wasn't planning on buying Maggie a costume. Maggie is a rescue and we worked hard to build a trusting relationship. She feels secure in our home. Happy. Now, she is looking out the door and wondering if this humiliation is worth the guarantee of having food in her bowl each day.
Pixie Pup Maggie ~ 2010
Totally going to kill you after you fall asleep tonight.
I'm sorry, sweet Maggie. I have betrayed your trust. You look super cute, though, and you should know... it could have been worse:
I cannot think of a better way to spend a chilly, autumn night than to head to an outdoor waterfront venue and listen to live music. I wasn't sure how the opening act, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals would mesh with the headlining Avett Brothers, but by the end of the night, I was blown away by both.
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, as usual, killed it. I cannot express how much I love this chick's voice! I met Grace for a couple of minutes after her set and let me just tell you... taking a photo with her was a terrible idea. I'm still sharing it, because, hey... cool, but I felt like Ursula to her Little Mermaid; a magic troll doll to her Barbie; a hobgoblin to her fairy princess.
This band is crazy-hot, bursting with sex appeal and more importantly, talent. I always love a band more in a smaller venue, but GP&TN had the pavilion engaged with their electricity. I hope they're documenting life on the road for a future Behind The Music-style rockumentary kind of deal because I have no doubt that this band is a partying like mad and I want to live vicariously while sitting on my couch in flannel pajamas.
After a short intermission, I started to notice the fog surrounding me. It didn't take long to realize that it wasn't a smoke machine or the weather. Apparently, and no, I was not aware because I rarely leave my house, The Avett Brothers fans are a bunch of pot-smoking hippies. Of course, as a Human Resources professional, I cannot condone such behavior, but as an innocent inhaler of second hand smoke, I ... forgot what I was going to say.
I'm new to The Avett Brothers but have been loving the I And Love And You album. The songs are chilling and beautiful and I usually listen to them when I need to mellow out. I had no idea that this band was going to rock my face off. Even though there were plenty of bored hipsters who were annoyed that The Avetts are no longer their well-kept secret, I loved watching the happily baked hippies dancing and spinning in the aisles and the moochers hula hooping across from the pier and listening for free.
I rarely leave a show early, but I wanted to beat the mass exodus so I skipped out a few songs short of the encore. I had parked my car across the street in the garage over Rams Head Live. As I walked through the hallway of the venue, I heard The New Pornographers were still playing so I popped in for about two songs, including My Rights Versus Yours. There is no better way to an end a night of music than to see one more great live band before heading home.
I leave you with a favorite video from each of these bands, all recorded by others because I always forget to break out my camera. This time, I'm blaming the hippies.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Medicine, on Jimmy Kimmel
The Avett Brothers - Tin Man, filmed by a fan in Charlottesville.
New Pornographers video for Your Hands (Together).
It was lust at first sight, but now I just love her. She is supple and smooth. She wears a silk scarf that she said I could borrow if I would just claim her as my own. I would carry her and in return, she would carry everything I need within her. The trouble is, my affections are not enough. She will not come home with me unless I throw an obscene amount of money towards her. The whore.
Is it getting weird that lately, every other post has to do with Rhett Miller? I'm kind of apprehensive about posting this because I feel like I might seem creepy and stalkerish, but my love for this brilliant man's music trumps my trepidation and so once again, I give you, an evening with Rhett Miller. (And for your entertainment, an added bonus of my humiliation.)
My original plans for the weekend included doing laundry and reading the two books that I am dying to finish. (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, for those who want to imagine a world of morbid post-apocalyptic entertainment and The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner, for those who would prefer to live vicariously through a cranky journalist's quest to find a happy place. Between the thrilling adventure and the hunt for peace of mind, it's no wonder that I'm on an emotional roller coaster these days. Sure, I'll blame the books.)
After wrapping up my work duties last Thursday, I did a quick Facebook read-through and noticed that there was a ticket give-away on Rhett's page. The first person to name the first single from RM's self-titled album would win a pair of tickets to his show at the Museum at Bethel Woods. This venue was the site of the Woodstock festival and oh, only about five hours away from where I live. A few people answered the trivia question but, they were unable to attend. It did not take long for me to decide that I would rather take a scenic road trip to see my favorite frontman than do laundry and mop my floors, so I swooped in to answer the question, (Need To Know Where I Stand), and won! The hard part was telling my husband. "Yeah... so I'm going to go see Rhett Miller... again. In New York... again ... Tomorrow." After years of being a football widow, he agrees that it's only fair that it's his turn to be a concert widow. He did not object and so I called Dave, his Rhett-fan cousin to see if he'd like to come with.
Saturday afternoon, Dave and I set out for the open road. It was the perfect day for a road trip. We traveled through three seasons in five hours. It was a summery 80 degrees in Annapolis, but as we drove through the mountains of northwest Pennsylvania, we saw the first signs of fall in the autumn leaves. We rolled through a magnificent sunset that cast a golden glow on the Pocono mountainside while the sky turned to night through shades of pink and lilac and violet blue. By the time we arrived in Bethel, we stepped out of the truck and into the darkness of winter. The temperature was about 50 degrees cooler than when we started but it was refreshing. (Especially after sitting in a truck with Dave, the chain-smoker. Five hours of second-hand smoke was a small price to pay for having someone drive all the way to New York and back, so I won't give the guy any grief. COUGH COUGH. Thanks, Dave!)
We found our seats in the Event Gallery, a gorgeous space with a tall, wood-domed ceiling that reminded me of the church where Matt and I were married. The audience must have felt similar reverence for the venue because Rhett mentioned that we were all pretty well-behaved for a night of rock and roll. He reminded us that there was a bar behind us and he would not be offended at all if we left our seats to visit the bartender. Even though we were seated nicely, everyone was having a blast, chair-dancing and singing along.
Dave snagged the set list after the show and gave it to me, to return the favor of doing the same for him when Rhett sang Come Around for Dave and his wife at the York, PA show last month.
It was a treat to hear some songs that I don't remember hearing live in the past, like Buick City Complex, Stoned, and Blinding Sheets of Rain. Hearing Jagged and a few songs from his solo album The Believer, was a fun reminder of when I was first introduced to the Old 97's and Rhett Miller. I was mostly excited to hear the songs on the 97's newest release which I'll touch on more in a bit. I am happy that other people are so good about digitally capturing and sharing performances to be relived over and over. Since I really want to share something from the new release, but failed to record a second of the Bethel show, here is video of Rhett performing "Let The Whiskey Take The Reins", shot by my friend Marie at a show last month in PA.
As usual, Rhett met with his fans after his set to sign things, take photos, and chat. Since the last meeting that I had with him after his York, PA show went so well, I was not expecting to have a relapse back to my catatonic awkwardness of our meeting in New York City. Wrong! I was prepared to talk about our proximity to the "hamlet of Wallkill", a setting in his song "Need To Know Where I Stand" and home to my Aunt and Uncle. I wanted to sing high praises for the new Old 97's album that releases tomorrow. Unfortunately, I was rattled from a disturbing text message that I read while we were standing in line, and suddenly, it was our turn. The confidence that I carried from our last meeting vanished, along with all of my rehearsed dialogue. I lost my mind. I am too mortified to share the first comment that escaped my unfiltered mouth, but suffice it to say, I set the tone to awkward with no chance of recovery. I filled the uncomfortable space between us with inane ramblings while in my mind, I mourned the end of my Old 97's ride. This is it, I thought. I can no longer attend another show for the rest of my life because I apparently have social anxiety disorder when in Rhett's presence.
Gracious Rhett Miller and Socially Inept Stephanie
Despite my idiocy, he was incredibly kind if not freaked out. I comforted myself with the thought that he probably deals with a couple of manic fan-girls after every show. As embarrassed as I was, of course, this will not be my last show. I will just have to make sure that I am never without alcohol or xanax in the future. Or maybe a wig and giant sunglasses.
This post provides me with a timely opportunity to tell all four of my readers that the new Old 97's album, The Grand Theatre Volume I, will be available tomorrow!
It has been cool to learn some of the songs in the last few solo shows that I've attended, but thrilling for all of us fans to hear the final product when the album was made available to stream online. Not sure how long the link will work, but check it out while you can.I honestly love every song on TGTV1 and I cannot wait until December to sing along in Baltimore and Philadelphia. And in the event of a post-show chat, to avoid humiliation, I can guarantee that I will Let the Whiskey (or probably, gin) Take The Reins.
