signed, sealed, delivered.
status check - decent
background ambiance - "today"

hmm. to have a weekend's worth of tales worthy of sharing, yet not knowing the best way to condense them. and not knowing particularly what to say. i'll give it a shot, anyway.

i had a giddy saturday afternoon in boston, wandering a little and laughing a lot with tom and becca. i reveled in the warm sunshine, teamed up with tom for my first subway performance session (sans permit, no less - ok fine, it consisted of the two of us cracking jokes, dancing like fools and otherwise playing around for just a few minutes) and then enjoyed dinner and the red sox at t's with becca and michelle pre-paradise show.

the lineup included the clicks, seeking homer and averi ... it was pretty tight, i'll admit, especially since averi had faced a void where michael usually was. while he focused on getting well, the band added dennis on keys and vocals, steve on sax and three female backup singers. i was skeptical, particularly as the band kicked into "waiting for a ghost" and chad waited until the chorus to make his way into the spotlight, carrying a beer and a cordless mic. i didn't see the need for an entrance, but apparently he did. right.

i shrugged most of such thoughts away, choosing instead to focus on dancing, singing along and otherwise enjoying the show. i was successful, for the most part. as is often the case with shows with musicians gaining in popularity, the amount of talking during the performance was more than i was used to, which left me ready to yell, "would you kindly shut the hell up?" a few times. the girls screaming for "garden of eden", conveniently positioned immediately behind us, flashed me back to "I LOVE YOU HOWIE" at avalon. chad seemed to be playing more the part of a frontman than his previously typical vocalist/rhythm guitarist role, and the whole standing on the side speaker move worked more for me when dennis used it.

but the musicanship demonstrated by the rest of the band impressed me again to no end, particularly stuart, dennis and steve. i always know chris and matt will do well in their silent ways, but i'm happy to see stu getting more attention. and dennis and steve? they're no michael, obviously, but i thought they were amazing. dennis possessed a laidback charisma that immediately won me over, while steve put everything he had into giving the audience the best sax performance he could. it was clear he was nervous - but he did incredibly well. i tried to find steve post-show to tell him, but was unsuccessful. i was able to tell dennis that i thought he rocked - his gleeful reaction made me like him all the more.

several moments stuck out, recalled now in no particular order than my rambling memory. ellis paul's appearance thrilled me - "3,000 miles" provided a great moment. a cover of "signed, sealed, delivered" appeared and blew me away. i rocked out with reckless abandon. "flutter" made me laugh - michelle and i cracked up as we realized we knew the live version so much better than the studio track these days.

during a solo, i heard uncannily appropriate lyrics that made me wonder what inspired the song and how i should feel about the fact that i'd apaprently not been the only person to sense a shift - and detected it from an outsider position, no less. somehow, i wound up feeling better AND worse.

when we left the club and headed back to the apartment, i sat in the back of a top-down jeep, staring behind me at the skyline. i felt like there was nothing separating me from the city as i sped away. later that night, i looked upon the skyline from the top of prospect hill, thought of all those who lived there, and hoped they never grow completely accustomed to such a beautiful sight of lights on night.

after this weekend (and my flatmate), i'll never be able to look at cantalope the same way. and last night, this blog worked itself into my dream. in it, beck had left a comment.

????

related links:
- the click (http://www.theclicklovesyou.com) (opening band - energetic and endearing. covered "i think we're alone now" and won me over)
- seeking homer (http://www.seekinghomer.com) (first time seeing them since they played st. michael's - and a crowd of maybe ten - my sophomore year. tighter grooves now and performed well)
- ellis paul (http://www.ellispaul.com) (i think everyone should listen to a little ellis. it's good for you)
- averi (http://www.averimusic.com) (i predict they sign with a label by the end of the summer. f.b.o.w.)