well, it’s official. summer is over. it’s raining and less than 70 degrees.

it’s awesome.

the nectar, however, is still pretty lame. but i got a free coke, so that’s a bonus. i guess i fit right in with my fancy cell phone and polo sweatshirt. but lucas and i chatted for a bit before the octopus project set, so don’t think i hated everyone there. i wanted to work on my social skills by talking to this random dude, but i couldn’t do it. i suppose there’s still time before i die. maybe.

diagonals
tonight was a texas two-some at the nectar. diagonals also hails from the only state that can still secede from the union and if they did, the U.S. pollution would decrease by leaps and bounds. at any rate, diagonals sounded like a morose flaming lips, sort of. but if the flaming lips played more surf rock stuff. the singer was the highlight of the band because he looks like drew toothpaste, but has his hair more under control and delivers his jokes with more deadpan. the band as a whole is a conglomeration of musicians from various genres that never really conglomerated. the bassist played punk lines (a.k.a. root notes), the drummer was nonchalantly basement indie, surf guitar floated from the right side of the stage, the singer is sort of new wave atonal, there’s one of those 60’s garage rock revival guitars, and the the keyboard is kind of psychedelic or just like the organ your great uncle used to play, the one with the option to play whole chords with just one key. they had some video playing, but really it was just two scenes alternating back and forth. they were okay, but i didn’t really feel like their heart was in it. that’s a necessary piece of musical performances for me.

the octopus project
yvonne, the girl in the octopus project, looks almost exactly like my ex-girlfriend. the one from college that is married to some douchebag from Brier. she is always pristine and every movement seems so deliberate and proper. i don’t really know how to describe it, but i always hated that about my ex. i hated her stage persona more than anything. not so much with yvonne, probably because i don’t know her off-stage persona. anyways, it’s always good to focus on the things you have contempt for when you want to get over someone. it’s also good to reaffirm that i got over that one over five years ago. now, i can have a little party when i think about how i conquered that demon. an angry party. furiously dancing the night away. with a frown and a smile at the same time. like some devil has possessed my feet and the only way to exorcise it is to dance. if you need a soundtrack for this sort of activity, the octopus project has you covered. there’s something about their seamless integration of button pushing and banging drums, of knob twisting and guitar picking, of precise theremin gestures and laptop manipulation that works some magic on crowds. before i get any further, i have a reputation for hating electronic music. you might be thinking that the octopus project might be trying to trick me into saying i like electronic music. well, it’s not going to happen. i sort of wish the octopus project had a singer. and while i’m not sure that “visualizations” are a necessary part of shows, the octopus project do it well. and their little artsy guys are kind of cute. but what we’re really here for is to dance out this demon. there is no greater dance-influencing song than “truck“, the song that they ended their set with (before an encore, that is). it even got this electronic music hating gentleman with the expensive phone and polo sweatshirt to move around. maybe because it’s in 7/4. maybe it was the free coke. maybe i don’t hate electronic music that much. damn you, the octopus project, you win.

now, i’m going to listen to the rain through the high-pitched whine in my ears, thinking, until i somehow fall asleep. i guess i should go to school tomorrow and get things all set up for kids to return.