who likes erykah badu? anyone want to go see her in february? floetry is the opening act.
Erykah Badu
Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
Sat, Feb 28, 2004 7:00pm
usually, i'm not one to shy away from hitting a show solo. however, this is more of a seated venue, so i wouldn't mind having some people in tow. shows at the HOB and other such "dance" oriented venues are fine for flying solo, as you can mingle in the crowd, look for friends, whatever. leave a comment if you're interested....i'll contact you about tickets.
i made risotto again last night; i used a recipe from cooking light that played upon the salad caprese theme - risotto with fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes and fresh basil.
i had a small gift certificate to use up at trader joe's, and before heading over, i looked at my recipes and got ingredients for a few. next up, shrimp tacos - i've been fiending and cannot find any in chicago that rival cabo fish taco in charlotte.
i've heard that there are fish tacos at baja fresh, but i haven't had a chance to try this place...
with only 4 months remaining on our lease, it's time to purge. i'll be (hopefully) moving into a small condo - nothing is finalized, but i've got a reservation on a place, pending contracts / mortgage applications - that is cute, but small.
so much smaller than the HUGE duplex we've called home for 2 1/2 years. how much stuff we've accumulated is scary; with the start of the new year, it's only natural to turn our thoughts to moving out...
thanks to amy, i've also got a new mindset - nonattachment.
i've been a bigtime pack-rat all my life. where's mom, she can surely attest to this! so, moving forward, it's really a time to evaluate my life. in 4 months, i will be living in a new place, and i the change will be good.
after 12 luxurious days off, i'm now back at work on some sort of "regular" schedule - ha! it's been too long, i think.
miami was a whirlwind. i was down on the beach for all of 50 hours, and it was hectic!
after arriving, i grabbed a quick bit at the big pink and inquired as to where i could get my sushi on - they pointed me to shoji sushi down the block. i was very excited about the prospect of hitting this place in the coming days....
after the grub, sj & i took a quick walk down to the beach to check it out. we had beautiful 80 degree weather all during the trip with sick beach breezes to cool us down. we did the usual preshow gearing up - getting dressed, decked out in sparkles and glitter - and made for the venue. the main lot was closed on the 30th, so we wandered around a bit & took in the sights. we headed in after a little bit as the crowds getting in were pretty thick.
the show on the 30th was possibly one of the most exciting shows i've seen to date (#41 in my phistory):
Set I: Wilson> Sand> Shafty> NICU, Weigh, Cities, Strange Design, Scent of a Mule, Bathtub Gin, Also Sprach Zarathustra 1
Set II: Tube> L.A. Woman 2> Birds of a Feather> L.A. Woman> Makisupa Policeman> Booty Ain't Nothing But a Butt Rap 2,3> Give Up the Funk(Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)> P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up), Makisupa Policeman 4, Down With Disease
Encore: Contact, While My Guitar Gently Weeps
1 with multiple teases, including P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
2 first time played; with "Timber Ho!" tease right before "Birds"
3 with George Clinton and Parliament; everyone, including Phish, left the stage at the conclusion
4 With Fishman singing opening line of "Touch Me", not played since 12/3/94
we were already planning on hitting the parliament after-party, so when they came out during the show it was pure BANANAS! one of those moments which probably won't translate so good on disc, but i've got it in my memory bank now.
the after-party was held at this studio lot called the ice palace. it was truly ghetto, perfect for late-night post-phish adventures. the p-funk was ragin' and mike gordon, bassist from phish, showed up & jammed for awhile. it was funny watching this white boy jam up on stage with the crazy p-funk crew, but he held it down.
we made it back to the condo and i promptly fell asleep from my long day of travel (left for the airport around 7 am - ouch!).
we slept in way late, and sj & i headed out to the sushi joint for a late lunch. too bad we missed the lunch cutoff (3 pm) and couldn't wait until 6 pm for the dinnertime. that's OK, we decided we'd hit it up the next day before leaving town. we wandered around the shopping district for awhile before grabbing lunch at tutti's cafe. this is where i think i lost my ring, one of the ONLY pieces of jewelry i wore on a regular basis, so that was a crapper. maybe i should try calling down there...who knows?
again, headed to the venue around 7 pm; this time, we just went straight in. got to our seats in the 300 level, but midway through the 1st set, we were stubbed down to section 105 and hung out with a bunch of cool guys from tampa (hi guys!!). the show was SMOKING (#42):
Set I: Wilson 1, Mike's Song> I am Hydrogen> Weekapaug Groove 2, The Moma Dance, Guyute, You Enjoy Myself, First Tube> Tube 1
Set II: Stash, Seven Below, Lawn Boy, Chalkdust Torture 2> Slave to the Traffic Light> Chalkdust Torture
Set III: Jungle Boogie 3,4> Auld Lang Syne> Iron Man 3, Runaway Jim, Simple, Reba, I Didn't Know, Feel Feel Feel The Heat 3> HYHU, Run Like An Antelope
Encore: Frankenstein
1 ending only;completes 12/30 version
2 with "Auld Lang Syne" teases
3 First time played
4 A MINI automobile is lowered from high above Fishman's drum kit to the stage. Dozens of marching band members and cheerleaders emerge, one by one from the car until the stage is overrun by drumming marching band members. Fishman then counts down to NYE
the countdown was ragin', complete with a southern-style marching band and huge energy. both shows i saw were really hot in terms of crowd action & band performance. just a great way to ring in the new year. finding a cab after the show was difficult, to say the least. we also witnessed a fight at the bus stop, while waiting around for a bus or cab to take us back to the beach. when we finally got back, it was a nice feeling to get out of the craziness of downtown miami and get back to our condo on the beach!
we spent the last hours of the night at the beach, taking in the peaceful waves and killer sunrise - good way to unwind.
the last day, we tried to get sushi again, only to be told they decided not to open for lunch on the 1st - WTF?! they really should've mentioned that the day before, as we talked about coming back the next day. oh well, i guess i wasn't supposed to get my sushi on in miami. i promptly ordered some when i got home that night.
it was great riding the el back home on the 1st. i'm a city girl, and miami was not exactly my cup of tea. i think i enjoyed my NYC trip last year a bit more, but i also had more time to check out the city, so i can't really make a true comparison.
either way, i saw two great shows & got to hang with my best friend on new year's eve - not exactly something we get to do often now that sj lives in charlotte.
January 28, 2004