A Glow/Aglow.

The last time Okkervil River played in Athens, I was looking forward to the show so much for so long that I suppose I was setting myself up for disappointment. Not so this time. Lately I have been so busy and so tired that although I had been looking forward to seeing them, it wasn't the same. Plus, the last show was kind of disappointing for various reasons, so my expectations were lower. They needn't have been.

Somewhere between the first few songs Will Sheff mentioned how drunk he had been the last time they were in Athens. The b.h. and I looked at each other.
"Well, that explains a lot," the b.h. shouted in my ear (we both wear earplugs and most of our conversations at shows are shouted). I nodded vigorously, feeling relieved. So the guy isn't really like that. Well, okay then. I thought back to how annoyed the rest of the band seemed at the 40 Watt show, how Will had kept on "performing" after accidentally ripping the chord out of his guitar (he hadn't noticed), and the look on the guy's face who had to stop playing and plug it back in for him. Yeah. In retrospect, that one was kind of disappointing.

Again, though, not this time. The sound was great in the Georgia Theater, and once we moved upstairs the people who were talking downstairs (it's Athens - we're used to it) were drowned out. The band was in top form, and though we missed the presence of the multi-talented Jonathan (especially in the "Sloop John B." vocal harmonies), it was one of the best shows we have seen them play. The b.h. said it was his favorite, but I have a special place in my heart for the show we saw them play at the Earl in ATl@nta a couple years ago. In any case, we were appropriately blown away, so much so that we had trouble listening to the New Porn0graphers afterward. Not that they aren't fabulous in their own right, mind you. It's just that in our minds (and probably only ours) the bands should have been switched. We wound up leaving early. Our friend l (not to be confused with L, my friend from the B.S. Squared) called when we were already home and informed us that Will had gotten on stage to do a song with TNP. Ah well, we're old and tired and had to get up very early on Friday, so there you go.

Speaking of l, I don't see her much anymore, and Thursday was no exception, though we had called each other to go to that show. It was all very weird and confusing, but basically we got separated before the show and never really fixed things. (Sorry, l. Let's get a beer sometime, hey?)

We both worked early on Friday, and then I worked on Friday night as well. Saturday I got up and took the b.h. to work, and then came home and crashed for a few hours before going to the B.S. for a few hours. Last night I did laundry, put up new curtains, vacuumed up the seventy-five pounds of dog hair that have accumulated in the past week, cleaned the bathroom, and watched some TV on DVD. Flight of the Conchords is fucking hilarious. Also, I recommend The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. I definitely want my TV show to be on IFC or HBO. It's so much funnier when people can talk the way people really talk. (I have never heard anybody actually use the word "friggin'" in person, and I don't want to see it on TV either).

And oh, by the way, have any of you seen John From Cincinnati? Holy crap it's out there. "I've got my eye on you!" Yeah. Weird. I was following right along for the first several episodes, and then suddenly there was an episode that made me feel like I was on drugs. Or maybe that I needed some drugs. I watched it twice. Brilliant. Weird. David M1lch is my hero.

Today we're planning on visiting some friends here in the neighborhood for a bit, and then we'll be off to a friend's birthday party. It feels good to have a day off and a good plan. Right now I'm off to get a few more things in the ground before we head out. Happy Sunday, Y'all.