Our Pilgrimage to see Sufjan...A Visual Journey starring Leah! Traci! and Special Guests!

We arrived in Nashville as the sun was setting. The city has vibrating buildings, did you know that? Look, I captured one on film.



Then we met up with Karen and Josh to eat at this Jewish Deli called Noshville. They had bowls full of pickles sitting on all the tables. No, I didn't eat one. Sorry I don't have a picture of the pickles. DEAL WITH IT!

Then it was on to my favorite little banjoist/cheerleader, Mr. Sufjan Stevens. We waited in line for over an hour to get in. Missed Liz Jane completely. But we took pictures!

This is Kyle and Leah and me. It's our threesome prom photo. Notice how I'm awkwardly holding Leah's elbow, just like a real prom pic.


Finally, we made it in about 10 minutes before Sufjan came on. I enjoyed the show despite missing most of the visual portion. It sucks to be short. I did take some video over my head during the parts I couldn't see (I'll try to post that soon), so all was not lost. Here's a photo of the show that I didn't take.



Leah wants to be an Illinoisemaker. Here's a pic of her audition.


After standing up for 3 hours, we were tired. So we took a short nap on the floor of the Mercy Lounge. Sitting up of course, because who wants to get sticky show floor gunk in the hair?



After a trip to an all-night coffee bar, we went to sleep for reals ya'll.

But we awoke full of vigor and life and the desire to jump on beds.




And that was before breakfast!

Which was delicious at the Loveless Cafe. Ate some biscuits...bought some pie...took silly photos which have yet to be developed. So you know what that means...

NASHVILLE PHOTO POST...THE SEQUEL!!! Maybe...if you are lucky...and I get the photos developed within a month's time.

The planets must be in perfect alignment before The Surprise can be revealed. So while we wait for the celestial bodies to tilt and shift into place, I'll share some stuff I have overlooked posting before.

TV on the Radio - Dry Drunk Emperor

Arcade Fire and David Bowie - Wake Up (live)
Bowie's becoming a regular guest star at the Arcade Fire's shows, it seems.

Nada Surf - Do It Again

Kings of Convenience - I Don't Know What I Can Save You From (Royskopp remix)
I'm in love with this remix. I want the mp3 put on a computer chip and implanted inside my brain so I can hear it all the time.

Great Lake Swimmers - I Will Never See the Sun
Saw them last week with Akron/Family...that was a great show.

And in honor of the Nashville Sufjan show tomorrow night, here's a track from his Christmas album.
Sufjan Stevens - Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming

Possible BIG ANNOUNCEMENT about this blog in the near future, so get ready.

I have heard several of Ivy's songs over the past few years, but last week I bought two of their albums In the Clear and Long Distance. Both are good but I've been wearing out In the Clear. It pleases my pop sensibilities.



My current favorite is "The Corners of Your Mind." I'm a sucker for rhythmic piano sections.

Ivy - Corners of Your Mind

This song has come on my car CD player at 4 in the morning or almost 4 am three times the past week.

Ivy - Four in the Morning

Fast Food Daka!

And now for something a little different....journey with me into the land of African pop. Here we meet Amadou & Mariam, a married duo who sing in three different African languages and French. Leah was listening to them last night and when she said they were good, I thought it might be the Riesling talking. But lo and behold, she still likes them in the morning. And I do too. Pretty catchy!

Amadou & Mariam - Senegal Fast Food
Amadou & Mariam - M'Bife Balafon

Who cares that they only words you can understand are "Fast Food Daka?"

So I've been on vacation in Charleston, but I'm back now and it is time to stop slacking off and get into the groove. Speaking of getting into the groove, the Charleston radio stations sure like some old-school Madonna. I had forgotten how catchy her songs used to be. Another cool thing about Charleston...all the local stores we went in were playing good music. I heard Death Cab, Postal Service, Arcade Fire, and Modest Mouse among others. Even the tacky tourist stores.

Oh yeah...songs. Here's a few.

Biirdie - You've Got Darkness
Yes, that's "Biirdie" with two i's. They wanted to make it easy to Google. Man, that guitar at the end is rocking. This song makes me do the "totally cut loose and throw hair around spastically while jumping up and down" dance (you know what I'm talking about, don't pretend you don't). That's saying something.

Laura Veirs - Magnetized
Laura Veirs - Secret Someones
Laura Veirs has been opening for Sufjan during some shows, but unfortunately she won't be at the Nashville show. Maybe she'll come around again.

New Bloc Party
Bloc Party - Two More Years
The word is that this is the first single for their new album. Not the greatest quality file, but I like the song. I have a higher quality version, but it won't upload to the server for some reason.

This post is dedicated to Leah because she is my friend and she is awesome and she leaves me comments!