neglectnormalcy

I first got into Shakira in high school when I went to visit my family in Panama. Shakira was like Madonna of Latin America. Still is. Her music rocks, and I consider it the best female pop this world has to offer. (Yes, she trumps Gwen in the solo department.)  Today at lunch I caught her video for "La Tortura." Ever notice how Shakira is such a seductively amazing dancer that none of her videos have backup dancers? They wouldn't be able to keep up. And, yes, there have been moments where I catch myself trying to move my hips like her...in my room...alone...in the full-length mirror. It's just never going to look like her when I do it...I've come to terms with the facts. But you know you've done it too!

So Ryan Seacrest and Teri Hatcher were seen canoodling on a beach. What a weak PR plan you lame publicists! Teri Hatcher is going to get over her "heartbreak" of George Clooney (read: Vanity Fair, weepy story about dreams of settling down with The World's Most Famous Bachelor coupled with melodramatic revelations about the her troubled multi-millionaire life and marriage) with Ryan Seacrest? I'd like to believe it, really, I would. But you just don't go from the sexiest Goddamn man in the world to ...Seacrest OUT!

In Yessica news, last night and today I've been strangely absentminded. I don't forget things. But last night I swore I turned the lights off before I went to bed and then I went to the bathroom and they were on. And then this morning I was reaching around my desk looking for my glasses like I always do, and they weren't there - I had left them in the bathroom, without putting them on the night before. And a million little things like that. I thought I was losing my mind. Today, also, hasn't been that great of a day. Shitty fucking day, actually. Included a solid cry, a depressing phone call with the boyf (nothing to do with said cry), some disappointment and a chip of hope lost, and the same shitty job holding more shitty surprises for weekends and evenings to come. I wish I could come up with a better word for shitty, but I'm too exhausted from today. At least I got some Cold Stone Ice Cream and Papa John's (in that order) to help swallow it down. Mmmm...garlic sauce.

Friday night Erica and I headed up to Worcester for a show -

MenWomen&Children
The Matches
The Format
Motion City Soundtrack

We hadn't heard any MenWomen&Children, but we heard that they were fun stuff. They lived up to the hype because their beats had us dancing around, trying not to spill our beers as we shook our hips and dodged sullen emo kids who didn't get it. At one point in a song all the band members started flailing their limbs and running in chaotic circles all over the stage. It was entrancing, and Erica and I have already recreated it numerous times since that night.

I was excited for The Matches, though I'm more excited to just hear some new songs. Their last cd came out in 2003. I heard that their new cd promises to rock and that they recorded so many songs, they plan on releasing another cd a year after the next one. Good idea. Their set was solid, though it started out sounding shitty. That minor problemo was fixed, and I could stop cringing. Their new songs sound good; they played one that was cowritten by Tim Armstrong that sounded so...Tim Armstrong. They didn't play a lot of what I considered crowd faves - "Dog-Eared Page" or "Borderline Creep" (as one girl in the bathroom remarked). However, they did play their untitled song that had everyone humming along. Nice surprise. "Sick Little Suicide" was amazing; it's one of their best songs.

The Matches have this great energy when they play, but apparently it didn't hit everyone. Erica and I were standing on the stairs and this chica in front of me had her shoulders hunched and her head to the side like she was sleepy...or literally emo'd out. For some reason, this really annoyed me. She didn't have any friends around her, and she was clearly not enjoying the show. Why was she taking up space? I was a little mean at one point - when they started playing the untitled song, I hummed right next to her ear without her knowledge, trying to get a reaction out of her. Nothing. Maybe she was too freaked out to acknowledge it was actually happening. [You can check out the picture of Erica making a sleepy face next to her. She was was so oblivious.]

Moving on - The Format took the stage and Erica and I headed back to the bar. Pretty much every song started out acoustic or slow and then the audience clapped them into a beat. By the end of the song, it was some sort of wacky rock going on. Find a new format.... OH! Yeah, that was cheap. Also, the lead singer is definitely hiding his lack of a nice face with a horrible, horrible haircut.

Finally. Finally! Motion City Soundtrack. I'm going to pause and track back for a nice little memory. Freshman year of college (five fucking years ago, geez) I went to see The All-American Rejects. Motion City, with not even a cd released, opened for them. One of the very few times I've fallen in love with a band straight from a live show. Their shows are always fun, and Justin Pierre (vocals) and his crazy hair never cease to amaze. I got to interview him last year, and he's one of the nicest dudes on the planet. And Friday night I was so happy to see them headlining, and see the crowd enjoying them to the fullest.

Their setlist rocked. From "Boombox Generation" to "Make Out Kids," Erica and I swung our bodies to every song. Except when sweaty kids pushed and pulled past us. To said kids: when the band takes the stage, pick a spot, stick to it. Or at least find an alternative route that doesn't include your sweaty back along the length of my arm. Their encore ended with "The Future Freaks Me Out" and everybody screamed every word in a moment of fucking unity, man. The band seemed to be loving it and...you gotta love that.

After the show, Erica and I, being on a natural show high (you know what I mean) decided to drive down the road to Assumption College because we learned Dashboard Confessional was playing there. A few years ago, I had gone to about six show of Dashboard's a year, to nada for the past couple. Yes, I even went shopping with the band in Boston, too. So, we ventured out into Worcester-land in the most manic mood ever. We didn't know where we were going, but we enjoyed the hilarity of the ride. We finally got to Assumption, saw that the show had just let out, then....just kept driving. Our original plan was to park and see if any band members were up for hanging out, but we nixed that in about two seconds when we saw the tour buses. I'll never know why we didn't stop, but we didn't regret it. Erica's memory of the drive-by dissolved three seconds after it happened because "Dance, Dance" came on the radio and she started rocking out in the passenger seat. She's really into Fall Out Boy. You'll probably be hearing a lot about that in future posts. Warned!