Write all the things!

Whew, it's been awhile. There are actually things I could have written about months ago, and I just didn't! But, hey, there's no statute of limitations on these things, right? RIGHT. Accordingly, here's a post about the Second City That Never Sleeps event in Chicago back in mid-December ... plus a couple of other things.

The Second City That Never Sleeps. Letters to Santa. The 24-hour improv marathon for charity has been held for ten years now. I've attended eight of those ten. In 2004 I didn't quite make it for the entire 24 hours ... but even if you take that plus meal and bathroom breaks into account, by my calculations, I've spent upwards of 180 hours inside the Second City Etc. theater. That's over a week!

Of those eight years, I think 2012 was the best yet. For $20 at the door, we got an astounding 24 hours of entertainment. Look at this lineup, you guys. LOOK AT IT:

SCHEDULE
6:00PM guest improvisers OLIVIA WILDE & AIDY BRYANT
6:30PM Skyping from Dublin GLEN HANSARD
9:00PM JEFF TWEEDY
10:00PM JEFF TWEEDY LIVING ROOM CONCERT AUCTION
11:00PM guest improviser FRED SCHNEIDER
12:00AM KIM DEAL
12:00AM Cecily Strong joins the cast until 3:00AM
1:30AM guest comedian FRED ARMISEN
2:30AM JC BROOKS & THE UPTOWN SOUND with FRED ARMISEN
4:30AM MIKE KOSINSKI
7:00AM BONNIE PRINCE BILLY
10:00AM STEVE ALBINI interviews NATE SILVER
12:00PM JENNY GILLESPIE
2:00PM ROBBIE FULKS
4:30PM THE BLISTERS

FEATURED IMPROVISERS
RYAN ARCHIBALD
EMILY CANDINI
DINA FACKLIS
SUE GILLAN
SCOTT GOLDSTEIN
BEAU GOLWITZER
SHELLY GOSSMAN (SULLIVAN & SON/ EX-SNL WRITER)
PAUL GRONDY
MIKE KOSINISKI
TJ JAGODOWSKI
BRENDAN JENNINGS
MICHAEL PATRICK O'BRIEN (7 MINUTES OF HEAVEN/ SNL WRITER)
SAM RICHARDSON
TIM ROBINSON (SNL)
REBECCA SOHN
RICH SOHN
FRED ARMISEN (SNL)
SUDEIKIS & WILDE featuring JASON SUDEIKIS & OLIVIA WILDE

More of the public seems to be catching on to the amazingness of this event, because for the first time in my memory, there was a line of people waiting to get into the theater until the wee hours of the morning. Thanks to attrition, around 2:00 a.m., everyone was finally able to get inside.

Favorite parts:

• Glen Hansard singalong to "The Auld Triangle," via Skype from backstage in Dublin
• Fred Armisen performing "Fist Fight" with J.C. Brooks & the Uptown Sound, recreating a sketch from SNL
• Fred Schneider of the B-52s doing Fred Schneider improv exercises
• Winning one of the four (!!) Jeff Tweedy living room shows
• Kim Deal playing "Cannonball"
• 2:00 a.m. flash mob led by Dina Facklis and Olivia Wilde; the whole audience went outside and performed a "choreographed" dance in the middle of the street to "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO 
• Steve Albini interviewing Nate Silver; Nate Silver weighing in on the best burrito in Chicago
• Robbie Fulks's "Rap of the Dead" 2012

The night after Letters to Santa (ended), I saw Andrew Bird play a Gezelligheid show at the Fifth Presbyterian Church. I'm glad the timing worked out so well. It was a lovely show in a lovely setting. I could watch songs from the "Hands of Glory" EP performed around the old-timey single microphone all day long.

I also saw the Avett Brothers last month in Madison! And Jeff Tweedy's Youth Scholarship benefit shows at the Vic in Chicago last week! The Avetts played the Orpheum, and I was once again grateful for the refurbished lower stage. At one point Seth and Scott took to one of the opera boxes to play a few songs, an Orpheum first for me. The Vic scholarship shows are all-request evenings, and it was great to see Jeff perform my picks of "Nothing Up My Sleeve" and "Radio Cure" acoustic. Plus all the other songs, of course.

 Olivia Wilde's photo of our flash mob dance practice in the Piper's Alley lobby. I love this picture because it is - just guessing here - probably the only time Paul and I will ever be in a photo taken by Olivia Wilde, along with Jason Sudeikis and TJ Jagodowski. (We're a few rows back, on the right.)

Andrew Bird's stage for the Gezelligheid show

The Avett Brothers at the Orpheum

Weather systems

It's been a gorgeous month of March in Wisconsin, which has put me in an excellent mood. Perhaps nature is trying to make up for the crappy spring weather we had in 2011. I'll admit that mid-March temps in the low 80's are taking things a little too far, but mostly it's been a delight.

Besides the good weather, I had additional reasons to be in a good mood this weekend. Friday night I saw The Hunger Games, which - despite not being as good as the book, as is almost always the case - I enjoyed. The costumes and makeup get a thumbs up from me, the Reaping scene was excellent, and so was the large African-American man in the audience dressed up as Effie Trinket.

Saturday morning I went out for blueberry pancakes with some friends and their adorable baby, and Saturday night I went to Milwaukee to see Andrew Bird at the Riverside. It's been a couple years since I caught an Andrew Bird show (though I did see his exhibit at the Chicago MCA in 2011), which made this concert especially enjoyable. Andrew and his band played many songs from the new album, Break it Yourself, which was included as a free download with every concert ticket purchased for this tour. Kudos, Mr. Bird. The three non-percussionists also gathered around a single microphone at the front of the stage for a total of five songs, something that Andrew seemed to indicate they'd only done at the Ryman - but they wanted to try it out in Milwaukee because the Riverside sounds so good. The versions of "Effigy" and the Handsome Family's "So Much Wine" they played in that configuration were my favorite parts of the show.

After staying out far too late in Milwaukee, I am enjoying a leisurely Sunday in preparation for ... the two-hour season premiere of Mad Men!!! Not that I'm excited about its return or anything.

Meet me here at dawn

Second City 24-hour Letters to Santa Benefit, year seven!  December 15th-16th from 6 p.m. - 6 p.m.  Here's the annual incomplete timeline:

7:40 p.m.: Jeff Tweedy sings "Remember the Mountain Bed" to the super-awesome Tami Sagher.  He's playing a lovely Kel Kroydon guitar with peacocks on it.

9:53 p.m.: There is improv.

10:31 p.m.: Gerald Dowd and Robbie Fulks.  Robbie's performance of the 2009 Rap of the Dead was amazing, as it is every year I've gotten to see it.

12:41 a.m.: Horatio Sanz and Matt Walsh from UCB, joined by TJ.

1:48 a.m.: Slow-motion reenactment of one minute from the greatest rock concert ever.

3:24 a.m.: Everyone joins the Flash Mob Marching Band, marching around the third floor of Piper's Alley

3:39 a.m.: More improv.  I just remember that this woman was supposed to be flying.

6:13 a.m.: Bonnie "Prince" Billy plays an enchanting early-morning set.

8:26 a.m.: The babies (and children) perform a scene together.

9:00 a.m.: It's a pyramid of comedy!  And a stray baby left in the background.

10:12 a.m.: Town Parade, cut short this year.  We got the professions, but no scene!  I was looking forward to seeing the town cult enthusiast in action.

11:14 a.m.: More improv.

12:24 p.m.: Nina Nastasia (and some dry ice in the background).

1:59 p.m.: Mountain Goats.  (That Starbucks cup saw some action.)

3:02 p.m.: Bear attack.

3:54 p.m.: Champagne in honor of Second City's 50th anniversary joins the empty Red Bull and Starbucks containers on our table.  Not pictured: 5 Hour Energy vial, free cheesecake.

4:36 p.m.: The Blisters.  It was their seventh year at the benefit, too.

And that took us nearly to the end.  All of the 24-hour people joined the comedians (and John Darnielle) on stage for the last twenty minutes for the traditional game of freeze tag, then two minutes of dancing, and it was over for another year.  Weirdly jumbled memories of Anne Frank and Jesus making out in heaven, chefs who are turned on by shrimp, and guys who communicate with their fathers via hobo symbols will tide me over until 2010.

The next night, Sooz and I went to see Andrew Bird's final Gezelligheid show at the Fourth Presbyterian Church.  The church looked amazing.  Ryan did an excellent job with the lights, which combined with the music to create a unique atmosphere.  I enjoyed hearing much of Andrew's lesser-played instrumental material, as well as some choice covers like Cass McCombs's "Meet Me Here at Dawn."  With the snow outside and coziness inside, my Christmas spirit was officially boosted.

There's much to be thankful for this holiday season, and I love spending so much time with friends.  After more social activities Friday night and Saturday afternoon, though, I'll admit that I'm thankful for the chance to relax at home tonight with some Christmas cookies, Christmas music, and a huge stack of books.

Also see:
Letters to Santa 2008
Letters to Santa 2007
Letters to Santa 2006
Letters to Santa 2005

Touch down, take off

I got home from my Italy and Holland holiday yesterday, and early tomorrow morning I leave again.  Before the working vacation gets underway, in the midst of laundry and repacking, I wanted to take a moment to talk about the birthday trip.


Milano was a much bigger city than I'd expected - the fifth-largest urban area in the E.U., as it turns out.  The Duomo, the only major sight we visited, is surrounded by tall buildings, restaurants, and shops.  A day wasn't nearly enough time to experience Milan properly, but I liked what I saw just fine.  I paid the equivalent of $16.75 for a pistachio milkshake in a fancy tearoom.  That's not something you get to do every day.  I couldn't read the full description; maybe it was made from the milk of Italian unicorns.


Amsterdam felt more manageable to me, though it's by no means a small town.  It was rainy on and off while we were there, but we still explored much of the city on foot.  I saw coffee shops, and shops that actually sold coffee.  The red light district.  The Oude Kerk, the flower market, Central Station, and many lovely old houses on the canals.  Our hotel was a block from the great Van Gogh museum.  I bought Christmas cards from the Rijksmuseum store.  We explored De Pijp - Albert Cuyp market and rijsttafel at Sari Citra.  And yes, I saw the Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet parade!  It was everything I'd hoped for and more. You haven't lived until you've seen little Dutch children in afro wigs and blackface, wearing colorful and festive elf outfits.


Whenever I told anyone in Amsterdam that I was headed to Eindhoven, they were genuinely puzzled.  "Why?  Do you have family there?"  Judging from their reactions, I didn't expect a perfectly nice city with plenty of shopping, cafes, an open market, and a carousel outside our hotel.  We didn't have time to do a lot in Eindhoven, but the Centrum seemed charming.  Hey, the carillon of the nearby old church played "Imagine."


Those were the cities.  Then there was the other part of my trip: the concerts.  Andrew Bird at Melkweg was a good show, though he seemed to be having some trouble focusing.  Many stops and starts because the timing was off, or he couldn't remember something.  The room was very boomy, which didn't help.  Andrew was solo, except for a couple of songs (including "Oh Sister") for which he brought out his solo female opener, Jesca Hoop, and a few songs for which Pat Sansone came out and played piano.  The only song Andrew played from Mysterious Production of Eggs was "The Happy Birthday Song."  Total shout-out, of course.  Right.


The Wilco shows were very good, too.  Paradiso in Amsterdam is a former church, and it was fun to see the band with a backdrop of stained glass windows.  The setlists of Amsterdam and Eindhoven complemented each other very well.  Jeff dedicating "Handshake Drugs" to Zwarte Piet at Paradiso made me laugh, as did the pandering Amsterdam lyrical references.  It was a treat to hear songs like "Cars Can't Escape" and "Wishful Thinking" in Eindhoven.  But for me, the biggest treat in Eindhoven was a totally surprising happy birthday singalong and song dedication.  Whether or not Jeff actually dreamed about killing me (lyrical reference!), it made for an even more memorable, special show.  Thank you, Wilco.        


Good music, new cities, and meeting up with friends halfway around the world.  I just knew this trip would be a great way to kick off my thirties.  On to California!  

I woke with a head full of songs

It's been another busily musical week. Between Friday and Wednesday I saw Andrew Bird, Unicycle Loves You, Liam Finn and Eliza-Jane, Tortoise and Wilco twice, Nicole Atkins, and the Avett Brothers. I think I've exhausted my ability to write coherently about concerts for the month of October, but lord, it's been fun. Here's a snapshot of the most recent shows:

Andrew Bird:
DVD filming, big song arrangements, "Headsoak," Josh on cowbell

Unicycle Loves You, Liam Finn & Eliza-Jane:
muffins-no-cupcakes jam, shiny new venue, The Beatles' "Birthday," "Cinnamon Girl"

Wilco and Tortoise, night 1:
disconcerting facial expressions, huge arena crowd, pumped-up band, plethora of photographers

Wilco and Tortoise, night 2:
looser band, singalongs, dancing fatigue, "Far, Far Away"

Nicole Atkins and The Avett Brothers:
super energy, super-loud bass, no stage barrier, broken banjo strings

Whew.

FMF09

During Saturday night's Andrew Bird show, I realized how many "wait, did he just say that?" moments there are on Noble Beast. Did he just mention a onesie? Did he just say something about kittens with pleurisy? Yes, he did. Plus a new/old song that gave a particular sort of clarity to the consumption of sweetbreads. The taste of neurons firing, indeed.

Andrew was the official headliner of Madison's Forward Music Festival, playing at the Overture Center. My evening began at a different venue, as I chose to forego the opening Pale Young Gentlemen in favor of the seeing Pronto (and Filligar, as it turned out) at the Frequency. In the time between the announcement of the FMF09 lineup and the publication of the schedule, I knew there were two acts I was most interested in seeing. And of course, both wound up scheduled for Saturday night. Luckily, the Overture and Frequency are a few minutes' dash apart, but I was still bummed not to catch all of Pronto's set.

Pronto played very well, and should have had a bigger audience. I loved seeing what the full band added to the live performance of the All is Golden tunes. "Monster" had a different sound, less bouncy. The energetic ending to "Say it All Night" was a pleasant surprise. The band looked comfortable on the small stage, though it was a bit of a contrast to Mikael Jorgensen's usual gig. I hope Madison gets another chance to host Pronto, whether in this configuration or another. A full performance of The Cheetah (complete with video!) would be something to see.

As always, Andrew Bird came through with a solid and slightly otherworldly performance. Between banter about Wisconsin's bike trails and Land Striders from The Dark Crystal, the full-band songs stood out. We heard many songs from Noble Beast, a new song incorporating the sinkings of the Lusitania and Main, and a handful of older favorites. The closing number was definitely a favorite of mine - the Handsome Family's "Don't Be Scared." The first time I heard it (with Sally Timms supplying background vocals) I was so happy I nearly cried. This time my reaction wasn't quite so dramatic, but it was a powerful ending to the show. See you in Milwaukee next month, Andrew.

What a life I lead in the summer

I returned from the western states on Monday. Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California. Here are some trip bullet points:

• I liked the Fleet Foxes, a lot. I didn't manage to pick up their album despite three opportunities, but I will be buying it soon.
  
• Potatoes in Idaho taste just like potatoes in Wisconsin. Maybe because they're often the exact same potatoes.
  
• There was a relay marathon being run along 26 as we drove through the Cascade Mountains. I'm not sure if running on a mountain or running on a highway would make me more nervous.
  
• I am not a beer person, but I somehow managed to down two Black Buttes in Bend. Once accidentally (I ordered a lemonade at lunch; they brought me a porter) and once because I was thirsty and beer was offered. I figure it's like Guinness in Dublin: an obligation of sorts.
  
• Speaking of alcohol, Idaho wine = surprisingly good. You learn these things when you attend concerts at wineries.
  
• I saw multiple Wilco shows, with Boise and Bend being nearly tied for favorite status - slight edge to Boise for atmosphere and venue, but slight edge to Bend for the foosball, table tennis, and taco truck afterward. Both performances were great. Fleet Foxes are welcome to join Wilco onstage any time as far as I'm concerned. And it was great to hear songs old and new performed under the stars. I'll miss the outdoor summer concert season.
  
• Andrew Bird was really good at Outside Lands, but Broken Social Scene was my favorite discovery of the festival. Yeah, I "discovered" Broken Social Scene last weekend. I move at my own speed.
  
• After a night of Rock Band at U and Annie's, I am already contemplating a Rock Band purchase of my own. I need practice time! Of course, I'd really need to replace my current 18-inch Symphonic TV if I did that. And probably get something for it to sit on that's not a Rubbermaid container artfully draped with an Irish scarf.
  
• If you find yourself flying out of a small Oregon airport in the early morning hours, make sure to gas up the night before. Gas is full-service only in Oregon, which slipped our minds until we'd stopped at three closed gas stations. Eventually we had to give up or miss our flight. Avis must love Redmond.
  
• Coeur d'Alene, Idaho has the world's longest floating boardwalk. It also has the world's most inappropriate stuffed monkey toy, featured in my last blog entry.
  
• I was on seven different planes over the course of that trip, and I'll be on another one Saturday morning.
  

Speaking of planes, I think I'm all done flying in and out of Chicago unless I need to be there for some other reason. Saving a little money on plane fare is not worth spending a full ten or twelve hours from door to door in transit. I used to be perfectly willing to do this, but not anymore. Perhaps I'm growing less patient as I get older. (The exception to this policy will likely be the use of my newest free flight on Southwest. Yes!)