I'm with Coco

Back in Chicago so soon?  Why, yes!  On Thursday night, Sam and I had a date with Conan O'Brien.  We caught the second night of Conan's "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television" tour stop at the Chicago Theatre, and it was well worth the drive on a school night.

I've seen Conan live twice before.  The first time during the week of Late Night shows he did at the Chicago Theatre in 2006, a run he mentioned more than once Thursday night.  In 2006, Conan brought pizza out to us in line, and his guests included Barack Obama.  The second time was a taping in L.A. during Conan's brief Tonight Show tenure.  I didn't blog about that at the time, but it was awesome.  Amazing seats, an encounter with Max (which sounds dirty but wasn't), a donkey, a python, an elephant, Wilco in Nudie suits (again, not dirty).  And of course, Andy and Conan being hilarious.

This third time showcased another incarnation of Conan the performer.  It felt like Conan's TV show, except with more music, a more personal focus, and a lot more swearing.  The sense of fun was still palpable, and Conan did his best to make a connection with the audience: by running through the aisles, by inviting a Conan lookalike up on stage in one of my favorite unscripted moments of the night, by urging us to collaborate with him on song lyrics via a lobby suggestion box held by a life-sized cutout of Conrad Bain.  The night contained a bit of everything, and it was clear that Conan was doing what Conan wanted to do.  The image of him relaxed and grinning on stage, guitar in hand, jamming to "Seven Nation Army" while wearing Eddie Murphy's purple suit from "Raw" is one that will stay with me for awhile.  (It's possible he wasn't wearing that suit during that particular song, but nevertheless ... the image is there.)


Tomorrow, I'll be in Chicago again.  Leaving for Africa.

Fred, Jeff, and Jeff

I've again reached a schedule status of "if I don't write this now I will never make time for it," expected to be in effect for the next three weeks.  Between now mid-June posts might be anemic, but it's better than me forgetting everything!

After that tantalizing intro: on Sunday night I saw Jeff Garlin, Fred Armisen, and Jeff Tweedy at a benefit for Emanuel Congregation.  Last year's event also featured music and comedy, but this year the comedy component was more prominent.  I knew of Jeff Garlin going in, but wasn't familiar with his work.  It was a nice surprise that his participation (added after the benefit was announced) was a highlight for me.  Jeff Garlin is a funny man.  Between inappropriate airport stories, tales of the national anthem at Wrigley Field, and many Q&A answers (whether the Q was directed to him or not), I spent most of my time laughing when he was on the bimah.

Fred Armisen did many impressions: drummers by request (including Keith Moon, Glenn Kotche, Neil Peart), guitar players (Prince, John Lennon, Nels Cline), and then anyone at all (Jon Hamm, Barack Obama, Bjork) ... even some audience members (Magee!).  Seeing Fred play drums was a treat, and he accompanied Jeff Tweedy on performances of "Heavy Metal Drummer" and "Theologians."  Jeff Tweedy's responsibilities Sunday evening were relatively light: four and a half songs (if you count the Waffle House song), a few impression assists, and the night-ending Q&A.  It was fun to see him (and of course Susan played a huge part in organizing this event, as usual) but it was nice to see the spotlight on the comedians.  A true variety show!

Eating NYC

What do you do after working two overnight shifts in New Jersey, finishing at 6:30 a.m. Friday?  You sleep for a couple of hours, get on a train, and head to New York City.  Why go back home when a glorious three-day weekend beckons?

I had a jam-packed and thoroughly excellent time in the city.  Allison was kind enough to serve as my hostess.  Via her recommendations, suggestions from other friends, and a little solo scouting, we crafted an ambitious plan of attack.  I've spent some time in NYC before, so I wanted to dig a little deeper.  Or, at least, make a slightly deeper scratch on the surface of all the city has to offer.

Our schedule included too many activities to cover here: lots of walking, exploring various neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Manhattan, street fairs, flea markets, a farmers' market, Prospect Park, a marching band performance, two terrific Martin Rivas shows at the Red Lion and Rockwood, The High Line, the fantastic Whitney Museum for the 2010 biennial.  But there was one thing our weekend really focused upon.  And that, my friends, was food.  

The centerpiece of the weekend's eating was an amazing dinner at Restaurant Daniel on Saturday night with Allison, Mart, Patti, and Paul.  Can I even pick out highlights?  The sautéed foie gras of my appetizer was rich, melty, light (yes, light!) and bursting with flavor.  The red wine braised short rib on celery root purée was a revelation.  When our waiters brought out warm, freshly baked madeleines toward the end of the meal, I nearly begged for mercy.

Daniel was incredible, but it wasn't the only highlight.  I am proud to present to you this list of places (or vendors) from which, over three full days in the city, I managed to either eat, drink, or buy something:

Porchetta
Sundaes and Cones
Luke's Lobster
The Red Lion
Café Angelique
Brooklyn Greenmarket
Gorilla Coffee
people's pops
Billy's Bakery
Restaurant Daniel
Buttermilk Channel
Roebling Tea Room
Zocalo

It was a successful trip, to say the least.  This only leaves a thousand or so places on our "want to go" list for my future visits!

The best thing

On Saturday, my friends Gina and Ryan got married in Chicago.

I was one of Gina's bridesmaids, along with her sister and maid of honor, Andrea.  It feels like I've been planning a long time for this, so I can imagine how it felt for the bride and groom.  The entire weekend seemed to pass in a happy blur.

Friday was the rehearsal, dinner at Gibson's, and drinks at LuxBar.  Saturday, the pre-ceremony hair, dress, and makeup preparations took place in my room (with refreshments provided by Andrea and Gina's mother.)  Ryan and Gina were married in the gorgeous Bond Chapel at the University of Chicago.  Afterward we took many photos on the university grounds and elsewhere around the city.  The somewhat officious limo driver furnished two DVDs for our riding entertainment: ABBA Number Ones, and 1980's Kylie Minogue.  Awesome.  The reception followed at the Newberry Library.  I'd never been before, but loved the overall atmosphere of the building.  All the details made it a great night: lovely flowers, delicious hors d'oeuvres and dinner, cake both beautiful and tasty, excellent DJ, and a bunch of people who were ready to celebrate.  Special kudos to Gina for booking the Chicago Cubs Dixieland Band for the lobby cocktail hour.  A traditional hotel afterparty followed the reception.  Finally, there was a big Sunday brunch with family and friends.  Everything went wonderfully, but I felt like I drove down to Chicago and met Ryan and Gina Friday afternoon, blinked, and found myself in the Maggiano's dining room full of frittata and banana french toast.  Not a bad place to end up if you're going to lose time, I have to say.

Gina and I have known each other since high school, and have been close friends for nearly a decade.  Being part of her wedding, culminating in this big weekend, meant a lot to me.  Seeing her and Ryan so happy together means even more.  Right now they're in Kauai, probably drinking mai tais or frolicking in a waterfall or something.  Seems like a pretty good start to me.

Singin' songs I knew

If I don't write about this now I'll never get to it, so: I saw Jakob Dylan and Three Legs last night at the Pabst!  I confess that I bought a ticket to this show for two main reasons: first, Jakob Dylan is touring with Neko Case and Kelly Hogan, whom I like very much.  Secondly, in high school I had a bit of a crush on Jakob Dylan.

Even if these weren't the soundest of reasons to attend a weeknight show in Milwaukee, I enjoyed myself.  Guitar player Paul Rigby and Jon Rauhouse on pedal steel were major reasons for that.  Jakob Dylan has really assembled an excellent band.  Most of the songs played were from Jakob's latest album Women and Country, but there were some selections from his previous solo album and two from Bringing Down the Horse ... a record I remember fondly from 1996.  It was a trip to hear "6th Avenue Heartache" live, with Kelly Hogan and Neko Case singing backup.  Neko and Jakob had a lot of fun singing together on "All Day and All Night," complete with some graphic hand gestures from Neko.  Kelly got a great response from the crowd for her lead verse of "Three Marlenas."  I'm glad I made the trip to Milwaukee - after all, what would I have done at home instead?  Packed for the wedding weekend instead of doing so right now?  (Eeep!)

The List

I'm always referring to The List, as in The List of Places I Want to Go Someday (Preferably Soon).  "Oh sure, that's on The List."  The thing is, there never was any list.  I had destinations in my head, but nothing keeping track of them ... until the other day, when I decided to make a first pass at creating The List in written form.  Here's what I came up with.  Destinations are roughly in order of how much I want to go, at least the first half.  The second half devolves into "Now that you bring it up, I would like to go there."  I'd appreciate any feedback.  Are there glaring omissions?  Specific recommendations?  Cautionary tales?  Lord knows I love to plan ahead.

The List

Greece

Maine

Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)
Louisiana (New Orleans)
Singapore

South America (esp. Chile, Argentina, Patagonia)

Scotland
Amalfi Coast
Japan
France (Paris)

Carribbean (somewhere)

Vancouver

South Africa

Bavaria

Extensive Route 66 road trip

Wyoming
Montana (Yellowstone)
Mississippi *
Omaha or Lincoln **

North Dakota ***

South Dakota ***

Shetland Islands

Nepal or Bhutan (Himalayas) ****

Morocco
Madagascar

UAE or Qatar

Thailand
Vietnam
Cook Islands or French Polynesia
Norway
Finland
Iceland

Switzerland (Alps)

Egypt

Northern Ireland

* I've driven through and stopped, but feel I haven't really experienced Mississippi
** I haven't seen much of Nebraska
*** Sort of obligations to round out the 50.  Sorry, Dakotas!  I'm sure you're great!
**** Bhutan has extensive tourism rules, which makes me want to find a way around them

Week in review

Last week, that is.  I returned from Pennsylvania on Monday.

Tuesday: 
Picked up bridesmaid dress from the seamstress.  Then, David Sedaris at the Overture Center.  I enjoyed myself right from the opening selection, a preview from his upcoming book of fables.  Or, as David said, not fables - since fables have morals.  He also read a story I'd seen last year in The New Yorker, "Laugh, Kookaburra."  I liked it at the time, but hearing him read stories brings them to a whole new place.  There were more anecdotes and stories, a brief mention of genocide in Rwanda (so that some college kids who attended could get credit for the talk) and a book recommendation: Irish Girl by Tim Johnston.  David mentioned that the title story had been included in a compilation he edited some years ago.  Proceeds from the book went toward ... toward ... "It was for fucked up kids.  I don't remember what was wrong with them.  I did it so I would seem generous."  I love you, David Sedaris.

Wednesday:
Wisconsin Film Festival!  I saw The Exploding Girl at the Chazen Museum.  I liked the movie, though it moved very, very slowly and not much happened.  The lead actress reminded me of a young Kristen Schaal, though her character was nothing like Kristen Schaal.  I thought the film did a surprisingly good job of building a tense, suspenseful mood throughout what was actually a not-too-suspenseful plot.

Thursday:

Wisconsin Film Festival official opening night.  Some friends and I saw The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls at the Orpheum.  Lynda and Jools Topp are lesbian twins who have a successful comedy and music act in New Zealand.  The documentary was top-notch.  I was completely unfamiliar with the Topp Twins beforehand, but I came away with a great sense of their personalities, their history, and social and political issues in New Zealand.  It was both entertaining (I think my favorite Topp Twins characters are Camp Mother and Camp Director) and unexpectedly touching.  Director Leanne Pooley answered questions after the film, and said that Jools and Lynda will be performing in San Francisco when the film screens there this year.  I'll continue to dream of them playing our local county fair.

Friday:
Harmony and Me at the Union Theater.  A comedy set in Austin about a young, quirky, recently-broken-up, sometime-musician guy with oddball friends and family.  Much of the movie was improvised, and as a veteran of seven 24-hour improv benefits since 2003, I could tell.  In a good way, mostly.  The film was very funny in many places, although as you might imagine from the description, it was also a little ... overly self-aware ... at times.  Regardless, I enjoyed it.  The director, Robert Byington, came out for a Q&A session afterward.  Byington also played Harmony's older brother in the film - one of my favorite characters.  It was a nice ending to my 2010 film festival experience.

Saturday:
Gina's bachelorette party in Chicago!  I checked into our kick-ass suite at the Dana Hotel and Spa before my facial.  It was a actually more than just a facial (that sounds dirty) - there was also a massage involved, and lots of heavenly scents and creams and aromatherapy.  The only part I didn't enjoy was when the esthetician did the "extraction of impurities," at which point I swear to god she started beating me up.  Maybe not quite, but holy crap!  My nose!  Was not expecting that!  Anyway.  Overall, it was great.  I want to live at a spa.  Or at least get treatments for an entire weekend sometime.  Which would cost seventy-eight bajillion dollars, but might be worth it.  While the others got their spa treatments,  I had enough time to Brown Line it over to Laurie's Planet of Sound to celebrate Record Store Day with Sam and co.  I picked up a CD, and - find of finds - spotted the book David Sedaris edited for fucked up kids in a used book box!   Score.  As a bonus, I heard ten minutes of DJ Pat Sansone spinning some sweet tunes before heading back to the Dana.  Drinks with the ladies at the hotel bar, dinner at Nacional 27, liquor store, back to the suite.  Mindful of lessons learned last summer at the hands of Europeans and patxaran, I suffered no ill effects from drinking.  It was just a really fun night.  Hooray for Gina's waning days as a bachelorette!

Sunday:
A short, brisk morning walk made me realize that I could live in a high-rise on State and Erie in downtown Chicago and be perfectly happy for a long time.  Sunny, early spring days obviously strengthen that impression, but really.  The area is bustling with activity, grocery stores and restaurants and shops everywhere, close to the CTA, view of the lake.  Quiet on the twenty-third floor.  And I could take public transport to parks or the 'burbs if I wanted, right?  So when I come into a ton of money, it's settled: I'm moving into the spa at the Dana.  Brunch was at Cuatro in the South Loop (shared coconut milk pancakes! chilaquiles!) and afterward it was time to head back home.   I can't wait to see everyone again at the wedding in less than two weeks OH MY GOD.