Vegas Trip – October 2009, Day 3

Saturday, October 17, 2009

When I awoke, I realized that my stomach wasn’t too happy with me. I slept later than usual, then we went downstairs to the Paris buffet for nourishment. It’s not a must-visit buffet for us like it was a few years ago, but it was what I needed at the time– some eggs, toast, bacon, and orange juice.

We played more video poker at Planet Hollywood, and I hit four deuces again, to my surprise and joy. Again, I was able to play a long time. Sitting in one spot and rehydrating and recharging was good for me.

I also played some new slots based on the Pong and Breakout video games. They were quite fun even though I’m not very good at Pong. And they boosted my self-esteem.

I was ready to hop back on the alcohol train, so we headed to the Paris Diamond Lounge. I started with a Mandarin Press and then moved on to a Colorado Bulldog. Sal gave us a Mudslide shot to clear our sinuses and send us on our way.

We went up to our room to change, then took a taxi over to Palms for the big Podcast-a-palooza event. Here’s a recording of our segment.

We met lots of people and had a great time. It was all a happy blur, just like last year, although we had more of an idea what to expect. And when everyone applauded during our intro, I teared up again.

After the show, we went to Society for dinner. We got a scenic tour of the Spring Mountain Road exit from Brandie, who was kind enough to give us a ride to Encore.

We had the mac ‘n’ cheese bites with truffle sauce as an appetizer, in addition to the pretzels with mustard sauce they provided for the table. Tim and I each had the salmon for our entree, which was a disappointment as it was a bit dry and didn’t have much flavor. Then again, my stomach was still fluttering with nerves from the show and the beverages from the night before and that afternoon.

We checked in early that night, but not before observing the free parade of shiny people in Encore waiting to get into XS, the nightclub. I’ve never seen so many short, tight skirts in my life.

The Vampire Diaries

About three things I am absolutely positive.

First, the Vampire Diaries is like Dawson’s Creek, vampire-style.

Second, there is a part of me — and I don’t know how potent that part might be — that is addicted to this show.

And third, Ian Somerhalder can unconditionally and irrevocably act circles around the rest of the cast.

At the 7/11 Where I Was Taught…

Green Day at Target Center

July 11, 2009

It had been almost four years since Green Day had played the Twin Cities, and I was giddy with anticipation.

We arrived at the arena a little after 7:00, anticipating that there would be a huge line for will call, but there wasn’t. There was a bit of a wait to get into the arena, but after about five minutes of shuffling through people, we made it in. After a quick stop for refreshments, we seated ourselves in section 129, row Z. We were the first section over from the stage on Mike’s side (schwoon) and we were in the very last row of the first level. We were a little relieved to have nobody behind us– it was nice to not be sandwiched between rows.

Before the show, people were sending text messages and photos to be displayed on the jumbotron. Pictures of pets were popular, and I sent a photo of my dogs. Soon, ten thousand people were looking at this:

The music before the show varied from Sinatra’s “My Way” to Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” to “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough” but it was all good.

The Bravery came on first, and they were pleasant. I wasn’t bowled over by them, and I doubt I would go see them the next time they came to town, but they had some good songs. I was only familiar with “Time Won’t Let Me Go” and “An Honest Mistake” but the rest of their songs were catchy, including two songs they played from their upcoming album.

The Bravery set list (courtesy of GreenDayAuthority.com forums):

• Unconditional
• Swollen Summer
• Believe
• Hate Fuck
• Red Hands and White Knuckles
• Time Won’t Let Me Go
• Every Word Is A Knife In My Ear
• An Honest Mistake

The music between sets was more upbeat, including Cheap Trick’s “Surrender”. Then they played The Ramones’ “Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio” at a higher volume than the other songs, and we knew it was time for the real fun to begin.

The crowd was fantastic. People were attentive during the opening act, and once the main show started, everyone was on their feet singing at the top of their lungs, pumping their fists into the air. The two women beside me were really into it, and we all proceeded to rock our collective asses off.

Set list (courtesy of Star Tribune’s Pop Life Blog and GreenDayAuthority.com forums — the forums are an amazing source of information):

1. Song of the Century – I liked the way this began the main set and American Eulogy ended it, like bookends.

2. 21^st century Breakdown – Oh, thank you god for answering my prayers, Mike is sleeveless. I mean, I knew there was a pretty good chance, but still…

3. Know Your Enemy

4. East Jesus Nowhere – Billie Joe called a 12-year-old boy onstage and “healed” him during this song. Then he set the kid loose with a Super Soaker on the crowd. I think this is also the part where I finally noticed Tre had bleached his hair, because I was so fixated on Mike’s biceps. I liked that they opened with three songs from the new album, like they did on the American Idiot tour.

5. Holiday

6. Static Age – This is my current favorite song on the album, and to see it live was amazing.

7. Before the Lobotomy

8. Are We the Waiting

9. St. Jimmy

10. Boulevard of Broken Dreams – I had initially seen this as part of the encore, but it fits really well here as part of the main set.

11. Hitchin’ a Ride – One, two, one, two, three, four!

12. Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover, intro only) – The band was goofing around and teasing the crowd with several introductions to songs.

13. Iron Man (Black Sabbath cover, intro only)

14. Master Of Puppets (Metallica cover, intro only)

15.Let’s Go Crazy (Prince cover) – Then they launched into this song for real, and played the entire song except for the guitar solo at the end. I was impressed with Billie Joe’s guitar work in the middle, though.

16.  Brain Stew

17. Jaded

18. Longview – They called three different people from the audience to sing this song. The first two were girls, and the second girl repeated the first verse. Then they called a guy up who completed the song and did a stage dive (with encouragement from the band) at the end.

19. Basket Case

20. She

21. King for a Day (including Shout/If My Friends Could See Me Now/Swannee/I’ll Be There/Stand By Me) – The band went into several different snippets of songs in the middle, which was fun. They all put on silly hats, and Jason Freese (playing sax) was dressed up like Michael Jackson and attempted to moo. Some people might say it’s too soon for that, but it was all in good fun and he was already present in other ways, when they played one of his songs before the show and when they put a bit of “I’ll Be There” in the medley.

22. 21 Guns – Lots of pyro during this one, including a sheet of sparklers falling from the ceiling above the stage.

23. American Eulogy

ENCORE

24. American Idiot

25. Jesus of Suburbia – They called a girl up to play guitar through the “Dearly Beloved” part. Although I’m glad she got to get up on stage with the band (and did a good job), this was the only part of the show that dragged, because they took a really long time to find someone who knew the song. From what I’ve seen, they normally have another person take over halfway through, too.

26. Minority

27. Minnesota Girl – This is an unreleased song Billie Joe wrote about his wife. He played it the last time he was here, too. We’re just lucky that way.

28. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

The banter contained tons of local references:

• Billie Joe pointed to a fan who had been holding up an Oakland A’s hat and said, “Fuck the A’s! Twins baby! They kicked the White Sox’s asses the other night!”
• Before one of the songs, Billie Joe came out dressed as a policeman and announced, “This is the Minneapolis police, the party is over” in a bit referring to the beginning of the album “Stink” by The Replacements.
• Before singing “Know Your Enemy,” he remarked, “The day we recorded this song was the first day of the Republican Convention. The Republican Convention was here, right? We got those motherfuckers out of fucking office, right?” {The show wasn’t as cathartic as the previous show, when we were still under the Bush administration, and the whole Katrina debacle had just happened. It was still politically charged, and energetic, and I was still fully participating, just in a different way.)
• After a reference to doobies (and perhaps after mooning the audience for the first time), he said, “My father in law isn’t here so I can say what ever I want!”
• He also mentioned that he’s here a lot (his wife’s family still resides here), and he was in town on New Year’s Eve. (Seriously, if I ever ran into him at SuperAmerica or something, it would be the most awkward moment in my life. I would have no idea what to say and I’d be so completely awestruck that I’d probably pass out.)

Weird social commentary:

• I loved the look of the people who were all called up on stage. None of them were posing and all of them had their hearts into it. Some bands would choose the thin, pretty, supermodel types, but the audience was really normal. Not to say that the people were hideous by any means, but everyone’s looks were attainable, and that felt refreshing. I just see so much airbrushed, contrived crap that on some level I start to believe that’s how I should be.
• I loved the inter-generational feel of the show. I’m sure the band offended some people with swearing and masturbation references, but for the most part I think parents knew what they were getting into when they brought their kids along. Most of the kids were born after Dookie, so it was cool to see the band have a second revival with a new generation of fans. A lot of the text messages on the jumbotron before the show were from kids to parents (“thanks for bringing me to my first concert”) and vice versa (“enjoy your first show”). And how cool to have Green Day as your first live show?! They’d have some pretty high standards after that.
• Did you know that we have two new saunas in the Twin Cities? The first is the Cedar Cultural Center, and the second is Target Center. Especially when the show involves lots of pyro, as it did at the latter venue. Not that it interrupted the fun, of course.

Links to other reviews:

• Star Tribune (short | long)
• Pioneer Press

Welcome

Thanks to everybody from Five Hundy who’s stopped by in the last few days. I feel like I should clean or redecorate or something, just to make it more welcoming. At the very least, I could set out some cocktails. Or tea and scones, which is what I’ve been in the mood for lately.

Word of warning: I have a ton of pictures embedded in the London posts, so the pages might be a bit slow to load. I linked to them directly from Flickr, rather than storing them on the site itself. (If anyone knows a more seamless way to do this, I’m up for suggestions.)

Why I Love March

March might be my favorite month of the year. Here are a few reasons:

• Spring training. It’s in full swing, and they’re not just stretching and tossing the ball around (which still is a landmark time signaling the beginning of the end of winter, don’t get me wrong). There are actual games being played, some of them are televised, and the baseball season is so close you can taste it.
• March Madness. I love filling out brackets. I love watching the games because there’s so much on the line and everyone is emotionally intense. And I love the upsets and Cinderella teams. I love watching other people’s brackets get busted when mine is equally wrecked.
• The feeling that the winter is endless, being replaced by feelings of hope. There’s that one day where it’s sunny and 50 or 60, and you can go outside without wearing a jacket and not freezing. You can envision yourself wearing short sleeves in the next few months. Sure, there’s always the inevitable snowstorm to remind us winter isn’t quite over, but it melts within a few days, because the majority of the snow that accumulated over the winter is already gone. Temperatures are warmer, because there’s less snow cover to chill the air.
• Sunlight, and lots of it. I’ll admit that I have some Seasonal Affective Disorder, which makes January an especially fun time in our house. (January wins for least favorite month, hands down. But that’s another post for another time. It’s all about the joy of March.)
• Travel. We usually take a vacation in March. It’s usually Vegas, but this year it was London.
• The wardrobe transition. I love putting away the heavy wool sweaters and winter coats, and pulling out some of the lighter items in my wardrobe. I love spring colors and injecting some brightness into my color palette.
• Being able to go for longer walks with the dogs without us or them freezing. It’s nice to let them outdoors in our yard for longer periods of time so they can expel some energy, too.
• Music. I usually start listening to more pop-influenced music. Winter is for sparse, dark acoustic guitar or solo piano. Spring is about lighter fare, although I save the truly fluffy stuff for my summer playlists.

Cockfosters

Cockfosters

Originally uploaded by anitamartini

Appropriately, the first picture I took in England. This was on the Piccadilly line from Heathrow.

Barrio Tequila Bar – Downtown Minneapolis

The third time was a charm. 

I had tried to stop into Barrio on two previous occasions, but we didn’t have reservations and it was insanely crowded. I made reservations this time, to guarantee a table, and it was well worth the wait.

My friend Andrea and I got together to catch up over tasty food and beverages. I was a little concerned that the small space would be noisy, but we were able to carry on just fine. 

The beverage special that day was the Macho Camacho, which was made from blood orange ancho 1800, with a splash of cava. The first sip was fruity and sweet with a hint of tequila, but it had a surprising peppery kick at the finish. It was complex and wonderful. I had two. 

For food, we ordered the made to order guacamole, which arrived in a huge stone dish and was topped with cilantro, sliced radishes, peppers, and tomatoes. It was accompanied by fresh corn tortilla chips. We almost opted for the queso fundido, but thought that the soft tortillas might prove unwieldy, especially after a beverage or two. 

We also got the BBQ pork sopes, which were little round crispy things filled with savory, delightful pork. We each had a taco. Andrea was more adventurous and tried the lingua (tongue), which had a pulled beef texture and flavor. I ordered the skirt steak taco. Hers arrived in a soft tortilla while mine was in a lightly fried corn tortilla. Both tacos were fresh and tasty. They were garnished with lettuce, cilantro, and radishes, but the vegetables were used sparingly as accents. 

We were warned that the plates were fairly small, but we were full after our tacos and two appetizers. The food had heat, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly spicy. 

I would definitely return, if only to continue my love affair with tequila. I can still taste the Macho Camacho and I sigh fondly whenever I think of it.

25 Things About Me

Yes, it’s the dreaded Facebook meme, but I thought I’d draft it and cross-post it here.

1. I was born in Mitchell, South Dakota, home of the Corn Palace.
2. I graduated from Denison High School in Denison, Texas. 
3. I still say certain words with a Southern accent, and sometimes it kicks in when I get nervous, although I never really had an accent when I lived there.
4. I studied in Germany for four months when I was in college. 
5. I know how say “please,” “thank you,” “excuse me,” “may I have a beer?,” and “where’s the bathroom?” in German, French, and Spanish. 
6. I’ve always wondered if I should have studied in England during college instead, but I’m not sure if I would have come back. 
7. I moved to Minnesota after college, and only intended to stay temporarily, because I thought winter was insane. Then I met my husband. But this wasn’t a bad thing. 
8. 16 years later, I still think winter is insane. As of January 30, 2009, it hasn’t been above freezing this year. But we have our diversions.
9. I played nude soccer on the library lawn once during my senior year of college. (Important note: This was in May.)
10. I hope there aren’t any pictures floating around of #9. That would be awkward, to say the least.
11. I’ve played the Palms Lounge in Vegas. (Vastly different from my three botched karaoke performances at the former Barbary Coast.)
12. I’ve been to Vegas 31 times. You would think this would help me pack more quickly. Not so. 
13. I’ve seen Bruce Springsteen perform “Atlantic City” in Atlantic City, and “Born in the U.S.A.” just outside Washington, D.C.
14. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up (which is painfully evident on this blog). 
15. I can’t imagine my life with children, and I’m incredibly content with that.
16. When I was in grade school, I wrote a version of “Cinderella” on paper Shopko bags. I brought costumes to school, and our teacher let us perform the play. 
17. The handsome prince ended up being a major league baseball reliever for the Atlanta Braves when he was older.
18. I attended Prince’s first wedding reception at Paisley Park. Not as glamorous as it sounds: He charged for admission, and he and his then-wife (Mayte) had already left. But we did get to hear “Friend Lover Sister Mother Wife” for the first time and we had the most divine lemon cake.
19. You can’t see me in the crowd shots, but I’m in Prince’s videos for “Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Alive (and It Lives in Minneapolis)” and “Gold,” which is one of my favorite songs. We used to spend a lot of time at Paisley Park in the mid-’90s. 
20. During baseball season, I’m slightly cranky the day after the Minnesota Twins lose. 
21. I am on a personal quest to find a burger in the Twin Cities that I love as much as the burgers at Rossi’s Steakhouse. 
22. When I was in junior high, I thought Motley Crue worshiped the devil. I saw them twice in 2005.
23. I have had a crush on John Taylor for 25 years. My husband is OK with this. I don’t actively lust after him or anything. I just think he’s dreamy and I sigh whenever I see him on TV. 
24. Despite working extensively with an intranet site in my day job, I cannot get half of the applications on Facebook to cooperate. I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook.
25. My life would have been dramatically different if I had discovered The Replacements before 1993. I’ve been trying to make up for it ever since. 

Axel’s Bonfire Grill – St. Paul

I’ve been spending a lot of quality time at Axel’s in the last month or so. We got a gift card for Christmas, so a couple weeks ago, Tim and I were feeling stir-crazy and ventured out for dinner. Tim had the petite filet and a side of the smashed potatoes with bacon, accompanied by a strawberry passion drink. The filet was good but needed a little salt. The drink contained tequila and was sweet and fruity and tasty. I ordered the blueberry BBQ pork chop, a side of the smashed potatoes with bacon (surprise), and a bubbly lychee martini. The martini came with an extra serving and a half in the shaker, which is always welcome. It had grapefruit in it so it was slightly tart, but the lychee flavor still came through. The pork chop was one of the most interesting dishes I’d had in a while. The blueberry and barbecue flavors complemented each other well, with the blueberry adding just a hint of sweetness. It was one of the specials for the evening, but I wish they’d add it as a regular item because I’d order it again in a heartbeat.

Last weekend, a friend and I were looking for a convenient place for brunch, and I mentioned Axel’s again. Although we didn’t indulge, they have $2 mimosas and $4 build-your-own Bloody Marys. They had added a new family-style breakfast since we’d been there last. The breakfast was similar to the offerings at Ike’s, yet there were a few deviations. The breakfast is $12.95 per person and comes with your choice of cinnamon or caramel roll (we chose caramel), your choice of regular, cheesy, or Denver-style eggs (we chose cheesy), cheesy hash browns, and your choice of bacon or sausage (again, the bacon). 

What the caramel roll lacked in height (unlike the towering rolls at Ike’s), it made up in width and taste. It covered an entire plate, and the smells of the hot caramel drifted toward us as the waitress set the plate on the table. It didn’t contain pecans (which could be a plus or minus), but it was light and fluffy and warm. We finished about half of it. 

Unlike Ike’s, we could get more than one egg dish, but the servers can only bring out one kind at a time. The same thing went for the meat, which I thought was really odd. How hard was it to throw a couple sausage patties onto a plate along with the bacon? But maybe they were more in tune with our appetites than we thought. By the time we’d finished our first plate of eggs, bacon, and hash browns, we had no room for sausage, much less an extra round. 

Their service was excellent for both visits. I wouldn’t have tried the pork chops without the waiter telling me how incredible they were. And the waitress for brunch was quick with the refills and patient with our questions. The brunch was a new feature, so she had to ask the kitchen for clarification a few times, but it was a smooth experience.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

On Thursday, our high was approximately -5 (Fahrenheit). Our lows were somewhere between -22 and iceberg. According to the local news, we spent at least 86 hours below zero this week.

I don’t feel that surviving this weather makes me a hardier person than anyone else. There’s usually a week like this every winter in Minnesota, and it’s just something you get through. Luckily, I had booked a vacation on Monday, so that kept me from being too crabby, even though we’re not leaving for a month and a half. Being able to work from home for three days also helped tremendously.  

You have to wear at least two layers everywhere. I usually wear tights under my corduroys (they seem warmer than jeans to me, and I’ve learned to walk in them without appearing bow-legged yet not making that swishing sound), and a pair of wool socks in my fake-fur-lined snow boots. I wear a wool sweater with a thick long-sleeved t-shirt underneath. And if you’re wearing low-cut pants and the shirt isn’t long enough, you definitely feel a draft on your lower back when you sit down, even inside your car. When you wrap your scarf around your neck, try to cover the gap between your coat and your shirt, and try to cover your face. Wear a hat and a coat with a hood if you can– otherwise, you’ll feel the wind in your ears. 

I made the mistake of leaving my face uncovered while walking from the parking lot to work, and rather than stopping and adjusting, I just ran for the building. It took 15 minutes for the feeling to return to my nose and cheeks. The upside was that I didn’t have to wear blush– everyone has that rosy look on their faces. 

I wanted to try to spit to see if it froze before hitting the ground, but my teeth were too busy chattering. 

When you inhale, it hurts to breathe. The cold air hits your lungs before it has time to warm up inside your body, and it’s a shock.

Houses and cars make strange noises. There are all sorts of cracking and popping sounds everywhere, and you just hope it’s something that didn’t allow more cold air in, and you pray your vehicle will continue to start. When I worked from home, the only time I left the house was to start the car every few hours. Even though it was in the garage, there was no insulation (just protection from the wind, so even though it was about 10 degrees colder outside, it was still below 0 inside). Obviously, I moved the car out of the garage while I let it idle. 

The cold seeps in everywhere. Even if you’re standing in your house, you can feel it. Some of our doors and windows are newer than others, so some do a better job of keeping the drafts out, but you can still feel little air pockets here and there. If you store your clothes or dishes in closets or cabinets that are on an exterior wall, everything is cold to the touch. 

The roads and sidewalks look like they’re covered with chalk. You know it’s really cold when all the roads turn white. They spray chemicals on them, but it has to be a certain temperature for them to work, so there were lots of accidents this week. 

A couple people died from exposure. It’s scary to think that this weather can kill you if you’re outside for too long. 

On a lighter note, if you’re outside for more than a minute, you develop snotsicles in your nose. All the mucus freezes. I’m not kidding. 

Someone on the news was cracking eggs on the sidewalk, and the eggs froze through within 15 minutes. 

You know how your breath forms vapor when you breathe out? I’ve never seen anyone’s farts when it’s this cold outside. I was relieved to see that other people wondered about this, too.