Dumbek's Random Stuff

You gotta love her.

Courtney Love Sued by LA Travel Agency

I can't do it. I just can't sit through the debates. I care about the issues, but the debate isn't going to change my mind about who I'm going to be voting for. My mind was made up long ago. I saw about 5 minutes of the debate tonight before I fell asleep on the couch.

We're moving our servers at work across town this week. We got everything setup and ready to go at the new location, then realized that the network infrastructure wasn't installed properly, so none of our servers have network access. Oops. This has only been in the planning for stages for 6 months. Glad it's not my job to take care of that. That puts us a day behind though. Hopefully, they'll get it going tomorrow morning, so I can get out of there by noon.

I need to get out early to head to Philly for the first "Vote For Change" gig. Springsteen and R.E.M. I'll bet that won't suck. I think we're just going to drive home after the show though. Not looking forward to that. Won't be the first time I've done that though. I'm just getting too old for it.

I still need to buy WedRock tickets. Think it'll sellout?

Skipped Morrissey. Had a shot at 10th row center, but the BF wasn't into it, so we skipped it. I hear it was great. Ambulance Ltd./Killers on Sunday. I couldn't tell you a single Killers tune, but I can't wait to see Ambulance, Ltd.

Muse tickets on sale today. New Interpol CD is out. I like it. Need to listen to it more.

Pretty boring weekend. Nothing too exciting. Eagle both Friday and Saturday. Lots of hot men out on Saturday. BF gave me quite the surprise when we came home Friday night. Hooray for me!

Someone recently pointed me to Newbury Comics as a place to order CDs online. They're dirt-cheap and I had my CD's in less than a week. I ordered a bunch of stuff, including the new Mission Of Burma, The Clash London Calling re-issue, The Pixies "Best of..." comp and a few other things. I highly recommend that store.

I also just discovered Galaxie 500 (yeah - about 15 years too late). Thanks to this guy for the pointer. Wow. I really missed the boat when they were around. Today is fantastic.

Death Cab already sold out 9:30. That was pretty quick. By contrast - Interpol hasn't sold out. Go figure. I'll bet it sells out shortly after their new CD is released tomorrow. Decent R.E.M. and Morrissey tickets were released too.

Now playing: Elefant - Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid

On a televised sermon, Jimmy Swaggart recently said that if a gay man looked at him romantically, he'd "kill him." He then downplays his statement by saying "It's a humorous statement that doesn't mean anything."

Prick. Go back to your hookers and leave us alone.

Went to see End Of The Century the other night. Nice documentary about The Ramones. Great footage and interviews of everyone who was ever in the band - including Richie and CJ. They had some interesting perspectives on the band. It was a little unnerving watching Johnny talk about Joey's death, knowing that Johnny died just a week ago. Nice flick. It was great to watch Joe Strummer get all excited talking about the band.

CJ was quite the hottie. Check out this pic. In fact - check out Keith Green's photography site for some great pics of Dee Dee, too.

Of course the big movie coming out this week is John Waters' A Dirty Shame. It's got an NC-17 rating. It's gonna be great - haha.

BlogJam sounds like it could be fun.

Readings from queer DC bloggers followed by Blowoff music from Bob Mould and Rich Morel.

C'mon - You know you want to see some of these folks in person.

After one of the worst driving experiences I ever had, we ended up having a great weekend at PSU. We left really late, thinking it was a good idea to wait until the tornadoes stopped before hitting the road. Of course, that just left us with lots of wind, heavy rain and flooded roads to deal with. There were trees in the road, winds that practically blew us off the Turnpike and deep water causing cars to stall in the middle of the interstate. We made it all the way to Altoona before discovering that every road between there and State College was officially closed due to flooding. That's not what we wanted to hear at 2:30a.m. After hanging out at a gas station for about 20 minutes we just decided to go for it and picked the one road that wasn't known to be closed yet. Of course, about 3 miles down the road there were police with flares telling us the road was closed from that point on. However, we told them where we were going and they said we could turn off the road here and follow that road back to the highway. About 20 miles later and driving through a small number of mini-lakes, we got to State College. Even the main road through State College (322) was closed at one point, but I know my way around that town, so it wasn't a problem. 5-1/2 hours for what normally takes maybe 4. But we made it to the hotel at around 3:30a.m. Whew.

BF: "I'll bet a lot of people cancel this weekend."
Me: "Honey ...It's Penn State Football. They'll be here."

I was right.

Amazingly, we woke up to a bright, sunny morning. The rest of the weekend was absolutely perfect. PSU beat UCF 37-13. They're gonna have to shape-up though if they want to beat the Big Ten teams coming up. They were sloppy, but they still won.

Hooked up with a couple of my best friends from back in the day. Went to our favorite bar (Zeno's) and saw our old favorite band (The Screaming Ducks) who still turn up every now and then, and can still rock like nobody's business. Had a fantastic time. We always do.

Grilled stickies at The Diner...a little shopping...back to Zeno's so the BF could watch the NASCAR race. Time to go home. The expected 4-hour drive (including dinner) was flawless.

We're thinking of stopping by again, while traveling between R.E.M. shows in NYC and Pittsburgh. They're playing Northwestern that weekend though. Finding a room is pretty much impossible. I'd probably have better luck asking Stipe and Co. for a ride from NYC->PGH.

Did I mention the Stickies? Did I mention the thousands of hot hot hot college boys? They didn't make them like that when I was in school. The boys that is. The stickies are every bit as good as they were 20 years ago. The boys are better though. Unfortunately, we were only able to fill the trunk with stickies.

We're off to my alma mater this weekend. We try to get up there once a year for a football game or Arts Festival. Hope the weather holds up. Looks like rain though. That may cut our time at the football game a little short. We're playing UCF. Hopefully, it'll be a blowout by halftime. I'm supposed to hook-up with a couple of my old frat buddies. That's always a blast. We're together 10 minutes and it's like it's 1987 again. Depending on who you ask, that could be a good thing or a bad thing.

Bought a Pixies ticket yesterday. Later I went back and bought tickets for friends. Their seats are better than mine. hrmph.

Couldn't get tickets through the Vote For Change presale. Damn. And I'm going to be out of town tomorrow for the regular sale. Oh well. Maybe they'll release tickets at the last minute.

God dammit. Another one gone. Johnny Ramone died of prostate cancer yesterday.

F*ck F*ck F*ck.

I can't tell you how much The Ramones meant to me. They taught me how powerful live music can be. They were the first band I ever saw in a bar (7/1/84 at the Wax Museum). Up until that point I had only seen big shows at the Capital Centre and Merriweather. But there I was pressed up against the stage, about 5 feet from Joey - maybe 10 feet from Johnny. (Actually I was closer those few times I jumped up on the stage. ahhh... to be young again.)

I always claim that the Dead changed things for me musically. They did take me to the next level, but the Ramones were there first. I saw the Ramones plenty of times before I even owned a Dead record. I used to scribble "RAMONES" on my sneakers in college. I couldn't get enough of them.

• I saw After The Salad Days last night. It's a short film (about 30 minutes) about the current hardcore scene in DC. I really wanted to like it, but I can't honestly say I did. I just didn't learn anything from it. I would have liked to have learned about more of the bands that are out there. More about house shows. From watching the movie, I get the impression that there are only 3-4 bands in the DC/Baltimore area. Maybe that's the truth. Maybe that's why there didn't seem to be a lot going on in the movie. I didn't get the sense of there being much of a scene at all. The interviews with the guys who run Smash! and Reptilian Records were cool though. And The Locos looked like they might be worth checking out. It was hard to catch the names of most of the other bands. Still - "At least [she's] trying. What the f*ck have you done." I'll give her all the credit in the world for putting it together though. She managed to fill The Black Cat's backstage area. It was packed.
  
• People are still voting for Marion Barry. Apparently, he's not the only one smoking crack. What's wrong with you people?
  
• The Pixies had a presale for the 12/7 DAR show. The presale sold-out in something like 2 minutes. I managed to score. Tickets go on sale Saturday. There's also a 12/8 show. I assume that goes on sale Saturday too.
  
• The Vote For Change grand finale is right here in DC. REM, Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews and a bunch of other folks all in one 4-hour show at MCI. Tickets on sale Saturday. $90 and $175. Ouch. I may go for the cheap seats.
  
• I bought a PJ Harvey ticket. Any recommendations where to start with her catalog?

After last week's non-stop show-fest, it's kind of nice to have a little downtime. Nothing really planned until the weekend. hmmmmm - Maybe I'll go see "After The Salad Days" tonight at The Black Cat. It's billed as: "a look at the last five years of DC's hardcore punk scene." hmmmm - the last 5 years meaning 2000-2004, or the last 5 years it was relevant, like 1983-1986? I may check it out.

A quick review of last week:

Sun: Had the folks over for a cookout. My mom/dad and BF's mom. Good day, but it ended later than we expected. Decided to skip Taint. I'm determined to make it next time.

Tues: Went to see Festival Express at AFI. Awesome. Travelling from show to show on a train with The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Buddy Guy, The Band and others. I could have watched Janis all night. It's still playing for a couple more days. I can't recommend it enough. Once again, they wouldn't accept my AFI member passes. I'm starting to think that giving passes to members is just a sham to get people to join. I guess it worked. Oh yeah, Ian MacKaye was there the night I went. I was gonna ask him when The Evens' record was coming out, but I just left him alone.

Wed: I was considering checking out The Rosebuds at DC9, but I heard they cancelled. Went to The Eagle instead. Wednesdays at The Eagle can be quite the eye-opening experience, to say the least. No, I did not enter the contest.

Thurs: Les Savy Fav at The Black Cat. I had a decent time, but I was a little disappointed. The wacky singer was a little too wacky for me. The antics got a little old. They were rockin' though. The crowd was really into it. I think I would have enjoyed this one more if 1) I was more familiar with their songs, and 2) I wasn't hanging out alone. I don't mind going to shows alone, but it can get a bit boring if you're not really into the band. I left before they came back for the encore.

Fri: Snow Patrol at 9:30. The kiddies all turned-out for this one. Sold-out. Missed Eisley. Went to a friend's birthday party instead. This was a fun show. The crowd was LOVING it. Singing along with every song. We may have been the oldest folks in the room. Lots of guys giving the horns and yelling about how much they fucking roooooooled!!!!! Watched a girl dry-hump her boyfriend right in front of me. She was facing him and grinding like she was humping a stripper pole. I don't blame her. He was hot as hell. He seemed to enjoy it, even though his eyes never left the band and he sang along the whole time. Good show. If you like their CDs, you'd like them live. Not a bad way to start the weekend at all. Boyfriend went to this one with me. That's always a plus.

Sat: Guided By Voices/Tommy Keene at 9:30. I love Tommy Keene. Great songwriter and DC legend. He's been on my "I gotta go see him someday" list for about 15 years. He did not disappoint.

Supposedly, this is GBV's last tour. See 'em while you can. I'm not too familiar with them, but I figured it was my last chance, so I went. Had a great time. Definitely the best show of the weekend. I didn't think I'd be able to make it through a 3-hour show of mostly unknown material, but I managed. Damn, can they drink. They were pounding beer and what looked like whiskey non-stop all-night. The bass-player had to leave twice to take a leak, prompting Pollard to get the crowd cheering "bladder-boy" until he came back. Great, catchy pop songs. The crowd spent most of the night singing along and pouring beers on each other. Tommy Keene came out for most of the encore. Great night of rock and roll. Anyone who can keep my attention for 3 hours gets props from me. It's probably too late, but see these guys while you still can.

Blowoff between sets and after the show. I gotta start going to Blowoff early, when they're playing the more rocking stuff.

Sun: Day of rest. Naps are good.

This sounds interesting:

10/5
9:30 Club - Washington, DC

WEDrock - A Rock 'n' Roll Benefit Concert For The Freedom To Marry
featuring Henry Rollins(!), John Cameron Mitchell, Bob Mould w/ Ben Jelen, Purty Mouth, Avenue

Tickets $40/$100 (VIP)

Not sure what the $100 gets you.

From reading lots of other blogs today, it appears I'm the only homo in town that didn't go see the Scissor Sisters last night. I'd say "my loss", but I don't really believe that. Besides - I've got three more shows coming up this week. I need to rest while I can.

New music this week:

The Libertines - The Libertines
Muse - Absolution
Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
Clinic - Winchester Cathedral
Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

Haven't heard them enough to form much of an opinion yet. Although The Libertines disc is pretty boring compared to Up The Bracket. It's probably grow on me though. Stop Making Sense, of course, is a classic. I need to pick up that DVD someday.

What a great weekend for shows. Caught The Phobes and The High Dials at The Black Cat the other night. I admit to being a bit confused about which band was on first. The Cat's website implied The High Dials were opening. Turns out The Phobes were on first. I didn't even notice until The Phobes were well into their set and played the only song of theirs that I knew (Poverty Jetset). Duh. I don't feel too bad though. Afterall, for some reason The Phobes were playing The High Dials' drum kit (complete with their logo on the bass). Both bands were terrific. I've never seen a garage-rock-type band with a sitar before. Somehow, it worked quite well. The bass player for The Phobes gave me a free CD after the show. Free is always good. This was my first backstage show at The Black Cat. Very cool space, but I'm glad I'm tall.

Friday was Metropolitan on The Black Cat's mainstage. I like this band more and more every time I see them. Great set, including an unexpected encore of The Cars' "Just What I Needed". BF went with me to this one. Fun was had by all. I was surprised how few people were there though. Too bad - this band rocks. Clark Sabine was great to watch too.

Saturday was Cake at Merriweather. BF's comment: "Did we miss the Cake Revolution or something?" This show is part of the Sessions at Merriweather series. A bunch of cheap ($10 in advance) general admission Saturday shows. We were expecting a nice, relaxing, afternoon show, with maybe as many as 1,000 people. Boy were we surprised. By the time Cake came on stage (we weren't expecting three opening bands) there had to be 5,000 people there. The center part of the pavilion looked pretty full and there was a sizeable crowd on the lawn. The crowd knew every word to the songs and cheered the band like they were the Beatles. Who knew Cake was so big? Didn't they play 9:30 like a year ago? Anyway - Cake put on a fine show. New record coming out next month. They suggest buying it from their website ("$18 for a CD? No wonder people steal music. Buy it from our website for $12.") OK - I paraphrased that, but that's basically what the singer said last night.

May go to Taint tonight. Never been there. Bob recommends it. Could be fun. The whole "queer boys and girls" advertising makes me feel like I may be the oldest person there. haha - I guess we'll find out.

It's so much better on holiday.

I thought that with I.M.P. running Merriweather this summer, the whole issue of Merriweather Post Pavilion going away was taken care of. Apparently not. It looks like unless something changes soon, this may be MPP's final season, or at least the final season without some major changes.

The owner wants to sell off the parking area to developers and create an office/retail center. Ugh. They're considering closing down MPP altogether, but they said they'd consider leaving the concert venue in place, if it changed to a completely enclosed arena. Howard County is considering buying it, but they haven't made a decision yet.

Check out the Save Merriweather website. They've got the latest info on the situation and they'll let you know what you can do to help.

I grew up going to shows at Merriweather. Some of my first (and favorite) concert experiences took place there. I doubt I'd be such a music freak if I hadn't gone to so many shows there in my younger days. From my first time (8/10/81 - Pat Benatar/Billy Squier) to the Cake show I saw there last night, Merriweather has always been nothing less than terrific for me. David Bowie, R.E.M., Jerry Garcia, Eurythmics, The Pretenders, Neil Young, The Kinks, The B-52's, The Allman Brothers and many, many more.

If nothing else, we need to save it so we're not stuck with the Nissan Pavilion. What a sh*thole that place is.

After a minor server disaster yesterday, we finally got our webserver up again at work. The boot drive crashed and the mirror wasn't setup properly. Great. We brought our failover server online almost immediately, so very few people even noticed. Whew.

Favorite Spams of the week:

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Hot Girly gushing loads
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Real Bitch Anal Creampies

mmmmm....creampies.....

4-day weekend. The boss said we could take off tomorrow. That means I can stay out late tonight and not regret it for a change. Gonna start-off at The Black Cat Backstage. The Phobes/The High Dials are playing. Should be fun. I'm not familiar with The High Dials. I've heard they're worth showing up early for though. Then maybe hit The Eagle or The Lantern. We'll see.

It looks like Comcast dropped GSN from their lineup. You Bastards! Now where am I gonna watch Match Game and Lingo??? Luckily, they picked up the Hallmark channel. Tonight featuring re-runs of M*A*S*H and Touched By An Angel. Ugh.

Gotta run. Off to the Cat!