Well, we’ve arrived back in Grinnell, and it’s just like Montreal.
And I figure I should mention that while I was out of town PopMatters published my review of the Brother Ali/Treologic show:
http://www.popmatters.com/music/concerts/b/brother-ali-050305.shtml
So there.

So I’m chillin’ in the MTL right now, and I thought I would post some pictures of our trip so far. It’s been real. And trippy.

Private concerts are cool. Kind of. But they also make me feel bad. Kind of.
Some bands deserve to draw bigger crowds than they get. Some bands that are going to SXSW in a day deserve to draw more people than one of their parents, a humble concert critic and his friend, [...]

I’m constantly reminded (mainly, by Grinnell’s tiny Campus Republicans organization) that Grinnell College needs more “real” diversity. I was thinking about that in Sociology class today. Well, I happen to be wearing a Lacoste shirt (a black polo, if you were wondering), and I realized that I have never seen a popped collar [...]

Suffice it to say, Version 1 liberals can become Version 2 liberals out of self-interest by recognizing (and practicing) the necessity of the virtue of public reasonableness to the preservation of democratic legitimacy. And my “Issues in Democratic Political Theory” are resolved. Forever. I hope.*
_________________
*Kymlicka 2002: 289-291.

Moses, Mears –
Tree trunk, train tracks.
Mears perseveres.

PopMatters has posted my first piece of writing for them, a review of the Ben Folds show I saw at Wabash College. The editor did a little chomping and swishing, but I think it turned out pretty well. (Granted, it might not make sense.)

“Fred Jones, Pt. 2″ is one of those Ben Folds songs that exudes the depressing, inevitable feelings that one must feel when his or her life is in decline. Sort of an About Schmidt-type song. Damn. Nobody wants to feel like that.
John McCrea from Cake, who sang on that track for the [...]

Some people wonder why I chose to go to college in central Iowa, away from most things. Occasionally, I wonder. Here’s why:

Saturday, March 5 :: Harris Concert Hall
BROTHER ALI
Treologic
Thursday, April 7 :: [bobs] Underground Cafe
CALVIN JOHNSON
Friday, April 29 :: Mac Field / Harris Concert Hall
CAKE
Gomez
Robbers on High Street
+ various other bands throughout the [...]

Dear Metallica,
Hey guys, remember me? Of course you don’t. I’ve never been to one or your shows, I’ve never been anywhere near one of your public appearances, and I’ve never wanted to contact you before. Most of the letters you get probably say either “OMG I’M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!!” or “OMG I [...]