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I went to see Chris Cornell at Webster Hall last night. jaydk came with me. It was entirely last-minute; I just happened to notice that he was playing there, went on Ticketmaster the night before the show, and snagged two tickets. Yay!

He also played there on April 7, and I kind of spoiled myself by looking at the setlist for that, which included “Let Me Drown” and “Like Suicide,” neither of which he played last night. He didn’t play enough Soundgarden, period, although he sort of made up for that with lots of Temple of the Dog.

My scale of response to Chris Cornell’s music:

* Chris Cornell solo material = me standing still, attempting an expression of polite interest
* Audioslave = me bobbing my head, singing along to the chorus, and wondering why every Audioslave song sounds the same
* Soundgarden/Temple of the Dog = me jumping up and down like a possessed lunatic and singing along to every word at the top of my lungs

The highlights were probably the intense, almost unhinged “Jesus Chris Pose” and the final, drawn-out “Reach Down” with “Say Hello 2 Heaven” interlude.

The venue was great–big enough to build up mass enthusiasm, but small enough to feel personal. We were on the far left, about fourth row or so. I got to hold Chris Cornell’s hand a couple of times when he reached into the crowd. The performance was so enthusiastic and genuine–band members and sound guys smiling, changing the set-list mid-set based on audience requests, goofing off and seeming like they were actually having a good time. It felt real and not like a corporate machine, which is sort of what I’d expected from an artist who’s been around so long. The older songs in particular felt so vital, like I’d been transported back in time to the early 90s–a particularly surreal experience given that it was the fifteenth (!!!) anniversary of the day the world learned of Kurt Cobain’s death.

Oh, and there was this, which is something I can honestly say I’ve never seen at a concert before:

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Oh my god, you guys, I am in love:

I want a TARDIS so badly. Right now I want nothing more than to go see David Bowie live in the early 1970s.

I think this must be the true reason I adore the Doctor and Rose. They did exactly what I would’ve done if I could travel through time and space: get dressed up and go to awesome concerts throughout history.

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Due South: “Some Like it Red.” Okay, Fraser makes an incredibly unconvincing woman. But Fraser and Ray Vecchio are so utterly OTP! I don’t know how in the world I’m going to deal when the new Ray shows up.

Oh, and, hey, I got home from Atlantic City alive. Obviously. I was home by 3:30am, which isn’t bad at all. And I’m so glad I went. I was expecting the show to be bad, hoping for mediocre, and was really surprised that it turned out to be good. Really good! The band was tight, they all seemed to get along, their stage banter was funny, Weiland was on form and perfectly coherent. I had a nice spot, in the third row on the far left, despite having arrived around 9pm, shortly before they went on. (Stupid bus got stuck in traffic.) The Borgata is the perfect venue for seeing big bands in a small space.

All my criticisms of Stone Temple Pilots stand–Core is good but most of the songs sound the same, and their subsequent records are mostly filler with around three quality songs for singles. Their lyrics are thoroughly uninspired, and they haven’t an original bone in their musical body. And they were always blatantly money-driven, unlike similar bands of their era who seemed largely motivated by, y’know, actual musical creativity.

That said… I like their sound, especially from the Core and Purple records. That’s my era, y’know? You couldn’t listen to rock radio–or watch MTV–in the mid ’90s without knowing all their singles by heart, and they were better than 99% of the other grunge wanna-bes (did you see that Candlebox is making a comeback? Candlebox!) And I think that Weiland, although not the brightest guy, generally seems to have his heart in the right place. When I saw him with Velvet Revolver at Jones Beach he gave a speech about how much Clear Channel sucks, and last night he talked (with a minimum of incomprehensible rambling) about how he supports the troops but not the government’s policies, and that the two are entirely different things, and that he encourages the audience to educate themselves about politics instead of vegging out to reality TV. Aww. Not that I take political advice from Scott Weiland, but I think that it’s sweet that he’s trying.

And it was so good to see him in his element. He just fits with Stone Temple Pilots so much better than with Velvet Revolver; it was like night and day, compared to the (wow, at least ten) Velvet Revolver shows that I saw. It was wonderful to see “Interstate Love Song” and “Sex Type Thing” played properly by the guys who wrote them. As my favorite part of the Velvet Revolver set was always the STP songs, it was like all the good of that experience, distilled. I got to hear “Plush”! And “Dead and Bloated”! And “Creep”! And “Big Empty”! And “Crackerman”! And they closed with an amazing rendition of “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart,” with the audience singing the “I’m not dead / I’m not for sale” line at the top of its lungs by itself every time but the last. They played every song I wanted to hear, which isn’t that hard considering they played every one of their singles and all of the good songs from Core, but hey, at least that means they know what they’re good at.

They all seemed really happy–it was one of the DeLeo brother’s birthday, and Scott wished him a happy one very nicely. And they even commented that it was one of the best shows of the tour, which I definitely believe given the disastrous tour reports I’d read in advance.

So, yay! I’m really glad I went, and I hope they can keep it together for the rest of the tour. :)

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I’m in the middle of week three of the hundred push ups program, which means I did 71 push ups tonight. Owwwwwwwwww. I’m doing the half-assed knee push ups, but still.

I’m doing this mainly because I didn’t believe it could possibly work (me doing 100 push ups after six weeks? I’ve never been able to do more than 15) and because I really need to start exercising again. I was doing so well last year; I was up to four half hour workouts a week, and lost 20 pounds. And then I got depressed, stopped exercising, and gained back all the weight. Ugh. So this seemed like a way to jump start the working out thing also.

I’ve also been busy cooking. I’m still following the Vegan Cooking for One meal plan. I like cooking and having a homemade meal every night, but I’m getting sick of the bland and unimaginative recipes in this book. Mushrooms, potatoes, rice, spaghetti, onions… c’mon, at least throw in one interesting thing per week! How about eggplant or … I don’t know, kumquats or something. Blah. But I’m taking photos and going to blog it on SuperVegan, so at least it’s good for something. :P

I’ve been really busy with Writercon, but we don’t have anything to announce yet. I’ve got my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to announce a city and hotel soon, though! Meanwhile I’m learning Drupal and spreadsheets.

I’ve been reading “Hamlet” on the subway to and from work. I’m trying not to get too excited, but I keep picturing David Tennant and OMG CAN’T WAIT FOR OCTOBER.

I’ve been catching some TV here and there. I decided that I adore Fraser’s boss, Meg Thatcher (lol), and that I’d rather watch a show about her. She’s kind of like a female Fraser: older and more cynical, but incredibly socially awkward and with that core idealism underneath. Just, she’s interesting, with her heart protected under so many layers of caution and professionalism, and her default reaction to assume the worst of everyone and to push people away. The last episode I saw was “We Are The Eggmen” so this could change; don’t spoil me for anything that’s coming up.

The next Doctor/Master episode is “The Claws of Axos.” Anything particular I should look out for in this one? I’ll probably start it on Sunday.

jaydk came over last weekend for more Doctor Who. I made a whole batch of banana split cupcakes, and we had a lot of fun. She agrees that “Terror of the Autons” is way more entertaining than “The War Games.” And “Journey’s End” feels more “official” now that we watched it together–although I’m highly amused that we had to pause it twice so that we could get into extended arguments. Ah, fangirls.

Tomorrow I’m taking the bus to Atlantic City to see Stone Temple Pilots. I’m stressing about this, not only because it’s apparently a money-driven mess with a relapsed lead singer, but because I hate Atlantic City. This was the only show I could get tickets to (they’re not playing NYC), so I bought a ticket with a blithe “Oh, I’ll find someone to go with me!” Which never happens, of course, and I end up alone at 12:30am in an empty corner of a casino parking garage, waiting for a bus that may or may not show up, with no human being in sight. I feel like it’s tempting fate to keep doing this. I even looked for a hotel room thinking maybe I’d stay overnight and take a daytime bus home, but Atlantic City hotels are absurdly expensive. So, late night bus. I probably won’t get murdered.

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Looks like I’m in for an adventure when I go to see Stone Temple Pilots on Saturday.

I know STP is a sad excuse for a band. I have lots of nostalgic affection for them anyway. And I don’t want Scott Weiland to die. :(

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I had the most awesome Saturday. jaydk and I went to Philadelphia for Projekt Revolution.

( Good friends, yummy food, street fairs, Chris Cornell, and Linkin Park )

What else I've been up to:

( I liked The Dark Knight, but I didn't *love* it )

( I've been catching up on Due South )

( My Doctor Who fannish experience has been very Doctor/Master centric lately )

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Tonight I got to see one of my favorite bands with two of my favorite people in the universe.

chenanceou and jaydk met up with me at Pukk, the yummy vegetarian Thai restaurant. Then we headed to The Living Room to see Common Rotation.

It was a good show, although way too short. The band members were in good moods; the stage banter was adorable and the songs were all entertaining. But it felt incomplete, because they didn’t play a single one of the staples I’ve gotten used to at Common Rotation shows; no “Everything Under the Sun” or “Gone Dyin’” or “Clear Channel” or “Party People” or “Indie Rockin.” Just, good, but I wanted another hour. Remember those living room shows, when they’d play and play? I got so spoiled back then…

I made chenanceou get their autographs afterward, because, dude, she’d come halfway across the world and timed her trip to see them. She was all adorable and shy. And of course the band was nice, as they always are. Adam Busch is the nicest “celebrity” I met in the entirety of Buffy fandom.

Amber Benson was there, and it always freaks me out to see her, because she is tiny. Like, ethereal. And when you remember that people complained about her being “fat” when she was on BtVS, you realize that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan must be, like, doll-sized, to look small next to her. It also made me feel like some kind of hulking giant. But anyway. She is also nice.

And tomorrow I’m going to Asbury Park. I’m going to lay on the beach and breathe salty air and read something light (maybe Harry Potter) and just be glad to be out of NYC. I can’t believe I haven’t gone anywhere in eight months. I’m not made to stay in one place for so long!

(Is it really annoying to choose three mood icons? I can’t decide if I’m more drunk, tired, or happy.)

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You know you’re exhausted when you can’t even motivate yourself to get out of your chair to pour a cup of coffee. :P

I’m so glad I went to see Bella Morte last night. They played at the Knitting Factory, opening for 16Volt. 10zlaine and I got there a bit late, after 9pm, just as they were starting. I think they’re getting better every time I see them. The first time (2001?) I left because they were boring; now, I think they own the stage with far more confidence, and their songs have gotten so much better. They’ve got these disparate influences–punk, metal, goth–and I like how they’re merging all of these into each song, rather than doing one “punk” song, then one “metal” song, and so on. (Plus, the shallow: Andy Deane’s growing his hair out and has dyed it black; he looks about a million times hotter than he did with that absurd orange mohawk.)

I wasn’t going to talk to them after, but I did go over to buy a CD, and Andy recognized me and gave me a hug. I apologized for not owning any of their CDs and asked for a recommendation; he said “Bleed the Grey Sky Black,” so I bought that. I swear, I wasn’t even trying to “meet the band”; I’m just like a natural rock groupie or something.

We stuck around for 16Volt, because Steve White from PIG is playing with them. He was amazing, and I’m so sad that I never got to see him play with PIG. I guess I must’ve seen him with KMFDM twice, but that’s not the same. He co-wrote some of my favorite PIG songs, actually. I don’t know anything about the technique of playing guitar, but I know the difference between “mediocre” and “decent” and “fucking awesome,” and he was definitely on the “fucking awesome” side.

I must’ve seen 16Volt years ago (didn’t they open for KMFDM or something?) but I didn’t know any of their songs. The vocals were annoying, but the music itself was great. I must’ve had a hell of a lot of frustration to work out, because even though I was exhausted, I ended up completely rocking out like I haven’t done in years, banging my head and jumping up and down like a lunatic. I was thinking about my old landlord and roommate; it’s really easy to feel aggressive when you’ve had a week like I’m having!

It was so, so good to go to a club show. It’s been way too long; I think last time was Chemlab in, um, November? I’ve been going to these arena shows lately, where the band are distant specks on a stage, and you’re surrounded by confused teenagers, and yuppies who leave before the encore, and frat boys who are just there to guzzle as much Budweiser as humanly possible during the space of three hours. This was a dark dingy club with about 50-75 people who genuinely care about the music, and the band is on a four-foot stage right in front of you, and they actually *do* feed off your energy and you feed off theirs and you interact, and you can go to the merch table and meet them afterwards if you want to. It’s just so much more gritty and honest and real.

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( more musings on Turn Left )

( and the Cure at Madison Square Garden on Friday night )

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I went to this benefit at the Nokia Theater in Times Square last night. It was for some kind of drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization for musicians… headlined by Slash and Jerry Cantrell. (Yeah, I don’t quite follow that either.)

( Road Recovery Benefit Concert with Slash, Jerry Cantrell, Tom Morello, Perry Farrell, Jakob Dylan, and a bunch more )

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I somehow managed to stay up until 3:30am last night fiddling with my blog. I:

( made comment replies prettier; added comment previews; pulled in commenter userpics from LJ, IJ, and JF; and improved posting functionality )

Other random stuff:

I had a very difficult time waking up in the morning (I wonder why!). My alarm was blaring, but somehow I had the idea that as long as I woke up on the same date, it didn't matter what time I woke up. Stupid half-asleep brain. And I was having some kind of strange dream about the ending of The Princess Bride trying to trick the audience into thinking that Fezzik had been the villain all along. (But I wasn't falling for it.)

On the plus side, my half-asleep brain is far more creative than my awake brain, so I plotted out an entire Doctor/Master fic on my train ride to work. (Not that I'll ever write it.)

I bought a ticket last night for this benefit at the Nokia Theater featuring Slash, Jerry Cantrell, Tom Morello, and Perry Farrell. I don't actually know what it is, but with that line-up, who could resist?

I also see that Stone Temple Pilots tickets are going on sale for a show in New Jersey. Um, New Jersey? C'mon guys, please announce a NYC date. I want to see you, but not badly enough to trek out to Jersey. :P

(ETA: And how did I miss that Scott Weiland left Velvet Revolver? Not that it's much of a surprise. I saw them seven or eight times last year and half the time the other band members were visibly rolling their eyes at Weiland's antics. I'm still a bit sad, though. Formulaic though they may have been, their shows were fun.)

I'm watching The Daily Show and The Colbert Report again. They made a Highlander joke on TDS last night! And Stephen Colbert pulled John Oliver out of a suitcase! And Colbert interviewed REM while wearing their album as a codpiece! (I was eating as that happened and ended up inhaling a large amount of cous cous.)

South Park has been more cracked-out than usual this season; last night was a total waste. But I watched the new Futurama movie and it was *awesome*. They managed to reference pretty much every cool thing that happened in the series, plus tell a good new story too.

I saw this ad (a giant Darth Vader head with the caption "A guy can only be called 'Annie' so many times before he snaps") and burst out laughing in the middle of the subway station. Yay geek humor! (*ignores underlying misogyny*)

I finally got that vanilla-themed BPAL order. I am in love with Antique Lace. It's sweet vanilla with a hint of white musk, but not at all cloying; more like distant and cool. But it's strong and lasted all day. It's similar to my favorite scent ever, Dorian, but different enough that I'll probably end up buying a whole bottle.

All of this is just killing time until Saturday. DOCTOR WHO!!!! *incoherent flailing*

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I (just a bit belatedly!) posted my photos from DragonCon 2006.

I’m generally a terrible photographer, but I get lucky sometimes. These ended up being some of my favorite photos that I’ve taken:

( The Method from Godhead and Sarah from the Cruxshadows )

There’s also photos of the Cruxshadows, Godhead, Voltaire, George Romero, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau, Billy West, random pirates, the Snape trial, R2-D2, me and jaydk, and lots of random convention stuff. If you’re interested.

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The band I just saw (the Gutter Twins) is going to be on Letterman tonight if you want to turn on CBS and check them out.

They were very good, although if I had my way I'd merge Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan into one super lead singer, with Dulli's showmanship and Lanegan's voice. Because Dulli has wonderful charisma but sounds utterly mediocre, while Lanegan has the most incredibly beautiful honey-over-gravel voice ever but stands there looking down and giving the crowd nothing.

So, yeah. Good, but could be better. Although I'm a sucker for a band with two lead singers; I did love the vocal harmonies. (I got a really weird stare once when I told Adam Busch that Common Rotation reminds me of Alice in Chains; it's the two vocalists thing!)

I could've done without standing around for two hours waiting for them to play, though. I'm old and impatient. >:( At least the opener was good; they were called Great Northern and had a female singer with a lovely voice. I almost bought their CD but the line was huge so I didn't bother; I did get the Gutter Twins CD though. :)

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I had a busy week.

( Macbeth with Patrick Stewart )

( The Quatermass Experiment )

( Common Rotation )

( the David Tennant/Phil Collinson/Helen Raynor drunken commentary on The Five Doctors )

( Love and Monsters )

( Fear Her )

( Afro-Cuban Jazz at Birdland )

I had a busy week.

( Macbeth with Patrick Stewart )

( The Quatermass Experiment )

( Common Rotation )

( the David Tennant/Phil Collinson/Helen Raynor drunken commentary on The Five Doctors )

( Love and Monsters )

( Fear Her )

( Afro-Cuban Jazz at Birdland )

[Cross-posted to InsaneJournal with a way cuter icon]

Last night I saw Foo Fighters play a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden. What the hell happened to them? I walked in late and thought maybe I'd timed it wrong and was seeing the encore, because the performance was completely over the top. But, nope, they played every song that way. Dragging out and over-emphasizing every moment, running around and waving their guitars in the air... good lord. They had an entire acoustic set lowered from the ceiling into the middle of the room. It was the epitome of an arena rock show. When did Dave Grohl embrace the whole over-the-top "rock star" thing? He was in Nirvana!

I went because Foo Fighters was my first concert, in 1996 or 1997 at some auditorium in New Jersey. Big mosh pit, sweaty long-haired grunge boys, your basic rock show. All of their songs sounded the same, but they were new so I figured they'd improve. They haven't. I don't understand how audiences can get so passionate about music that is so bland. It's like... it's fine, but it's not special. How can something so generic sell out Madison Square Garden, when I've had life-changing concert experiences with brilliant bands who can't sell out 100-capacity bars? It didn't help that the place was swarming with frat boys; I felt utterly out of place.

Grohl's between-songs banter was cute, though. And they had a hilarious triangle solo. And it was good to hear "Everlong," which is by far their best song. But mostly, the whole thing made me cringe.

[Cross-posted to InsaneJournal]

I have some kind of magical concert karma. I got there late (about 8:45pm), stopped at the coat check, meandered my way forward into the crowd... and ended up in the front row right in front of Twiggy. I never push; I just slip forward when other people leave. Insane luck, I tell you. To think that we used to line up at noon for this.

( Marilyn Manson at Hammerstein Ballroom, 1/30/08 )

Oh, Torchwood fandom. You do know how to bring the wank.

Have I mentioned recently that Neil Gaiman is awesome?

And yes, I proudly admit that I'm watching Torchwood S1 for the sole purpose of laughing at how awful it is. Why? Because it's funny.

***

Does anyone have recommendations for Tenth Doctor fanfiction that is just really well-written? Any pairing, rating, or genre, but no agenda (other than exploring the characters and/or telling an interesting story)?

I've been venturing beyond my comfy little Ten/Master niche, and ... maybe I'm looking in the wrong places? Because if it's not blatant shipper!fic, it's like that one episode of South Park where Cartman makes a list of all the rotten things he's done in previous episodes and then goes around trying to make amends. Only instead of Butters making a list of all Cartman's sins, it's Rose/Jack/Martha/Mary Sue, and instead of Cartman apologizing in order to weasel his way into heaven, the Doctor does it in order to win his way back into the author's good graces (or maybe because she just wants to see him grovel).

The problem with "fixing" the characters is that ... then they're no longer the characters I love. *snuggles delightfully fucked-up favorite characters*

Here's a good one jaydk recced: The Man With No Name by Frostfyre7. It's a Doctor Who/Firefly crossover, gen except for some Mal/Inara (which I skimmed). Not as dark as I prefer, but it's got good characterization and a nice adventure story; it kept me entertained and I never got the urge to bang my head against the desk.

***

Tonight: Marilyn Manson! Twiggy's back! I know this band has been washed up for at least eight years, but... nostalgia! *is inordinately excited*

The big question: should I Goth it up for old times' sake, or admit that I'm a grown-up now and go the lazy jeans and t-shirt route?

***

And apparently Stone Temple Pilots are reuniting. Nifty! (As long as they don't take my Velvet Revolver away....)

Just got tickets for Marilyn Manson at Hammerstein Ballroom on January 30. My friend April (who I haven't seen since she OMG HAD A BABY!) is coming with me. Anyone else going?

I know Manson sucks now, but it's a nostalgia thing; I can't help it. Antichrist Superstar was good. And I have strangely happy memories of waiting in line huddled in a sleeping bag in the freezing cold for eight hours just to get a front row spot when I was eighteen, so it would just feel lame to not go at all when he's back in my neighborhood.

Also got tickets for Macbeth starring Patrick Stewart at BAM for March 11. Good seats, too. After the awesomeness of King Lear with Ian McKellen last year, I'm really looking forward to this.

I am also so excited that I'm going to see David Tennant in Hamlet this year. So totally beyond excited. That and the fact that I get to spend time in London again. It's the thing I'm most looking forward to in 2008.

Oh, and in case you haven't seen this: YEARS worth of RPF fantasy material.

10zlaine came to visit this weekend. ( my fun but exhausting weekend, seeing Chemlab, watching Doctor Who, and hanging out with fandom friends )