Snow!

Snow!, originally uploaded by Theorris.

Woo hoo! The first snow of the season!

This morning, however, is clear as the proverbial bell. A typical Utah blue bird powder day: if we were in January.

Pulling out all the rhetorical tricks

Rather than waiting for today to write my email to TgP folks, I decided to take it on late last night. I'm rather pleased with my tone in the following letter. I sound like someone straight out of 1875:

Dear Mr. [X],

I had the great fortune of attending this night's concert of the Arcade Fire and LCD Sound System at Thanksgiving Point (September 26, 2007). The show was very good and you should be commended for programming these two extraordinary bands.

My evening was spoiled, however, by the overly zealous security that proclaimed my Nikon D40x camera as "too professional" to be allowed into the venue. This surprised me, as my friends who had compact cameras (which the Nikon D40x is not) were allowed into the show. Many of these cameras were of higher resolution than mine. While they were allowed into the show, I, in the mean time, had to hike back to the car and secure my camera, thus missing the majority of the LCD Sound System's set. I might note, that I am a fan of the LCD Sound System, and feel somewhat robbed by that experience.

I would have left my camera at home, but, after checking the Thanksgiving Point web site as well as my ticket I saw no notification that cameras of any type were barred. I took my camera in good faith that I would be allowed to take pictures of what I experienced and of my good friends' enjoyment of the show and of Thanksgiving Point.

Was I mistaken? Are certain cameras allowed and others are not? Why was such a distinction not made public? Why was it not posted on your web site?

Honestly, I am really not certain where the distinction in cameras s being made here. As most people who attend concerts, I only take photos of things I want to remember, and if I share them on the Internet (as my friends who brought compact, higher resolution cameras have already done) it is only for the purpose of sharing my experience with my friends. The arbitrary rules excluding my camera or other such digital single lens reflex cameras at Thanksgiving Point seem out of place in our day and age.

Can you explain to me why I was forced to 1) not be able to take pictures that would advertise the beauty of your venue to my friends, and 2) miss a substantial portion of the show that I paid $36.00 for in order to secure a camera that is of lower resolution than cameras that were allowed into the show?

Sincerely,

[Theorris Boonasty, Esq.]

The D40 rejected from yet another concert

The D40 rejected from yet another concert, originally uploaded by Theorris.

So the Justice League plus Derek and ever beautiful Melinda (sorry no proper nicknames yet) ventured south of the border (aka Utah County in what can only be an Salt Lake City thing) to go see the oddly situated Arcade Fire and LCD Sound System at, god protect me, Thanksgiving Point (TgP), located at the north end of the happiness that is happy valley Utah where everyone is numbed by 1) prozac and 2) religious bigotry and intolerance.

After a fucking long wait where the zealous TgP renta-cops engaged in cavity searches for contraband like coffee and--horror or horrors--alcohol, I was told, yet again, that my camera was "too professional."

I could have argued about all the great free fucking advertising their pastiche venue would receive by my posting pictures on the Internet, but all I managed was "so it is a problem that I take pictures of my friends enjoying the concert?"

Ah the walk of pride (or is that anger?) I have taking my camera, yet again, back to the car.

TgP is going to get one hell of a letter tomorrow. Lucky for them the Arcade Fire show was so good, I feel somewhat molified.

I am getting really tired of twats telling me I cannot take pictures of events that I have paid good money to see. Let's take the slippery slope here: are they going to feed me a drug so that I forget everything I experience next?

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

There you've forgotten it already, haven't you?

Sign of the times

Overheard on a college campus near you from one fresh-faced college freshman to another: "These pills make me feel comfortable."

English Major as a religion?

So what do you make of this, my droogies: 'Postmodernism Disrobed' by Richard Dawkins, Nature - RichardDawkins.net?

A Night in the Suburbs

Neighborhood night calm
Cutting off calls, one two three
A plumber with pipes

The Official Signifying nothing Monolith Music Festival Awards

So this past weekend, as astute readers might have noticed, I was a the Monolith Music Festival held at the ever-beautiful Red Rocks amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. Aside from being denied taking decent pictures, I had quite the time. I have decided, therefore to hand out my own awards in various categories to the bands who I had the honor to witness. I was considering boring you all with a narrative of the trip, but that just seems a bit too self-indulgent. I will, therefore, leave it with appropriate awards and commentary.

Most fun

==Matt & Kim

These kids knew how to rock. Kim had cranked the drums and enjoyed every minute of their set. A smile never left her face. Matt was the most amusing yet competent musician I've seen in awhile.

Favorite line: "What the fuck is that?" said while looking at the giant red rock reef in hovering over his upper-deck stage. "I'm from New England and we don't have anything like that!"

Most surly

==Brian Jonestown Massacre

His age is showing. Get an enema. Your band is not the center of the universe and you put on a lackluster, insulting show. Your pointless attempts to become political didn't save you nor did your ho-hum cheerleading for the upcoming bands. Your excuses about making some hot shit in Iceland and giving it away for free redeem you either.

You're washed up BJM. Face it and come out with something better. Clue one: get rid of Mr. Denim Mutton Chops for a starter and love your music again. You are not cool, and you never were: you are just fucking rude. I was so tempted to shout out "Dandy Warhols" but didn't fearing your have a hissy fit and run of stage (again) and drag our your boring-ass chord-fest even more.

Okay, okay, the music was tight, but still lacked anything that would draw any in but the most dis-affected. Bringing out a liter of Popov is still not going to make your music appealing. It just makes you pathetic, like the vagrant at the bus stop who still thinks booze makes him cool.

Favorite line: "Shut the fuck up while we tune! We're doing this for you!" I half-expected him at this point to tell us all to get off his lawn. Keep music evil? Uhuh. Eat me.

Most fun to dance to

==Flosstradamus

I lost my phone because I was grooving so much. (No worries it came back the next day after a night of debauchery.)

Favorite line: "This is what you get with one turntable!" (One of their turntables failed to function. They were still grooving.)

Most hot

==Kid Sister

She was pretty much on with Flostradamus and busted out the rhyme like there was no tomorrow. The crowd had thinned stupidly by the time she was getting into it. Their loss. She was on target and stunning.

Favorite line: (pointing to a kid in the audience who had glasses on) "I like guys in glasses!"

Most reason to like hip hop live

==Das EFX

They had it down. Hip hop recordings can never catch what the artists can do live.

Favorite line: "Don't be smokin' that shit, kids!" or "When I say Das, you say EFX!"

Most sad to have missed

==Ghostland Observatory

You have to hear the singers talking voice to understand why.

Favorite line: (from their live performance in Austin) "I'm so glad every body is having fun tonight!"

Most intellectual

==The Decemberists

Their drummer looks like a philosophy professor and probably is. Overall they had a very tight set and they engaged the audience. Interestingly enough they announced that they had an EP coming out with their song "Perfect Crime" which appeared on The Crane Wife. Does this mean that The Crane Wife did not sell?

Favorite line: "Man...Red Rocks." (Stated as the feedback from Black Rebel Motor Cycle club was raining down on them. They pulled it back together and overwhelmed the crowd with their last song.)

Most interesting British band to bring back talk-singing since David Niven

==Art Brut

Art Brut put on a tight, driven set with songs that lasted no more than two and a half minutes.

Favorite line: "Art Bruts, are you ready?!"

Most fantastic show on the face of the planet Earth (and Mars)

==The Flaming Lips

Despite rumors to the contrary, Wayne came out in his gerbil ball to crowd surf (even though it was momentary.) The Lips stage set for their concert-venues is difficult to be beat these days. They were solid and weird, as is to be expected complete with giant and little Santas and giant and little aliens. I save some confetti.

Favorite line: "Thank you!"

Best in show

The Flaming Lips

Second-best in show

Matt & Kim

Third-best in show

The Decemberists

Red Rocks

Red Rocks, originally uploaded by Theorris.

My camera was not allowed in the festival given that it was too large. Funny how I saw other non-media folks carrying even large cameras around. Totally assenine. All the pictures I could take inside the venue were of the lowrez phone camera kind. They are over at flickr.

I feel like writing the Monolith organizers a nice tasty letter for their stupid policies. Friend Hopabout's acceptably-sized camera is 10 megapixel and takes great images. Mine, while it also takes great images, is 6.8 megapixel. I dare anyone there to explain to me why one camera is ok and another is not given both can take images that could be sold.

Catlinlap has full resolution pictures he took with his acceptable camera as well.

"The difference between me and you is that I have lunch."

"The difference between me and you is that I have lunch." or what you find when you are looking through your old pictures, originally uploaded by Theorris.

I voted

I voted, originally uploaded by Theorris.

And yes, I ticked off the Becker box. Given that mayor was the only choice to make I was in-and-out in less than 5 minutes. I was stunned to see how few people had voted (according to the unsigned names in the voter roster that I could see.)

Don't make me come over there

Don't make me come over there, originally uploaded by Theorris.

Ok, I've used strong arm tactics here on Signifying nothing, I do confess, but come on: there is no better candidate for SLC mayor than Ralph Becker. All my SLC posse should consider his positions and, consequently, vote for him.

I will not threaten anyone else with ass-kicking, however, and I apologize for my sophomoric humor. You should vote for Ralph because he is the candidate of choice.

Garden Update: Eggplant

Garden Update: Eggplant, originally uploaded by Theorris.

My eggplants have three fruit. I'm hoping they'll make it by the time the heavy frost comes.

The only reason that the 9 SLC residents who read this crap should vote for Ralph Becker

1) I'll kick your ass if you don't.

Enough said.

What things may come

I've been having terrible nightmares lately. I can provide no specific details due to the phenomenon of dream-forgetting, but mostly they involve my camera, its loss, and eventual destruction.

How odd.

Elaine goes to India

Over at the WFMU blog they posted a mashup of "Jan Penechaan Ho" from the Bollywood movie Gumnaam and a Les Claypool ditty.

I decided to try my hand at a mashup with Blur's "Crazy Beat!" Damon Albarn, of course sings he vocals for Mohammed Rafi, in my version. This substitution is perfectly acceptable in Bollywood convention since playback singers such as Rafi were rather common. Think of it as early mashup.

As for the video as a whole, initially, my eye was caught by the whacked out dancing of the actress in gold in "Jan Penechaan Ho" and how much it reminded me of Elaine's dancing on Seinfeld. Remember that?

Go visit Blur and Albarn's website and buy lots of their music. Go buy Gumnaam while you're at it. Pick up some Rafi tunes too. I consider this post an unofficial advertisement and a statement of admiration for their creative work, and make no claims to it other than mixing it all around in a hopefully entertaining fashion that might inspire you to buy things from them, or, if they are dead, their official representatives.