Willo O'Brien

Ok, so I owe you (err, am compelled to eventually write) reviews of the 2 shows I just went & saw: Friday night’s RAAAAAAAWK HARD Peaches show (insert one more OH MY GAWD here) and a review of lastnight’s AWESOME show: Ben Lee/Phantom Planet (who I’m in LOVE with now).

However, fresh (& sweaty) back from my Sunday morning hike w/ Rachel, I only have time to shower & then get to work. I had my fun in the (gorgeous 90°) sun today and now I’ve got to take care of bidness!!

I’m on a major deadline this weekend – so between my bouts of all out unabashedly dancing my booty off at shows, I am coming home & working all the hours of the day on this quick 3 day flash project. It’s fun!!

So – reviews and great stories coming soon…

WOW! I have SUCH AN AWESOME CAMERA!!!!!!

I’m so psyched! I had placed a huge order from my FOTKI albums (the best photo site ever by the way) the other day and I just got them in the mail. They’re BEAUTIFUL!! It says a lot about the digital world that I got this camera over a year ago but that I have hardly ordered any prints! I may have – but it’s been a LONG time… and so for me to get the package in the mail today with all these terrific photos of my awesome friends and all the good times I’ve had over the last couple months, and to have them here in my hands, in all their glossy glory – it is STOKING me big time!! It makes me want to just have a big wall of photos!

I actually do have a ton of frames around my house w/ outdated photos. Granted some old pics you wanna keep around… but there’s some in here that instantly will replace the old. I’m so excited!!

If you’ve been to an event with me & there’s photos of you in my albums (which if you’ve done the former, there is no doubt the latter) – then go order yourself some prints!! I’m not even getting paid to say this I swear… I just think people forget how god damn good it is to have these printed puppies in your hand. Not to mention how frickin GREAT my camera takes photos!

Ok, back to work before I head out the door for another music filled, debaucherous evening :) mmm, debauchery.

update: you people and your active imaginations.. :) which is fine, I support that – but just so ya’all know – my debauchery is VERY PG13 these days!!!!! a little bit does a lot for this girl.

ok, now back to your regularly scheduled programming…

I need to begin this post before all of a sudden I work the day away and then do my “oh-shit, it’s-already-7-and-I-haven’t-showered-yet -but-I-can-get-ready-in-10-minutes-and-do-my-makeup- in-the-car-and-still-get-across-town-by-7:30!!!” thing I always seem to do.

Tonite is PEACHES!!!!!!!!! aaawwww yaaaaaaaa or should I say: huuuuh? whaaaaat? riiiight. uuuhh.

Now, *don’t* go to the following links if you’re a small impressionable child (or if you’re a big left-winged tight-ass), but if you’re not familiar w/ Peaches and you just want a little taste of her, here’s some lyrics and an article (she’s on the cover of Paper Mag this month) for you.

It’s bound to be a nipplicious good time.

I don’t know – but I do know it’s a beautiful day here on earth! 80 degrees here today – DAMN we’ve got it good in SF! Now if only I didn’t have to work all day and instead I could go out & play!!!!

On my way for coffee this morning I was trying to think of a way I could be all lubed up w/ suntan lotion, laying out in the sun in my ittybitty bikini – AND get work done. Sans laptop is my first obstacle which pretty much killed the day dream… oh well. It makes going down & changing my laundry a really enjoying little jaunt! I’ve never been so excited to go put the stuff from the washer into the dryer.

Oh ya, that title q about heaven was inspired by what Margaret Cho wrote about Elliot Smith’s recent “departure”. I love what she wrote… it gave me chills. (I also updated my R.I.P. post with a link to it.)

Great movie – but are they really touring?

update from brendan: yes they apparently are.

I had a crazy day yesterday – but got caught up on everything I needed to do (besides laundry) and feel really good about where everything’s at.

Around 3:30 I left for a few errands:

• grabbing my first cup of coffee for the day (I’d gotten stuck at home earlier w/ work and hadn’t gone out for it yet)
• making copies of BAMboozled flyers to set out at the For Youth By Youth: 4×4 Community Dialogues panel they participated in lastnight. At the same time mailing out some bills and a small package.
• while I was up on Cortland I stopped at Good Life for butter and bought a new kind of deodorant at the store (I don’t like the deodorant though)
• rushed down to the SF Public Library to drop off the BAM copies. I miraculously made it just in time, got a right spot out front, met sonya and helped w/ a sign, welcomed dexter, talked to jake & told zinmar where it was via phone and flew back outta there within 10 minutes.
• rushing home to eat something quick cuz I hadn’t eaten anything all day, then showering/getting ready for the memorial (thank god I literally take 15 minutes to get ready!! low maintenance baby!)
• coming home and working till about 1am or so.

:::::::::::::::::

I didn’t go to lastnights Rock n’ Roll Spelling Bee (to benefit National Novel Writing Month) show w/ Citizens here & Abroad. I actually went to a memorial service for a friends baby who was born preemie… and only lived a couple months. Very sad, and lots of tears shed, but overall the most touching and amazing thing I’ve ever been to. You can make donations here.

So Jane and a bunch of other people did go to the spelling bee lastnight… And chatting w/ Jane lastnight she was telling me how the first speller up got his word wrong… what was it?

dumbbell

vinyl CDR’s

For those of you awaiting my review of The Strokes show with baited breath – did you doubt that I would say anything less than how much it RAAAAAWWKED!!!!!???!!

Keep in mind, if you go to a show w/ me – I *WILL* have a good time. Well, that’s not always true, but the ingredients that made this show fantastic, whipped up one hell of a great time.

Unfortunately (insert big huge grumpy smirk here) we missed Kings of Leon. And they had beards & mustaches!!!!!!!!! DAMNIT!!!! Rick had a class till 8, and yes we saw that the tickets said show at 7:30, but who the hell starts a show at 7:30!?!? Anyway, we’re trying to forget that it happened… and we’ll just have to see them play a smaller venue next time they pass through town – which will probably be better anyway, right?

So, on to the good part…. we got there just in time to get a drink, match up w/ Jem, Tania and even ran into Trevor & Dave, too. With no time to kill though we busted through the crowd as much as possible (it was totally packed!!) to get ourselves to atleast the 15 row. The show was at Bill Graham Civic, (which I’ve only been to for a Flash Forward event) so being in the 15th row, almost in the center was a feat to get to through the thousands of people.

The Strokes were excellent live… They absolutely ROCKED and it was AWESOME to be in a sea of Strokes fans. We were especially psyched to be so “in-the-know” on their new CD and be able to enjoy those songs to their fullest. They played a great mix of old and new – and the bands presence on stage was tight and totally rockstar :) The lead would disappear & sing from who knows where, but it was all still rockin so hard, nobody even really noticed. We were the “out of control, jumpin’ up & down, SWEATING our asses off” crew, if you were there – you probably remembered seeing us, right?. The one’s not sparing an *ounce* of fun – we’re FULL FORCE baby!!!!

They made us beg for sooooooo long for the encore, which was great when it finally happened… especially cuz we’d worked our way up to 3rd or 4th row, dead center and ran into some other rabid fans that were just as psyched as we were. What are fans like us doing in the 15th row? duh!! Rick was trying to pull me up through the crowd to get closer the entire time, but we’d already encountered some serious attitude, so I just didn’t want to push it. And literally that’s what we’d of had to do cuz there was NO room. Anyway – the *one song* encore was rockin up there – but all 6,000+ of us could have used 3-5 more songs! They said this was the LAST encore they’d be doing on this tour cuz they hate doing them… so now we’re supposta feel lucky I guess. :)

It all got out at around 11 or so, so we hit Victors (best. pizza. ever.) to share a slice and then the Hemlock for a drink. We ran into my friend Rob there & even a girl I know from H.S. who lives here now. I’d seen her a couple weeks before the reunion, so it was fun to see her again & tell her some stories. She keeps saying she’s going to email me and then doesn’t. Gotta love people who say one thing and do (or in this case, don’t do) another.

Anyway, after that we called it a night. I actually got to sleep rather early lastnight, but still skipped working out this morning in exchange for sleep instead. I haven’t been getting enough of it lately! Sleep is good.

So sad… Elliott Smith commited suicide. Such a beautiful artist… his tortured meloncholy lyrics brought so much joy to so many. Apparently this is how he felt it was best for him to go out… may he rest in peace. xo

update: Margaret Cho posted a very touching note to Elliott…

Oh my gawd, this is IT!!!! Tonite I see The Strokes LIVE!

It’s my first time seeing them live, and I’ve been rampin up listening to Is this It over & over this week… and the new one, too (lucky me, I scored it before it hit the shelves – aww yaaa!! Thanks Ian!!)

I’m also way into the Kings of Leon CD lately, so I’m psyched to see them open tonite, too… Let’s hear it for those Nashville boys! I hope I see some beards… or at least a mustache!!

Tomorrow night Jane & I (and a few others) are gonna hit our friend Chris’ band, Citizens Here & Abroad at El Rio….. and then Friday night we’re playin all our avenues to get into the Peaches show – wish us luck!! :) That’ll be a rockin crazy sexy show. I’ve never seen her either – but I heard it’s an experience… and I just know Rick will get such a kick out of it too… it’ll be soo fun!!

We were debating going to the East Bay for some Ani DiFranco & (seperate shows) The Lovemakers < since they were so damn hot last Friday night! But we’re bankin on the Peaches xxx experience now.

Saturday night is Phantom Planet – WAHOO!! I’m psyched on this one cuz Jane is coming and is really psyched on the band. Shit, I think this is the first time Jane & I have been back at The Bizz since our “first date” to Rosie Thomas/James Mercer (of The Shins) back in February!

OK, Room on Fire is blastin’ & I’m jumpin in the shower. I’m excited to see Jem & Tania tonite too – they’re a fun little team of fellow music freaks. See ya in the front row!!

p.s. If you DO see me, you probably know what I look like more than I know your mysterious face – so don’t be shy & say hello! I’m quite friendly if you haven’t noticed :)