[misc] Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Last Saturday we went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in Manchester, NH. This has become an annual tradition and it's always so good. The music, the lights, the storytelling- it's so awesome.















So good. If they're going to be anywhere near you, you should try to see them. It will put you right into the Christmas spirit. The first half of the show is story-telling, with video and singers. The second half is more of a fun free-for-all with familiar Christmas and TSO songs. The musicians are always excellent and the light show is the best ever. And there's lots of pyro!

[travel] Montebello Rockfest, Quebec

Last weekend we went up to Montebello, Quebec for Rockfest. The lineup was too good to miss:

Those are just the big names- there were going to be another 100 metal and punk bands.

Our house for the weekend:

It rained Thursday night and sporadically through Friday. The festival grounds turned into:

And it was massively crowded. This is the middle of the day Friday, before things got crazy for Rammstein:

The Rammstein show was excellent (always) and we saw lots of other bands. Jello Biafra was great and he did some Dead Kennedys songs. The Offspring were a pleasant surprise. 

Saturday morning rolls around and we're like, "Should we stay or should we go?" The music had been great, all the people were awesome and friendly... but the rain, mud, sleep deprivation, porta potties (oh god, the porta potties), the traffic and carrying all our supplies a mile away to where the car was parked... the thought of doing that Sunday when everyone was going to be doing it as well? Nightmare.

We saw other people packing up their camp sites. So we shrugged and packed up as well. And I have zero regrets. We were back home in Vermont by 5pm on Saturday. I walked in the house, dropped my flip flops into the garbage and took a 30 minute shower. I made a nice supper (we had been living solely on beer and poutine) and watched a movie. By the time we were getting into bed, I was like, "Just think, we'd STILL be waiting for Iggy to go on right now."

And then we had ALL DAY Sunday to chillax when, if we had stayed, we'd be fighting crowds and traffic to leave. And presumably getting our car stuck in the field where we had parked. From what I've read, tons of vehicles were stuck in the mud and had to be towed out (at $50 a pop). The parking situation was probably the most f'ed up thing of the entire fest.

I don't know that we'll do the fest again. If we do, we'll stay in a hotel or something. If anyone is planning to go and wants some advice, I'm happy to talk your ear off. It was definitely a learning experience since we were first-timers. Yessir, Miller.

On to the Quebec City Summer Festival next month. That will be more civilized. We'll be staying in a hotel (indoor plumbing! air conditioning!) and Quebec City itself is so large with lots to see/do. We've been to this festival a couple times in the past and it's tres bien. The first time was to see Rammstein. The second time was to see The Rolling Stones. This year... Metallica!!

[music] That 1 Guy

Went to Higher Ground in Burlington on Tuesday evening to see That 1 Guy:

We first saw him open for Buckethead years ago. He plays an instrument of his own invention called The Magic Pipe. He plays with his hands, with a drumstick (held "backwards"), with a bow... with his feet. He plugged in a cowboy boot and played it. He plugged in a saw and playing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The way he performs is totally surreal and mind-bending but the music is catchy, highly listenable, smart and funny. That 1 Guy is a performer that I will always want to go see live if he's within a 100 mile radius.

He's on tour now. You should definitely go see him if he's going to be within a 100 mile radius of you.

[misc] Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Went to see a Trans-Siberian Orchestra show this past weekend. I'm glad this is becoming an annual thing- the music, lights, lasers, pyro- it's such a great show and totally puts your into the holiday spirit.

I have so many pictures but I'll stop there. It's such a bright and fun and uplifting show. Highly recommend.

[music] Trans-Siberian Orchestra

The weekend before Christmas, Dollar's father took us to see a show in Boston. I heard about the Trans-Siberian Orchestra only a couple years ago and missed getting tickets in time to see them this year. When Dollar's dad called us to say that he had tickets, I was like, "No. Way."

It was the best live music show I've ever seen. Every singer and every musician was amazing. The light show and projected images were precision perfect. This is the type of show that will blow your mind- and it's good for any age. The TD Garden in Boston was packed but every single person was captivated for the entire 2.5 hour show.

Some pictures from the colorful show:

Oh yeah, there was fire, too.

A platform at the other end of the arena that raised up:

Pyrotechnics and arms that swung the musician out over the crowd:

It was awesome. Highly, highly recommend. Borderline insist. It was a great, entertaining show.

[knitting] Drumstick Quiver

Dollar asked for a new felted bag to hold his drumsticks. Since I've been diligently working on a pair of stranded mittens (fingering-weight yarn, size US 2 needles, 8" circular needles of hand-cramping torture), any excuse to throw the project aside and work on something else was welcome. 

It was done the next night.

Here it is knit up:

I used two balls of Zitron Nimbus and US 10 needles. I cast on 6 stitches, joined in the round, increased 6 stitches every round until I reached 48 stitches, purl a couple rounds, then knit a long tube. Cast-off most of the stitches, then made a long strap on 16 or so stitches to use up the rest of the yarn.

I ran it though a couple hot, soapy cycles in the washer. Pressed the water out and dropped a couple straight drinking glasses into the tube to shape it while it dried. It ended up being about the size of a Pringles can.

We figured out where/how it would hang from his drum kit before I sewed on a big button and cut a slit into the strap for the button.

So the idea is: as he's drumming, if a stick flies out of his hand, he'll have another within easy reach to pull and continue playing on.

Now... back to the mittens :( 

[misc] New Piano

This past summer there were about 50 pianos scattered all over the Upper Valley. Each one was painted by a different artist and sat outside various businesses, for anyone and everyone to play. Once the program was over, what was going to happen to all the pianos? Well, if the business and artist didn't want it, they were being thrown away. They were going to be made available to the public, on a first come, first served basis at the dump. 

I asked Dollar if he wanted a free piano. Obviously, the answer was 'yes'. So we went and got one!!

We got up early, went down to borrow my mom's truck and went to the dump to wait in line. By 8:30, there were more than a dozen trucks lined up at the gate. It was funny to see people driving by on their morning commute, craning their neck to look and wonder what kind of awesome garbage the dump must be giving away that day to make so many people queue up.

We were 3rd in line. We drove around to where about 20 pianos were waiting. After passing over a few with stuck, messed-up keys, I saw this one and immediately wanted it. ALL the keys worked and it sounded very nice.

It took an extra three people to help us lift it onto the bed of the truck. Then we strapped it down and left to go to work. With a free piano. When I got home in the afternoon, I saw that Dollar had already backed the truck up to basement door. I'll gloss over how scary it was for just the two of us to lift and lower an upright grand piano from the bed of the truck to the ground. And how impossibly difficult it was to lift one end of the piano 8 inches up and forward to just get it into the doorframe. 

I will brag and say that I dead lifted the entire thing myself. Why? Because OLYMPICS, that's why. At that point, one end was in the door frame. I went to the other end, put my back against it, grabbed the handles behind me and f'ing lifted the entire thing with my legs. Dollar gets in front of me, puts his hands against the end of the piano just above my shoulders and starts pushing. So we're face to face, going "UNNGGGHH!!! UNHH! NNUUHHHH!! WIGGLE IT!! UGH, PUSH!! WIGGLE IT!!" It must have looked high-larious. I couldn't stop laughing afterwards. But we got the piano in and... I can't even believe it, really.

After much, much, MUCH cleaning, we have a pretty new piano that sounds awesome. It sounds really, really awesome. I was all, "Look at me making music" as I was wiping down each one of the keys with cleaner and disinfectant.

It came with a nice leather stool that opens up:

There are a couple black keys that are broken, but the notes still work and it will be easily fixed with glue.

Neither once of us plays the piano, so I'll get some beginner books and maybe start with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

I wonder if there are any piano/drum duets that we can learn?