rod says: Death by Nostalgia show (with Dusty Sorbet & Middleclass Pushovers) this Thursday at the khyber (it's a benefit for the closet gallery) ... but right now why not submit a suggestion to the cowbell project (courtesy of jinners, more great music there too) or look at family photos from other families (from bazima) ...

the lights are back on at bella muse (that made my whole day! it's one of my favorite places in the city), the coffee is hot so it's not so bad that the cafe itself is freezing - tobin even brought me a space heater...

there was a bridge jumper (far right, Dartmouth bound lane) on the MacDonald this evening, he was wearing a backpack and standing on the rail while a commissionaire tried to talk him down, this was at 9:25pm...

this is what I would be doing if I were in nyc tomorrow night as originally planned (sigh)... my now worthless white stripes ticket is still in my wallet, & tomorrow I'm going shopping for a washer and dryer ...

I've already told a few of you the not very funny story of my detroit ambassador bridge border crossing involving an unco-operative rental car, way too much caffeine and an easily alarmed border guard- yes I had my ticket in my money belt)... got lost in detroit for over an hour on 10 mile road (which has an east and a west but no middle)... as for the show, my 13 year old self was screaming while my much older self kind of looked on in self-concious amusement (it seemed to be that way for many of us in the audience, esp. those who gathered outside the club after the show- my excuse being that I had nowhere else to be and had parked the car nearby- waiting for the band to come outside (a little glimpse of Andy & Simon LeBon below), it was a thrill regardless and I am so glad I was there! I brought back some red bull, which only became a problem when I found myself, with pupils dialated, still awake in the hotel at 4am. pictures from Detroit:

and Sunday night, I ended up at the biermarket at the esplanade in TO at "80's night" hosted by the exceptionally sweet gord deppe, formerly of the spoons, & his new band (except for the surprising cover of 7 nation army it was, as he said, "an awful lot of 80's")... thankfully I eventually managed to escape the sleazy birthday-celebrating lawyer with disturbingly abbreviated glasses & his former classmate who lives across the street & works for Pfizer (& shouldn't really be telling strangers in bars about his experiences with illicit pharmaceuticals or about his sexual exploits), and had my bar tab covered by the band (strange but nice) :

Duran Duran Toronto: John Taylor has aged a little (he was too pretty back in the day) but he seemed to be the *most* excited person in the room... the rest of the band, at least from where I was standing, looked quite amazingly well-preserved. The audience: about 51% male (and surprisingly macho) and all of us in our thirties! the worst in 80s fashion on display as expected (I never thought I'd see anyone in shiny spandex tights and a rocker jacket ever again and so many see-through top/black bra combos). The set list: most of the early 80s hits (6 songs from the much-beloved-by-me 1st lp, I've listened to that record more than anything else I've ever owned- twice a day at least, every day of junior high- it still holds up really well, but maybe I'm a little biased;), a very robust version of Wild Boys, and only a couple of new songs... headed to Detroit tonight so will report more and clandestine pictures when I return... pics from Toronto:

It's too bad I don't like the constantines, since they're playing twice while I'll be in Toronto (1st show with the much more fun when drunk & hopping on 1 foot GbV)- quite excited to finally be seeing Duran Duran, although it will be weird to finally acknowledge that yes, they are real & not just some figment of my teenage imagination ... all of my windows are now covered in plastic, when did it get so cold? (and rachelle says: Halifax Burlesque Society's show is this
weekend on friday and saturday nights at the Vimy Legion (Cogswell Street, across from the Centennial Pool). 8:30PM, $7 but unfortunately I won't be around) ...

come watch me be stood up by a boy at the khyber tomorrow night (no seriously, he already told me he probably won't make it) but a few of us will be dancing anyway...