under the teeth

This photo encompasses a lot of what I was feeling, and had felt this weekend, leading up to Phantogram taking the stage at Midpoint Music Festival. A screen to the left of the stage displayed tweets tagged with #MPMF, between and during some acts, at select venues. 

Saturday, September 26th, 2010 was a really good day, following my first, really productive work-from-home day. I had parked my car on Jackson Street in OTR, and walked down to see UC vs. Oklahoma at Paul Brown Stadium. I had a sole student ticket, and I waffled on whether I wanted to go at all. I talked it out with Montez over the phone, and ultimate went. Great game, heartbreaking muffed punt return that cost us a potential victory.

Nonetheless, I walked back from the game to Jackson Street, where Cafe de Wheels parked their burger truck. I got a 50 cent discount on my burger because they asked me if I was a performer. I told them I’ve written a couple songs, but that seemed to be enough for them. However, spending $5 on pizza at the football game and $6.50 on a burger left me without enough cash to get into anything MPMF-related. I talked to a girl named Rachael outside the burger truck for a while, who ended up offering me the three-dollar difference I needed to see Phantogram. Another guy (who turned out to be a friend of a friend) ended up giving me the cash, but both offered were very endearing. Some people just want you to see good music. At times, displays of brotherhood come out of that common bond.

Phantogram put in a soul-shaking set. I was really moved by the whole performance—visuals, the occasional strobe, their enthusiasm, and the tone of the room. A friend from high school works in a high position at the Know Theatre, and kindly informed me after the show that I needed to close out my tab. I saw two other people from high school at the show as well, which was interesting and oddly refreshing. Perhaps having just gotten a haircut, not having overgrown facial hair, and being generally well-groomed had something to do with it. You never want to give people from your past the impression that your life is in a puddle.

The night was capped by meeting Ian, Neil, and his friend at Highland Coffeehouse, chatting it up while enjoying beer, coffee, and pie a la mode. I’ll spare myself the narration of the events that awaited me at home (roommate’s party lasting until 4:30am—inconsiderate), but the day really went well. I was satisfied with my awareness to keep my spending on lock at the game and elsewhere. Today, I’m waffling on whether I should go to karaoke for a couple hours. But I think I’m in a good place right now, feeling disciplined and mindful of my obligations. 

I’ll post a link to my flickr of my weekend experiences soon.