i may be a bird in a cage but at least it's your cage

yesterday i finally managed to run my dishwasher, which was a good thing because after the weekend of fangirls, every drinking glass, cup and mug in my house was dirty. except, you know, i forgot to put soap in the dishwasher before i ran it. i lose at being a grownup.

THURSDAY. today's list, courtesy of quicknow: top five favorite concert venues. (if you don't have five, that's okay. just tell me one or two or three or four!) best and/or most beloved places to see live music played. based on atmosphere or based on how many beers they have on tap or whatever. favorite concert venues. go!

my list:

1. the cave @ carleton college, northfield, minnesota. the beer is shite, the acoustics are terrible, but this is the first place i saw mason play, and it tops the list for that alone.

2. the metro, chicago, illinois. for one thing, it's a gorgeous old building, for another, the beer is always good, for a third, the bathrooms suck. okay, that's not something to recommend it, but the building and the acoustics and the beer make up for that. also, it was less than a mile from my old apartment, and everyone played there.

3. the cat's cradle, carrboro, north carolina. they don't sell hard liquor and sometimes the audiences annoy the crap out of me, but it's a hell of a venue all the same. i couldn't tell you why - i just know it is.

4. the double door, chicago, illinois. cons: attracts a seriously trixie crowd, overpriced liquor, poor acoustics. pros: there are none. result: the double door is tucked down in wicker park, practically underneath the north/damen/milwaukee blue line stop, and it has that dank, grimy feel that i think all good music venues should have, and i love it. (it was the first place i saw a show in chicago, that show was mason jennings, i love the double door, okay?)

5. i had a hard time deciding on #5 - the 9:30 club, even though i haven't been there in years? the orpheum or first ave in minneapolis? the vic, park west, schubas in chicago? it's hard. but because it's that weekend again, and because i miss febrile, i have to go with the andersonville midsommarfest. it's not even really a venue - but for the last three years, rocket and i have gone up there to wander around and listen to good music usually played by solid local bands. and this year i'm in chapel hill and the kimi hayes band isn't even playing, but i kind of felt like it needed to go on the list all the same. for rocket.

okay, now you go! talk about live music venue places! even if it's just one place that you saw a rockin' show in years ago. i want to hear about it.

i've been on a jerry jeff walker kick later, so have a couple of tracks: london homesick blues (live) and trashy women (live). [both on my webspace - right-click-save and comment if you grab them, por favor.] the latter song has been done in a variety of ways and under a variety of titles by a couple of people - i know for sure i have versions by confederate railroad and sawyer brown, too, but i like jerry jeff's version best. the line they say opposites attract, but i don't agree/i need a woman just as tacky as me KILLS ME DEAD every damn time.

god, work. i hate work. even when i like my jobs, i hate work.