I made it to Kentucky before the Abominable DC Snowstorm 2k9 took it to the streets of Washington, and though I am sure I am currently missing the most epic of snowball fights and probably even some downhill luge opportunities, I have already been getting into some fun in the good old 859. Case in point:
Seven Mary Three Concert at
Annie's in Cincinnati. I had so much fun that it made me reminisce about the time that I passed out at a
Beyonce concert in NYC, year 2000. I'm one for swooning. I'm not one for crowds.
There were three bands that opened the show, including
Rootbound and
Hot Action Cop. The other one I can't remember. Hot Action Cop was pretty entertaining; they put some heart into their set. But, Seven Mary Three really deserves this blog post all to themselves. These guys seem like some cool cats.
First of all, the lead singer, Jason Ross played the show for us while sick. His speaking voice sounded like he had laryngitis. But, despite his apologies to the crowd, when it came to performing he didn't back down from all the singing,
growly vocals, and near-shouting that you expect in the band's most beloved songs. While many rockers come on stage with a glass of Jim Beam or some Bud Diesel, Ross sipped herbal tea between songs to give his voice a little healing. He is pictured looking awesome with said tea here:
Overall, the concert was a spectacle of beards, but no beard was better than the one on Ross' face. His beard was truly top-notch. Some might even call it profound. The thing that I liked best about it that it gives you no indication of where the face stops and the beard begins. For all I know, his chin could be five inches long. This beard gives you something to consider, and I know a thing or two about
beards. He is pictured with this rad beard above.
I was also a big fan of the drummer, Mike Levesque, who was able to give a big smile whilst drumming. Typically, drummers make a series of uncontrolled and ridiculous faces while they are drumming. A friend of mine claims that it is because "drummers are the lowest form of life." It's obvious that drumming requires concentration, so that is an exaggeration, but you just never see a guitarist lose control of his face. However, this guy proves to be a cut above, showing complete and total face control. Major props, man. Nice face...it's kind of like
Moby's.
I think the coolest part though was that their entire set was made of crowd favorites (Cumbersome, Roderigo, My My My, Water's Edge, etc.), despite the fact that they have an album coming out in
February 2010. They wanted to please the crowd, and sacrificed a promotional opportunity to do it. It seems like a nice-guy move to me, and it didn't go unappreciated. So let the nice guys win; try not to steal their music. You can already buy the new album
here.
My camera was dying during the show, but here are some super-short clips that I was able to capture. They are really very short, so you can supplement with some
Youtubes.
I also learned many, many things by participating in the audience at the show. Here are some of them:
- Fred Durst look-alikes should be treated as if they are Fred Durst: with suspicion.
- There is no better way to express your dedication to the former WWF's Wolf Pack or to dragons than with neck tattoos. There is also no better way to guarantee a career that includes turtlenecks.
- If you want to touch hands with the band, either be on your game or spend your night cursing missed opportunities and poor timing. Dedication, dedication, dedication.
- Getting a spot by the stage requires you to be five feet tall or under and a woman, a man with no personal space boundaries, or a someone willing to throw some 'bos.
- It's really just better to be a few rows back. There is much less touching a few rows back.
This dough resulted in the best pizza ever made. Jesus could not make a better pizza than this one. I'd like to see him come back to try. Colin and I put our very best flavor combining efforts into this creation, based on our available resources. We put tomato slices, red and green bell peppers, onion, jalapeno, banana peppers, some Italian seasonings and cheese. Half with bacon. I've got big plans for making other pizzas down the road, in flavors such as "cheeseburger and french fries" or "chicken curry pizza." This has only just begun.
Not only were we pioneering a new level of veggie-topping intensity for pizzas, we also got a little innovative in pizza prepping technology. This resulted from necessity, as I was totally unprepared with the utensils and ingredients required to make a pizza. Since I didn't have flour or a rolling pin, we used a bottle of wine covered in olive oil to roll the pizza out. I also didn't have any corn meal or flour to put on the pan, so we inverted a cookie sheet and coated it in olive oil as well. When the going gets tough, the hungry get creative.
This pizza was for serious delicious. I mean look at it. It's practically art. But don't worry. It isn't too beautiful to eat; it's just the opposite.
The benefits of making your own pizza include cost efficiency and healthier-ness (maybe). The most important benefit, though, is pride. The day you make a pizza this delicious is a day you walk tall. I might have even grown an inch as a result of pizza-realted pride. Just too good.
PS: It looks like Colin did all of the work based on my photos, but I promise I helped too!
