To Each His Own

I was at the Pick'n'Save in Brookfield, Wisconsin buying liquor for the underage kid travelling in our caravan. When the cashier checked my identification the inevitable discussion over the foreignness of my id ensued. Then he asked me why I was in town, and I told him.

At this point a bagger from the next aisle, who had obviously been trying to follow the conversation from where he was, shouted to me over the checkout din, "You here for Nine Inch Nails?"

Looking over I replied, "No man. I'm here for the opposite."

"What?"

"Dave Matthews Band."

"Oh." And he turned back to bagging groceries.

Guess he's not a fan.

Alpine Valley 2006: Quote #2

Spage: "You always use the number four in your fake examples."

Regular Eric: "I do?"

Spage: "Yeah. 'Everything in Canada costs $4.' 'Maybe if they stacked 4 end to end.' 'I thought it was 4 times.' Why is that?"

Regular Eric: "Four's the best because it fits on one hand so easily!"

Man, I love Putin

He's like Chretien, but Russian. Which is so much better! I just read a short piece about the upcoming G8 summit in St. Petersburg. First, referencing the vice-president's face shooting incident, Putin called Cheney's criticisms of Russia "an unsuccessful hunting shot".


Next, he reminds America that democracy with only one voice (America's) is not democracy, and that all views should be considered. Which is probably something the States should ponder.

"I am glad that we have critics. It would be worse if there were one voice, as it was in the time of the Soviet Union at meetings of the Communist party. If we hear both critical and positive observations, it means that we have the possibility of better orienting ourselves toward what we're doing."

And then at the end of the article, on an unrelated note, Putin is quoted in his explanation as to why he kissed a child's stomach while touring the Kremlin. Apparently he "just wanted to touch him like a kitten."

Awesome!

Alpine Valley 2006: Quote #1

"We're not moving as fast as Spearhead and the 'O' Face Swerve!"

Alpine Valley: Night 1

Alpine Valley is definitely a rocking venue and I am now in danger of having to come back next year. It's huge, and the lawn, while massive, is at a steep enough angle that lack of visibility is not an issue. The energy from the crowd is insane and they were definitely one of the best crowds I've encountered as far as respect goes too.We had a huge group of tailgaters at our gathering under three shade tents and a merciful breeze helped us defeat the blazing heat. And of course, as usual, I met a bevy of awesome people. The show itself was pretty freaking cool too, after the first five songs it really picked up to something special. My seat turned out to be great too, I was about 12 rows back on the right side of the centre section, which put me at about eye level with the boys on stage. I could see a bunch of my fellow tailgaters down in the ultra-reserved pit in front of the stage (at least 4 of them had front row seats!). Gary and Jake, who were in the front row, did me an amazing favour that I am so fucking grateful for. I took the larger of my two Canadian flags and wrote "Happy Canada Day! From: Spage, Vancouver, BC" on it and gave it to Jake. Part way into the set, when both security guards in front of him went down, he tossed it up on stage for me. One of the stage crew picked it up and put it at the base of Carter's drum kit and then one of the camera guys saw it and filmed it! I was so fucking happy! I was really hoping they'd say something about Canada Day, but I think that was pushing my luck. Post-show in the parking lot was also a good little party, and I pulled into my hotel at about 3:30 this morning. I am so ready for Night 2.

Happy Canada Day!

I'm in Wisconsin! Still, being the good Canadian that I am, I did remember to pack two Canadian flags...but then forgot to bring American cash. Oh well. I'm just about to leave my hotel to meet up with a caravan of people and cars where we will coordinate our food and route before hitting the tailgating scene at the Alpine Valley Music Theater. I drove out to the venue last night, but the gate was closed so I just took a picture of the sign.



I also took a little trip into Milwaukee, got myself righteously lost, and was forced to buy a map in order to escape the city.
By night, the downtown was quite pretty and the slum I accidentally found was not. I think I heard a gunshot as I was driving back out of the hood. When I talked to Brian this morning, he said that the last time he stayed in Milwaukee his hotel was in a bad area and someone was shot at the Taco Bell across the street. Apparently, "That's Wisconsin for ya." Great. Maybe I'll leave the Canada flags in my room. Anyway, housekeeping just interrupted me, so I'd better get moving. Here's to my first Alpine show, and here's to Canada!