...so last night was the satellite booking benefit show @ the subterranean...4 bands in one night meant i was a busy girl with the camera...the first act was maxel toft and the lovely maid marion (a.k.a. kriss marion)...i've known kriss marion since i was like 19...i remember having her two older boys in sunday school...i remember when jake was barely 3 and eli was 4...and now they're teenagers?! goodness gracious...i think it's cool that kriss has raised 4 beautiful children and still finds the time to rock out and play shows...actually, the music she & max play are really simple folk songs, the kind i would like to write & play were i inclined to do such things...this duo has some of my favorite things--girl drummer, a banjo, a xylophone, simple songs...i thought they played especially well last night...go see photos here...kriss & her husband shannon have been unintentional influences on my life...kriss, for having her own style, and shannon for his integrity and compassion...shannon was the first person to get me to realize that i had been raised in a cult and to face the baggage that came with that...yeah, i was raised in a cult, but i'm not gonna go into that story today...



...after max & kriss was derek becker's very own band the security console/council/counsel (i have no idea what the correct spelling is), which includes jonny from the detholz! on the kit...this was my first time seeing a full set by these guys...go see photos here...i think i'd once posted that derek's voice is so emo...but this band is totally not emo...derek's voice occasionally reminds me of jeremy enigk's, but the band is a bit more broad than 'emo'...it's definitely indie rock, but what kind of a category is that? i don't know how to describe how a band sounds, which is why i'm not writing reviews for a music mag...but sometimes i'd say they've got a kinda psychedelic feel, and kinda like jazzfusionish sound...like they jam out and stuff, but they're not a jam band...oh no, not these guys...



...can i just say something about derek? just looking at him, you'd think he's a total indie rock hipster...he's got the hair, the pretty face, the figure, and oh my god a thrift store wardrobe to die for...he says 'right on' with just the right inflection...he drinks pbr (at least i've seen him drink pbr)...but you know what? when you get to know derek and actually talk to him, you realize that he is one of the sweetest, most genuine, most integrity-filled guys you will ever meet...and unlike most indie rock hipsters i've met, he is dependable and organized...which is why he makes such a good booking agent...i would trust derek with my credit card # and bank account...and did i mention he has a really hot wife? yeah, sorry girls...but she's as cool as he is if not cooler, which is a relief, cuz i can't stand when my guy friends are married to or going out w/ brats...oh, and the photo of derek's shoe is i think one of my all-time favorite shoe shots that i've done...it's kinda my signature...at every show i try to do a shoe shot...sometimes they come out and sometimes they don't...this one came out better than i could have expected...



...one of the acts that derek/satellite booking books for is annie quick from harlem, ny...annie is a talented girl rocker whose songs are poetry set to a pop/rock sound you won't hear every day...the first time i heard her live was when i went to see clem snide the beginning of april 2002...she was still playing under the moniker stickman jones then...and ryan beatty & jesse sprinkle were backing her up as well as jad her husband and webmaster extraordinnaire...i'd heard the name 'stickman jones' from the pastemusic.com site, but i'd never heard her music...i was impressed at how she rocked out which resulted in some cool long exposure shots where she looks like a dancing fairy goddess of light or something...anyways, annie's got new songs now and a new album coming out on paste records in february...i've really enjoyed the new songs that she's been playing at her live shows, so you can be sure her new album is going to be awesome...she sounded really good last night w/ andrew from the detholz! on drums (oh my god he's such a tight drummer!!!) and sweet lovely jonny on bass...i thought it was a good idea to have andrew play drums for her cuz it really makes the set tight to have such a technically and artistically excellent drummer laying down the beats...you can go see photos here of the show...



...the lovely detholz! headlined the show, and i think the suit jim was wearing was worth the price of admission...it was this pastel blue suit w/ yellow squares on it making the design of a pastel blue/yellow checker board...i don't know where he finds these suits...and for some reason, andrew looked like a catholic school boy in his white shirt & tie & slacks...that's not a bad thing in my opinion...teddy was a catholic school boy, although i don't think they had uniforms @ st. viador's...anyways, you can go see photos here from last night...it was another frenzied set from the detholz! who can be depended on for frenzied and frazzled yet supertight rock 'n' roll and potent propoganda...it's cool though cuz every show (and i go to a lot of detholz! shows) is different, even if they may use mainly the same setlist...you can't help but love jim's little speeches in between songs...and you never know what those guys are gonna be wearing...i like it when they wear ties...jonny looks good in a tie...like really classy...



...so that was quite a show last night, and all for a good cause...i really hope satellite booking succeeds cuz derek sure as hell deserves it...i got to see some mutual friends that derek & i have...like shannon, kriss's hubby, who was my intervarsity staff worker when i was at depaul...yeah, can you believe i helped start an intervarsity chapter @ my college? ha...those were the days...i was just going along w/ my friend syler thomas, really...he had to lead my by me ear kicking and screaming into everything we did...i also saw brad farris and ann boyd, who is now the staff worker @ depaul...goodness gracious, i just realized i didn't have a chance to say hi to linda, derek's wife cuz i was so busy taking photos...oh well...i'll see her soon i'm sure...



so last night before the show, i was about to email josh & nick @ paste to ask them why they haven't got sufjan stevens on their roster...i wondered if it was possible that they had never heard of sufjan...i was going to tell them to get with the program...well, they happened to be giving away the latest issue of paste magazine @ the show, and it's a good thing i didn't have time to send that email, cuz lo and behold, on page 116 there is a short review of his michigan album...i'm glad that paste is on top of things...i don't think they gave him enough stars, but 3.5 ain't bad i suppose...they also review rosie's new one and denison's recovered album in that issue...oh, and the compilation cd has a bill mallonee song on it (life on other planets) PLUS guided by voices, the weakerthans (these guys are catching on! i discovered them about 2 years ago and they were one of the first punk bands i dug), OTR, the innocence mission, and beulah, among others...it really is a pretty good music magazine...and they're the only nationally distributed magazine to have published one of my photos, so they're alright in my book...



ok...i'm all typed out...gonna go do something else...



been listening to--

hark!--sufjan stevens

michigan--sufjan stevens

didn't ever...hasn't since--marc olsen

give up--the postal service

old ramon--red house painters

let us garlands bring--early day miners

...real quick now...my friend derek becker has this booking agency called satellite booking...there is a benefit show for the agency tonight @ the subterranean (2011 w. north ave) @ 9pm for $10...maxel toft & maid marion (kriss marion, mother of 4 and all round cool lady) plus the security council (derek's current band) plus annie quick from NYC (cd release party!) and none other than the detholz! will create a memorable musical night...

why is there a benefit show for a booking agency? well, first of all, derek just started it not too long ago...second of all, derek busts ASS for his bands, and he's incurred a lot of expenses out of his own pocket to promote the folks he really really believes in...third of all, he is a lovely man with a lovelier wife to boot...4th, you wanna see these bands anyway...just tell the guy at the door sarah-ji sent you...(he'll give you a blank stare and ask for your ID and your money but what do you care, right?)...

see you laters alligators!

been listening to--
take a guess...i'll give you a hint...THE GREAT LAKE STATE...and HO HO HO!

update on abbey-the-cat a.k.a."fuzzbutt"...i got a thank you card from the folks that adopted him out in bensenville, il...they say, and i quote, "he has to be the most agreeable and loving cat around...we're all enjoying him so much already..."

*sigh*...yes, my abbey is an adorable all-be-it extremely large kitty...i remember back in february when pierre & his friend were visiting jamming on my guitars and pierre just gushed over abbey and asked me, 'how can you ever say no to him? he's so CUTE!!!' i guess he is cute...

but it's only been a few days...we'll see how much they still love him a year from now...

seriously, though, i am glad that he's doing well out there...and teddy & i are going to go visit him occassionally...

...wednesday was a beautiful day, except for the part where i had to work in the morning for a few hours...i took the day off just in case ryan & jesse drove by on their way to dansville...the short story on that is that they drove right through chicago, did not pass go, did not collect $200, no dinner, no beer, no songs, no hugs, no kisses, no nuthin' but a measly phone call promising a real visit soon and an invitation to come out to dansville...but still, it was a lovely day...teddy & i went to filter the coffeeshop where our dear jozka used to be the cook...i read while teddy worked on preparing for his first drum lesson w/ the son of a coworker @ trader joe's...i had my americano and teddy had his coffee and we got some grilled veggie & tofu that was really dee-lish...it was a lovely time of day to be hanging at filter, at the hour when the mid-afternoon almost winter sunshine pours in through the huge picture windows that overlook six corners...



...i love wicker park coffeeshops...you've got the yuppie types w/ their dell laptops surfing the wireless web...and then you've got the hipsters and their marlboros and camel lights and parliaments reading their hipster books...and you've got nice normal students studying anatomy or statistics...and then you've got couples like me and teddy who don't need sugar in their coffee cuz we're already sickeningly sweet to each other...ha ha! actually, i do put sugar in my americano, and cream as well, and teddy says i always use just the right amount...i don't know how the americano became my beverage of choice, but that's what i like...2 shots of espresso preferred...there's just something so beautiful about the light brown froth at the top of a freshly made americano...



...after being notified by ryan that they were not getting off the highway in chicago, teddy & i went over to the san marcos youth outreach center where nanette & kara & chris from our wicker park spirituality discussion group were doing art projects w/ the kids to use in the advent services coming up later this month and in december...nanette wanted me to take photos...the kids were pretty much done by the time we got there, but a few of them did a little more work so i could take some pictures...we were only there a little while cuz we had a 7:45 matrix revolutions show that teddy's bro jason got us tickets for...so yeah, we FINALLY saw the final matrix movie, and i have to say that i was disappointed...first of all, there wasn't enough kung fu fighting going on...2nd of all, it didn't make any sense to me the way it ended...it's like they couldn't come up w/ an ending and after months of writer's block, that's the best they could do...3rd, even the music was boring...i still like the first one the best i guess...oh well...on to lord of the rings!



so remember sufjan stevens, the dude whose new album i told all of you to run out and buy? well, he's got these 2 christmas albums that he was selling at his show...and i never thought i'd get into christmas music cuz i've never really liked most of the christmas carols when i was growing up...but the way he presents these songs, most of which are traditional but a few which are his own originals, it's just so beautiful and refreshing... is it the banjo? the xylophone? sufjan's lovely voice? i don't know...and now i have to find out how to get me many more copies of these albums so i can give them to my family and friends for christmas...my momma's gonna love these...

...so last night i went to see my friend denison play @ the subterranean...teddy & i got there in time to hear some of sufjan stevens's set...go see photos here...first of all, sufjan was playing a banjo, and in my book, a boy who plays the banjo can do no wrong...and sufjan not only did no wrong, he did right really really well! i loved his songs, and i bought his latest album, which is called GREETINGS FROM MICHIGAN "the great lake state"...all the songs on the album are about michigan, where sufjan is from...it made me think of my dear jozka who moved back to ann arbor and whom i often miss when i read good books or see beautiful things or have sad lonely thoughts...i must send this album to jozka...i think he'd love it cuz he loves the mountain goats, and i think sufjan's songs are just as poignant and moving as john darnell's...seriously, folks, this sufjan stevens dude is well worth investing money in, whether it's for live shows or his albums...and he's a really good writer too...he was giving away a short story he'd written that had won an award in a grad writing program he was in...i haven't read it yet, but i absolutely adore the title "we are shielded by the holy ghost"...oh, and the album...i listened to it this morning and it is a gem of an album...he plays like a bazillion instruments on it and a bunch of his friends play & sing w/ him too and it is just too lovely for words but not in that saccharine kinda way that makes you wanna poke someone's eye out but that kind of mysterious serene kinda way that makes you believe there is a god and that he is good and that we are in the middle of a big big giant bear hug from this god...i don't really know how to explain it, but it was a very worshipful experience for me to listen to that album...go buy it NOW!!! you won't regret it...



...anyways, it was good to see denison again...go see photos here...and would you believe he grew a BEARD?? my goodness...who would've thunk it...he said it makes him look more like a mountain man, which was the direction he was striving for...and i have to say, he's right...he looks like grizzly adams or something...i love going to denison's shows cuz i can sing along (or at least mouth the words) to every song because i've internalized just about all his stuff...but he did do one new song last night that was like a really beautiful lullabye and now i'm drooling for his new album, whenever that will be...denison's playing tonight in elgin and then tomorrow in madison @ the catacombs...i wish jesse & ryan were gonna be here for any of those shows...but they called me from the road and they wanna drive straight to dansville...they said they may stop by for a meal here in chicago...i could just throttle them!! i mean, they were supposed to VISIT as in hang out...but oh well...jesse's gotta get home to his family...i'm gonna make them come and do a proper visit soon though since they're only 9 hours away now...



i took today off, and oh what a lovely day it is...teddy & i are gonna go walk in the warm sunshine and drink coffee @ filter's and read books and be all lounging around and shit...i love spending daylight hours with my teddy...our schedules are so outta whack sometimes it gets hard...



that's all i have to say for now...



been listening to--

greetings from michigan--sufjan stevens BUY THIS ALBUM

seen & unseen: a benefit for the evergreen center for street youth--various artists incl. denison & sufjan & OTR & 16HP & even frank black