Friday mish mash of crap.

Note: this posting is more or less a cut-and-paste job of e-mails and instant messages I sent throughout the morning. My poor, rotten, alcohol-soaked brain can only come up with so many original thoughts today. So please excuse the randomness and/or lack of a point.

I went to my friend Mike's record release show last night. It also doubled as a benefit for Students of the World, which produced a bit of a strange dynamic, in that there were times it felt like a benefit more than a show (people in khakis, lots of schmoozing, name tags, etc.). But still. It was a lot of fun, and they had a great turnout, which had to have made Mike happy. The band that played after Mike, White Ghost Shivers, would definitely be worth checking out, should they be coming to a town near you. They play this old timey Vaudevillian-type carnivale music (think an unrefined Squirrel Nut Zippers), but they've also got the following...

1. A skinny 7-footer in a bowtie and moustache that plays banjo. He dances in the crowd. He dances a lot. He dances well for a guy that tall. He sings sometimes. He has a lot of energy.

2. A firecracker of a girl who sings (in an old timey, "mrah-da-dada" voice - does that make any sense?!), dances, poses and wears bloomers. She sometimes plays the slide whistle and the castanets. And most importantly...

3. Legitimately good musicians on stand-up bass, fiddle and clarinet. I'm convinced they found the clarinet player in a boxcar. He was wearing fingerless gloves.

It was a fucking freak show. The music may have been a bit gimmicky, but the live show was really, really entertaining. Nothing on YouTube does them any justice, but take a look anyway. Moving on...

I went to lunch today with a friend. We were both a little hungover, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, so it was a no-brainer to pick Chuy's, where we could sit outside, and gorge ourselves on a bunch of greasy deliciousness. Well, we weren't the only ones with that brilliant idea. And since we're the only unlucky bastards who actually have to work today, we couldn't afford to wait 45 minutes for a table. So we looked across the parking lot and saw that Joe's Crab Shack too had an outdoor area. I'm not kidding, the second we started walking towards Joe's, the skies darkened. The sunshine was replaced by an overcast blanket of gloom. As the hostess led us through the restaurant to the outdoor area (which was completely empty, incidentally), you could literally see the misery on everyone's face. The people in there just looked sad. I ordered a chicken club (since my only experience with Joe's seafood resulted in my spending six hours in a bathroom). Well, apparently the mayo they used on my sandwich had been sitting on the counter since Tuesday. And the "chicken" may have actually been "bird-flu ravaged pigeon." I've been queasy all afternoon. Fuckin' Joe's.

Easter is Sunday. I hope the Easter Bunny got my change of address form. Now, if Santa lives at the North Pole, where does the Easter Bunny live? With Peter Cottontail? Hopping down the bunny trail? If so, where is the bunny trail? I've decided the Easter Bunny lives in Kansas City. And the Tooth Fairy has a one bedroom apartment in downtown Pittsburgh.