2018

I realized I haven’t posted anything to my blog in some time now so I thought I should probably try to catch back up. I haven’t posted here for a variety of reasons. I think people in general have truly moved away from blogs, or at least as a person with no particular focus or reason to drive people to my blog site, I certainly have. I typically use social media to keep friends and family updated on my activities, so updating my blog hasn’t seemed as important or urgent. Also, as you can see from my site, I often tried to focus on interesting concerts or entertainment I attended, but sadly 2018 was a rough year for me so I didn’t end up going to anything interesting (other than movies). Here is the essential summary of how 2018 went for me: mostly terrible. It started out with me in Seattle, finding out that my work was ending. I started looking for work and interviewing for local positions but didn’t find anything for some reason. This is not typical for me so I kept thinking my next role would just be around the corner. Sadly it didn’t come and so my wife and I had to make other plans for our life. In the midst of this hardship, my father passed away sooner than expected, and so we had to fly into Dallas to join my family there for the funeral. Obviously this was a sad time. Shortly after this event, my wife and I planned to move out of our nice apartment, moved nearly all our possessions into storage, and then made the move to LA (at the end of summer) where we downsized our footprint (rented a room from friends). We went to LA so my wife could start back on her nursing career, since her license was newly issued in CA, and because WA state required her to have so many hours of experience before they would issue her a license to practice in WA. So we moved, and luckily due to all her connections in LA, it was a pretty decent experience. My wife’s work went well, I was able to quickly find work, and we had many friends and family to visit with. Of course it took the rest of the year to get more caught up on our bills, but things got better. Then just before Christmas, my last living grandparent, my grandmother, passed away. The timing for this was naturally terrible but she had lived a long life, so I couldn’t really get too upset about it. It was just the timing that I didn’t like, and especially in the same year as my father. In short, I was glad to see 2018 end as I hope 2019 will be a better year for me. LA has been ok for the most part. It wasn’t too different from what I expected. I had visited the area many times in the past, but I had never lived there before. It has nice weather for most of the year, has nice beaches, has everything you could need or want, but it has way too many people and the traffic is pretty terrible, And of course there are some scary areas of town that you try to avoid getting stuck in. I don’t know that we want to live here for too long but it helps a lot that my wife has so many friends in the area to keep us entertained.

The Specials

I got to see The Specials recently and it was amazing.  I’ve seen them only once before many years ago.  The band and the crowd have aged a bit, but it was still very fun.

English Beat

The English Beat keeps touring so I keep going to see them, apparently.  Always awesome!  Such great tunes and it was nice to see them mix up the playlist.  The Showbox at the Market in Seattle is a great venue where you can get up close and personal with the band.  I was there, front and center.  The place was packed and it was obvious that everyone had a good time.

Natalie Wouldn’t

I got to see Natalie Wouldn’t, a local ska band, again last night at Darrell’s Tavern in Shoreline.  So fun!  Had a great time.  If you live in the area and haven’t seen them yet, you need to.

Janeane Garofalo

I was able to see Janeane Garofalo last night at the Parlor Live in Seattle.  It was quite the show.  She is still as snarky and unique as ever.  I enjoyed her rambling style as it made it a little less like a memorized joke delivery.  She also came up with a fun phrase, “Don’t Febreeze me”, which refers to the unbelievability of the Febreeze commercials which depict obvious actors who claim to not be able to smell the bad odors of the situation since Febreeze was applied.  Her phrase thus means she knows when she is being sold something/being deceived.  Clever and smart.  It was fun to see her.

Kabir Singh

I was able to see Kabir Singh perform stand up at the ComedyUnderground in Seattle this past Friday.  He is very funny.  I highly recommend seeing him if you can.  I also hear he has a Comedy Central special coming up so that should be something to catch.

David Gray

I was able to see David Gray last night at Marymoor Park.  Great show, great weather.  It was really a nice evening.

Portugal. the Man and Grouplove

I know it has been forever since I last posted.  There were many legitimate reasons:  Divorce, work projects, life.  Anyhow, I’m mostly back to a more normal cadence, so I had a chance to go to a concert recently (finally).  I saw Portugal. the Man and Grouplove at the Marymoor park in Redmond, WA.  Again, great summer venue and yesterday was gorgeous.  Portugal. the Man was awesome and Grouplove, who I like a little less than Portugal. the Man, was good too.  Anyhow, I had a good time.  The picture was my view of the stage from the lawn.  Not up close but could see and hear everything just fine.

Blondie

Had a good time seeing Blondie perform last night at the Marymoor in Redmond, WA (an outdoor venue).  They rocked the old hits many of us love and some new songs I hadn’t heard yet that were also really good.  Yeah she’s older now, but she didn’t show it in her performance.  The night was a bit chilly but at least it wasn’t raining.  Also, the X opened up for them, so it was a fun evening of older punk/new wave rock.  I had a nice view but my phone camera couldn’t zoom in enough to get a good picture, so none attached.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I was able to watch the Yeah Yeah Yeahs perform yesterday.  Very cool show!  Karen O has such amazing energy and whimsy.  And her band is amazing!  Definitely see them if you have a chance.  The show was held at a nice outdoor venue (Marymoore Park) and the weather was perfect for it.