Wow, Galactic actually outdid themselves. What I previously considered the best concert EVAR (last year's Galactic concert) has officially been dethroned by last night's Galactic concert. It was a funk show that bordered on a sexual experience for me, which must mean that the excitement I derive from sex and music must be rooted in the same place in my brain. The thing about Galactic is that their music has a definite climax, usually indicated by drummer Stanton Moore jumping out of his drummer's seat and a sudden burst of white light. That must have happened at least five times in their *four-hour set*, plus a bunch of mini-climaxes scattered throughout the rest of their songs. It was friggin' awesome. The show also featured a lot of multi-drummer work (or, as the saxophonist put it, "Drummers loving each other!") Oh, to be that drum set they pounded upon so fervently!

"Moi je t'offrirai des perles de pluie
Venue de pays où il ne pleut pas
Je creuserai la terre jusqu'apres ma mort
pour couvrir ton corps d'or et de lumiere..."

En anglais:
"I will offer you pearls of rain
Coming from a land where it does not rain
I will plow the earth until after my death
to cover your body with gold and light..."

Whoa. Jacques Brel is a-maz-ing. I finally got around to listening to the Brel CD I bought in France... and I'm totally blown away by it. His melodies tend to be simple. But lyrically, he is dark, thoughtful, and incredibly verbose and poetic. His songs are very epic and climactic and above all, **passionate**...

Hello, my loyal readers! Welp, I had a great weekend in Catalina with the gals. It was the perfect opportunity to be regress to high-school levels of giggliness. We were very silly and slightly reckless. We ate sweets (of course), laughed a lot, sang karaoke (I did anyway), flirted with the beach babes (translation: stared and pointed at them), committed an act of petty theft (sort of), and overall had a spanking good time. I've posted some of the pics from the trip for your viewing pleasure.

It was my last chance to really hang out with Emily before she leaves for Massachusetts for five months! I will miss her a lot, because she is awesome and wrote a song about me not being lame. But the end-of-an-era it is not! We are totally watching "We Will Rock You" in Vegas this December!

P.S.--Last night I had a dream where Rufus Wainwright was a hundred feet tall, and evil, and wearing a pointy black witch's hat. He had a really silly evil laugh and the biggest, prettiest hazel eyes ever.

Man oh man... what a night! I just got back from Rufus Wainwright's surprise show at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles... and the whole experience was pretty... amazing! I got to the venue two hours before showtime, two hours after tickets went on sale. Of course, by this time, the venue was sold out. Hotel Cafe is tiny. Cursing myself (how could I not have known?!), I decided to wait around and hope get in some way or another. Along the way, I met some really cool Rufus fans (who also couldn't get in), and we hung out together in the little "Losers' Lounge" outside the front entrance... catching glimpses of him as he entered and exited the restaurant, straining to hear the show through the walls, over the sounds of midnight city traffic. Eventually, our loyalty and patience paid off, because we were finally let in about five songs into the set!

The set was most unusual and quite excellent. He played "In My Arms" and "Rebel Prince" by request, plus four new songs (including the brilliant "Memphis Skyline"). It was such an intimate venue--no more than 100 people--and Rufus was in great form. On our way out of Hotel Cafe, we said hi to Kirsten Dunst, mingled some more with the fans, and felt thoroughly satisfied all the way home.

P.S.--I've updated my pics section and travel galleries. Check 'em out!