Just another Mayer Monday

Tiff and I went to the Music Hall of Williamsburg last night to see The Heavy and Mayer Hawthorne play.  Mayer Hawthorne used to be in a band with my friend's ex-boyfriend in college back in Ann Arbor, so its always funny to see people from back when kind of make it big.  Weirdly enough his music is 1,000 times different from back when he was rockin the Athletic Mic League.  He's got this kind of old motown pop thing going on that I kind of love.   



 The Heavy did the opening act, and I have to say that they by FAR stole the show.  They came on with so much energy (which was a surprise given that they were all in suits and bowties - they looked like an old brass band from the 50's) and did an amazing live show.

 The show was hosted by Mazda, which is kind of lame, but when you get corporate sponsors they always provide fun interactive stuff, like free photo booths and complimentary drink tickets.  I bet you can't guess what our theme was for this series of photos....ok, I'll give you a hint, it rhymes with "granimals."

 So, here's Mayer Hawthorne, playing with the County.  He's only put out one album in a couple of years and I guess he's just been touring that one steady ever since.  The nice thing about that is that I knew almost every song he played.  It was a good show, but The Heavy was definitely a hard act to follow.

Tiff and I, playing audience.  That girl behind me on the left was totally obnoxious and got a flying elbow to the abdomen about 15 minutes after I took this shot.  I have a good technique down.  I pretend I'm super into the music and dancing, and then I execute a calculated blow to the soft underbelly of the person grinding up behind me.  If they get angry, I play dumb and say "ohhhhh....I'm sorrryyyyy...."

Pottery Barn used to sell these giant letters for people to post their initials on the wall over their bed, or on a shelf in the foyer.  But, I never thought people actually bought them.

Geography Snuggles

I am totally loving this - I just came across this shop called Haptic Lab, which makes quilts based on maps.  It seriously reminds me of Mike's paintings, which is probably why I like them so much.  But isn't that such a neat idea?

[NOTE TO READERS:  I generally hate baby showers, but the minute I get knocked up I will be requiring one of these.  Preferably a Michigan or NYC/Brooklyn quilt.  Please don't forget.]

Yes! M!CH!GAN!

Slagletown, USA briefly relocated to Michigan this weekend.  Funny how things happen like that.  Meeks and I figured it would be cheaper/funner to drive than to fly so we rented a car and made our way the 11 or so hours to Michigan from NY.  The original intention had been to leave the city on Thursday night and spend the night somewhere in Pennsylvania (yes, the idea of visiting Punxsutawney on the off-season was briefly entertained), but in the end we decided to just drive straight on through.

I won't bore you with the details, but will instead list the highlights of our trip, in chronological order:

1.  The Budget Inn - the finest lodging establishment this side of the Mason-Dixon.

Fine and dandy.

2.  Oh. Hi! Oh. 

3. The Diego Rivera mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts

4. Rallyburgers at Checkers (Mike liked his Big Buford so much that he went back up and got a double cheeseburger to wash it down)

5. Korey's wedding

6. Standing almost 4 hours in the rain, snow, and sleet with sopping wet feet just to watch Michigan get its butt beat by Northwestern from the first row at the 45 yard line.

Mike channeled his inner viking to survive The Perfect Storm.

7. The Michigan Marching Band (no explanation necessary)

8. Buying a $6 sack of kettle corn on the way out of the stadium

9.  The Heidelberg

10. A 4 hour dinner with my sister and brother in law

11.  Drinking organic wine with Kala out of dixie cups

12. Kala's Santa Claus sack of weed

13. Jack Tar's Wii

14. Mike spilling red wine on Jack Tar's cream colored armchair.  Twice.

15.  Going to bed and laughing hysterically for a full 10 minutes over Kala's Santa Claus-sized sack of weed.

16.  White knuckle driving through the snow and rain in the Pennsylvania hills

17. Enjoying delicious giant dill pickles at 70 MPH.

Mike, in a pickle.

12.  Surviving the Lincoln Tunnel

13.  Home, sweet, home.