Linkstew

Instead of one single item, I'll make you a deal and give you 7 short items instead. Consider it one for each day I haven't blogged in the last week. ;-)

• Metroid Prime comes out in a little less than a month, and Nintendo just posted the commercial. It's a pretty nice commercial (much better than that awful Super Mario Sunshine commercial), and it got me even more excited about the game. Hopefully it gets some non-Nintendo folks to check out the Gamecube.
• Check out the video of Verbal, the single of Amon Tobin's new album Out From Out Where.
• If you're wondering, I didn't go see Stallman speak -- Instead, I went and listened to Lakoff talk about causality and the mind for 80 minutes.
• Just like Kevin got a new Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card a few weeks ago, I got my new Bank of America Visa Platinum Check Card today. Unlike Kevin, though, this is actually exciting for me. Not only does this increase the amount I can spend at once from $500 to $1200, but since my card number changed, it also means I'll finally be able to use Paypal.
• I'm happy to see the World Series tied 2-2. On the one hand, I want the Giants to win it all because of that Disney thing with the Angels, and because duh, it's San Francisco. On the other hand, I want the Angels to win it all because I like the AL better, and I like seeing underdogs do well, and because all the news about the Giants seems to be Bonds Bonds Bonds. Really, I want to see it go to Game 7 again.
• As for that First Circle concert I went to a couple of weeks back, it was pretty good. First Circle didn't come on until after 12:30, but they played until 2. And between First Circle and the two other bands that played, we got around 4 hours of music for a mere $6. I highly recommend checking out concerts at Blake's, and I think I'll have to try to get back there a few more times before I'm done here.
• Oh, and finally, check out the Perl IAQ - Infrequently Asked Questions. It's pretty amusing. I especially like the answer for "How do I convert a string to a number?"

So as I hinted, I saw Kinky again two weekends ago. I had a lot of fun, even though the club (Justice League) got really hot and stuffy, and Kinky was loud enough that I wished I'd brought earplugs. We had a few issues finding the place, but we chalked that one up to an incompetent navigator. Anyway, I had sufficient fun that I wouldn't mind seeing them again if the opportunity came along.

Yeah yeah, typically indifferent praise from me. Let me put it this way, then: One girl I went with said "I think that may have been the most fun night of dancing I've ever had," and there were variations on that all around.

On the concerts future front, I'm going to see Amon Tobin at Bimbo's in San Francisco on the 28th, and I'm really excited about that. The Verbal single (from his upcoming album) was released today, and his new album, Out From Out Where, comes out on the 14th. The album is very good -- possibly his best yet -- but I'll say more about that later. I haven't raved much about Amon Tobin here yet, but I assure you he's well worth checking out.

Finally, I'm going to see First Circle at Blake's on the 11th. This is pretty much entirely on Eve's suggestion. Eve just let me borrow their CD, so I don't have a lot to say about them myself, but she described them as "like Dave Matthews, but occasionally with Counting Crows twang, a bit of Brian Setzer swing, or deep dark guitar riffing that I can't attach to any particular band." I figure I can't go too wrong for $6 for a local concert.

And if you're dying for an Eve sighting, that concert is probably as good a bet as any. Never mind that she'll demurely deny everything if approached, of course. ;-)

The Transitive Property of Opening Bands: If a band is mentioned, and you've seen that band live, it is a valid segue to suddenly start talking about any of the opening bands you saw when you saw that band live. This association is also commutative, and a mention of an opening band can be used as a segue into a conversation about the headlining band.

Real life example:

"I actually bought those Amon Tobin EPs at least a month ago... before Cake." I said.

"Speaking of Cake, did you like Kinky the second time?" she said.