...In which our heroine is continually amazed.

You know what an ideal day for Katydid is like? It was yesterday.

Kathleen, Julia, and I made the trek up State Street to find the mega three story Borders so I could get books for my memoir writing class (seventy-four effing dollars for four books) and I just couldn't help the special edition of True Romance was half off. I was glad to explore State Street and see all the discount retail stores that I'm sure many pilgrimages will be made to.

After hitting up the student discount at Pizza Hut, the group dispersed to go to the Chicago Jazz Festival, Kathleen and I went back to the apartment and watched the best television show ever, Freaks and Geeks, for four hours before we decided to go be social. It was both Kris and Paul's birthday, but Paul was being Paul, so we ended up hanging out with Kris. I felt kind of bad that it was his 21st, but he had been left by his roommate Benny

So, we ended up coming back to the apartment to watch the perfect cinematic duo of Dead Alive and Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn, two of Kris's favorites. And I made an amazing batch of katehagen brownies.

Dead Alive is one of Peter Jackson's first films, and according to Wiki, the single bloodiest film ever made. It's a treat. Well, not really, but it's just one of those things you have to watch. The sick, sick humor makes the gore almost tolerable. Almost. Gore doesn't bother me, but there's a scene in the movie that stimulates my gag reflex. Hard to believe that Peter Jackson went on to make Lord of the Rings after creating nuggets like this, which Youtube correctly says is not suitable for minors, or frankly anyone of sane mind:


There would be no Dead Alive without Evil Dead II, considered a classic amongst geeks like me. It's my favorite horror movie and makes my Top 10 of all-time. After Dead Alive, the gore in ED II felt tame. Kathleen said she'd become totally numb to any kind of gore, although the best scene in the movie isn't gory at all:


So yeah, it was a perfect day.

A couple cool links:

• Crazy 4 Cult Poster: It's an event that I know Kevin Smith is influential in that showcases artwork inspired by cult film. This year's poster is beyond awesome and I need it. See if you can figure out who all the characters are. I think this might just have to be a dumb impulse purchase.
• In the same vein, there's Montygog's Art-O-Rama, which offers adorable little sketches of movie/comic/televison characters from all over the place. I currently am featuring cartoon Ash as my desktop background.
• Oh look, it's a preview screening of Choke with a Q&A with Sam Rockwell in Chicago. It'd be cool to have tickets for that. Hmm, I guess I do.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

...In which our heroine gives a tour.

...Where Katydid sleeps

...What Katydid sees outside her bedroom window

...What Katydid sees from her living room

...Where Katydid types this

...Where Katydid plays

...Where Katydid noshes

...Who Katydid is spending time with (Julia, Emily, Kathleen, and I)

...In which our heroine is smitten.

This was going to be the picture filled post with all the views of the decorated apartment, but our internet is still down and will be so until at least the 31st, so instead I'll just talk about how much fun I'm having.

Yesterday I had two film programs, both of which encouraged me as to Chicago's place in the film industry, the experience I'll gain, and the rigor of the cinematography program that, the program director said, will allow me to be the most prepared to make a real film the day I graduate from college. Also, I met one of my professors in a seminar that told me all the places to see movies, the role of CCC in producing film students (it's the largest film school in the world), and where to rent movies. It was a lovely day.

I'm loving every moment of walking around the city to get from A to B. Monday was a tour of the Second City, complete with co-founder Sheldon Patinkin. The show was absolutely hilarious, as it was two acts of sketchs based on the best of Second City and the final act all improv. I really enjoyed the dank little club that gave birth to so much that entertains me, from Belushi to Tina Fey.

Last night we ended up going to the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival's closing night, which was Grease. Watching a movie under the canopy of a thousand city lights gave me the chills. The weather has been so beautiful, but I can already sense a chill in the air that gives only the faintest glimmer of the harsh winter to come. I also got introductory info about studying abroad, which seems fantastically daunting.

To quote Radiohead, "meeting people is easy," at least a lot easier than I thought it would be. We've been lucky to have cool people on our floor: Wes, Samson, Chris, Benny, Connor, Bugs, and Breanna have been roaming around with us four roommates and we've been having a total blast. It's so nice to finally be able to sit around in a group where people not only get my obscure references, but augment them. The fun has been totally G-rated so far...I called my Mom on Sunday and when I told her we were playing cards, drinking tea, and listening to Steely Dan, she didn't believe me. Columbia just isn't a party school--I mean it happens, but it's not keggers every night.

The roommates are getting along quite well. Emily's transparent personality is already on my nerves and everyone else's, but I was prepared for that. Julia is a little bit naive, but that'll fade and she's totally sweet and hard-working. Kathleen and I are the true soul mates of the group. It was an instant connection, and being both cinematography majors, we have so much to talk about. She brought a stunning collection of DVDs and posters that it makes it hard to want to leave the apartment. Our tastes are the same, as is our sense of humor and sarcasm. Even after five days, I can tell we're going to be close for a long time. Our personalities mesh so well, it's kind of scary.

Tonight's plans include a tour of Chicago's main hipsterville, Wicker Park, and movies with Kathleen. Tomorrow is Cinema Slap Down, a referee'd event over which two faculty members are arguing over Batman Begins. Friday is the first meeting of Film Club, the first rule of which is to tell everyone about Film Club. I also am going to try and tour Wrigleyville this week.

Everything is so surreal I wish someone would pinch me. I'm so damn happy, it's scary. To look out the window and see this on a nightly basis is beyond incredible:

...In which our heroine is stranded.

No, not in the city of Chicago, but without internet. This is currently being typed on my fantastic roommate Kathleen's Mac because I'm the only one of the roommates that is having issues with a signal.

I would love to do a real entry with pictures from my apartment, from which the view kind of looks like Bruce Wayne's penthouse. I would also to tell you about the cool people I've met that ended up in my room until 3 AM, or Kathleen's stunning DVD collection, or the adventures in urban grocery shopping. But alas, this isn't my computer, so it'll have to wait.

I can say that I'm throughly smitten with the city, the people I've been meeting, and how lovely the apartment looks. My new roommates, Julia and Kathleen, kick ass and chew bubblegum. 

The reality kind of hit me last night when I was standing outside Buckingham Fountain, listening to my new friend Benny play his ukele (yeah I don't know how to spell that) in front of the other nine of us. This is my new life and so far, wow.

...In which our heroine is getting the hell out of Dodge.

I leave for college in about ten hours. Everything is packed, too much stuff I fear, but all the essentials are there from iPods to teddy bears, bedspreads to bug spray.

I had a minor emotional meltdown last night, but today has been much better. As sad as I am to leave my family and friends, I know that I'm doing the right thing, the best thing for me right now. But still the leaving is hard, the most insignificant acts, like packing away t-shirts or looking at makeup with Mom at CVS, at the hardest.

Although I don't start classes until the 2nd, but I still consider summer in the traditional sense to be over. Columbia does an event called Weeks of Welcome that is meant to help you get used to the city. They offer everything from tango lessons to going to a White Sox game, and genuinely try and appeal to everyone. I'm most excited for the three film events and the Second City Comedy tour. It'll be nice have lots of time to get fully settled before classes start as well.

And as for summer...what a rollercoaster ride it's been. I guess I could say it's been the best summer of my life, but I feel like that's still yet to come. I did a lot of growing up, changed in subtle ways that I can't really explain, but can definitely feel. There's been a lot of new things and changes I've had to face, and all of it has just justified this being the crucible summer that I thought it would be.

Where to begin? I saw Cassie finally meet a nice guy who actually liked me as well. I fell in love with The Big Lebowski and Casablanca. I soaked in all the treats that the summer multiplex had to offer--Pineapple Express, Wanted, Wall-E, Sex and the City, Tropic Thunder, Step Brothers, and most of all The Dark Knight. I lived the rock n' roll lifestyle for a weekend in Chicago and saw Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine. I lost my virginity to, predictably enough, an English major. I shopped for jumbo sized packs of Oreos at Costco with a roommate that I'm going to get along famously with. I regained the trust of a friend the beginning of summer...only to have it broken by the end. I saw the true colors of people I've known for four years or longer exposed and questioned my friendships. I got my wisdom teeth out and enjoyed the perks of painkillers. I worked almost a normal, forty-hour work week and learned the true meaning of being busy as a server on Sunday mornings at Bob Evans.

I lived all the thrills and spills of a life coming into adulthood. And tomorrow, the adventure really begins.

As Penny Lane would say, "It's all happening."

...In which our heroine digs the fruit.

So I have these friends. And they're in a band. But the band's actually legitimate--as in records albums, tours the country, gets played on the radio.

Ladies and gentlemen (I just thought of Heath Ledger's Joker when I typed that) I present Pomegranates, comprised of my friends Isaac Karns on guitar/vocals, Josh Kufeldt on bass, Joey Cook on vocals, and Jacob Merritt on drums. Isaac and Josh both kicked around in other local bands while they attended Princeton, but it wasn't until they teamed up with some friends that the reality of creating genuinely good music stuck. I saw both of them in other bands--Josh by himself in the Moon Collision, and Isaac with his old band, the name of which I can't think of right now. Both were okay, but once Isaac and Josh started working together, I really got interested.

I've had plenty of friends in band, but the Poms are the first that I feel could have a legitimate shot at not even playing the fame game, but at least producing some fine music on a consistent basis. It has been really interesting for me to talk to Isaac and Josh about how exactly one goes about doing things like setting up a tour, recording an album, selling merch, and all the other stuff that being in a real band entails. I also salute them for their bravery in shunning the traditional model of how to operate after high school.

I've been lucky enough to get to hear from Josh a lot of the music before it gets released, and to see the band live at their album release party at the Northside Tavern and when the opened for Peter, Bjorn, and John. As a music fan, it's thrilling to me to get an insider's view of a band, especially one that I have friends in.

So go have a listen to the Pomegranates--the best place is over at their Myspace, but the two Lounge Acts they did for WOXY are also quite a good intro to the band. (Can I just mention what a thrill it is to know people being played on WOXY?) And if you really can't get enough, head over and check out the band's blog, Everybody Outside.

...In which our heroine has lost some wisdom.

My teeth are gone, and I can amazingly say so far so good. I haven't had any pain yet but am still mostly numb, which makes me not complain about my drooling. I never felt woozy, even when I woke up in recovery, not entirely sure how I got there, and the car ride home wasn't even bad. I've been able to eat yogurt and ice cream and was able to take my gauze out after about four hours because the bleeding has been so minimal. I feel a whole lot better than I thought I would, but apparently days two and three are the worst, so I'm just thankful to be upright and painless right now.

So here's what a toothless Katydid has been perusing with her head all wrapped up in ice:

• EW's Fall Movie Preview: I want to see most of these...Burn After Reading, Eagle Eye, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Quantum of Solace, Revolutionary Road, The Road (a Viggo movie for my birthday!), and most of all, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.


• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince gets pushed back until Summer 2009...and a national of geeks lets out a dejected sigh. I'm willing to wait as long as it's better than Order of the Phoenix.


• Win a threesome with Scarlett Johannson: Seeing as she's my number one girl crush (or Angelina Jolie, it changes frequently) this made me smile, although it's just a promotion for Vicky Christina Barcelona.


• A lovely video of "Everything Right in It's Place/Fake Plastic Trees" from Radiohead's set at Lollapalooza.


• Every episodes of the divine Freaks and Geeks on Youtube. Hmm, I think I've seen some of these kids before...


• An extended, R-rated trailer for the latest Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, The Informers. I didn't like the book very much, but the trailer does begin with New Order and has at least ten actors I recognize, so it might turn out alright.


• Far Out T-Shirts: I want the "Replicant" and "Inigo Montoya" shirts...I see one that my favorite chemistry teacher would like. Lots of cool geek references.


• Triumph the Comic Insult Dog Does Comic-Con: No explanation necessary on this one, which made me cry tears.


• And this picture, courtesty of Cute Overload, which makes me hyperventilate at the cuteness on a daily basis:

...In which our heroine rides the express and questions more of her life.

After Emily's going away party last night, which was ironic since I'm going to be her roommate, I went to see Pineapple Express, a movie I've been excited for since the first R-rated clip hit the internet. The fanboys at AICN have been salivating over the preview screenings for like a year so I was further intrigued.

And with the film, Judd Apatow continued his streak of not letting Katydid down. Since The 40-Year Old Virgin, there hasn't been an Apatow written/produced/directed film I haven't liked. Express is very different from all the other films though--it's the first of the films to feature significant violence and not place the romantic entanglements of its man-boy protagonist at the forefront. The most loving relationship in this film was Seth Rogen's love for his dealer, James Franco, and it's a real buddy comedy. Instead of having big laugh moments like the chest waxing in Virgin, or Micheal Cera singing in Superbad, Express was filled with a lot more subtle moments of laughter throughout.

It wasn't nearly as serious as the other Apatow films either, but for a stoner flick it was pretty damn good. Most stoner movies run dry with jokes about munchies and laziness after about twenty minutes, but Express keeps it going, which was greatly aided by the fact that it's an action movie at heart too.

As much as I hate to admit it, Seth Rogen was probably the least interesting character, although I would still marry him tomorrow. James Franco was so good, so greasy as dealer Saul, but the movie was stolen by supporting characters. Danny McBride as Dale and Saul's frenemy and fellow dealer Red was so hilarious and so hard to explain--part redneck, maybe gay, delusionally gangster. He gets all the best lines in the movie. Rosie Perez and Gary Cole were under-utilized as villains, but as far as stoner flicks go, Pineapple Express is the new gold standard. (Sorry Coen Brothers.)

In going to the movie, Katydid reached another milestone in her summer of epiphanies. I was supposed to go with Paul, but ended up with Josh and Francesco, who were both at the party. As soon as I saw Josh, we had ten million things to talk about, from My Bloody Valentine to The Dark Knight. For someone I only got to know this year and then only casually, he's one of my very favorite people in the whole world. It's just so different to talk to him about cultural things because I don't get a blank stare, and he's totally removed from the miasma of bullshit that is the day-to-day of teenage life.

Being with Josh and Francesco made me think that maybe I spent high school with the wrong people. I don't want this to sound like I don't love my friends because I do, but I couldn't help but think that maybe there were other Josh Kufeldts within the halls of PHS that I never talked to because they weren't in the IB Overachievers Club. Since last night, I've been questioning the fact that I stayed in such a bubble. If I would have met people like Josh and Francesco when I was a freshman, I know that I'd be a different person today. I live my life without regrets, but I do wish I would have tried to expand more instead of what was comfortable.

I feel as if this is all summer has been: me reaching conclusions that have been there all along and questioning things I should have a long time ago. What's the name for that? Oh yeah, it's called growing up...

...In which our heroine has two weeks.

I knew this was going to happen.

I knew that as soon as I got back from Lollapalooza, the reality of leaving for college would set in. It really struck me this morning as Cassie and I drove back from Clifton in the twilight of dawn today, the silence speaking volumes. Driving through the dawn past exits, all various paths leading to home that I've known for the past eighteen years that are soon to become not commonality, but simply a memory of "my hometown," I felt the shift. She knew, and I knew, that our times together were coming to an end. At least the times as we've known them for the past four years.

Mom knew when she started crying when we went to go buy jeans at the mall last week. She knew it was our last real time of back to school shopping, and that she'd never have to bitch again about going to the mall to buy clothes for the school year.

Dad knew when we stayed up having one of our epic father/daughter chats the night I got back from Lolla until 2 AM. It was us talking about music--me about the weekend, him as always showing me relics from a bygone time (Frank Zappa videos.) He told me he's worried about whose going to keep him cool once I leave.

Both grandmothers and an aunt and uncle knew this week as they offered to hang out--go to dinner or walk around, just to spend time.

...Now I'm sad. Reality has crept up on me as I washed my college linens or bought pasta in bulk for the dorm. Of course I'm excited but now the true gravity of my leaving has snuck up, seemingly overnight. It doesn't help that getting my wisdom teeth out will put a damper on the last week at home.

Of course music tells the truth about how I feel--"Every new beginning comes from some other new beginning's end." I wrote my last Odin's piece with that line in it but now as it becomes true, I am a little bummed that life as I've known it is indeed ending.

But then I look at the Weeks of Welcome events at Columbia, or think about how nice it'll be to not have to get up before eight for school ever again, and I feel better. I think about all the cool movies we're going to watch on Kathleen's (a roommate) projector or what posters are going up in my dorm room. I think about all the new beginnings on the way and I don't feel so bad.

At least not that bad.

...In which our heroine survived the rock n'roll bacchanal, yet again.

Lollapalooza 2008 has come and gone. All that's left now is my nasty sunburn and the dirt caked onto my Chucks.

We arrived in Chicago around noon on Friday and checked back into the Congress Plaza Hotel, which was quite the Lolla hotspot. It was relentlessly hot with temperatures in the nineties, so we didn't head out until around 2 to see the weekend's first band, Louis XIV. From then we were off, and when the weekend was done, had seen a total of eighteen bands.
In order:
Louis XIV
The Black Keys
Cat Power
The Raconteurs
Radiohead
The Gutter Twins
MGMT
Lupe Fiasco
Toadies
Rage Against the Machine
The Whigs
Nicole Atkins and the Sea
Black Kids
G. Love & Special Sauce
Flogging Molly
Love and Rockets
The National
Nine Inch Nails

First to talk about was the vibe of the weekend itself. I loved the hippie/bohemian feel of the festival and there's something totally liberating about screaming "I'D RATHER DIE THAN GIVE YOU CONTROL" along with 75,000 other sweaty, hungry, unwashed people. People watching at concerts is always fun, but Lolla amplifies it. In the daytime, its checking out tattoos (the best was Homer Simpson as Buddha) and t-shirts, and in the night, its watching drunk fools get dragged out of the crowd in various stages of consciousness.

I do have to say I was apprehensive about going with a big group (six people) after Cassie and I had so much fun by ourselves last year. It wasn't just logisitics of feeding and housing six people in a hotel room, but making sure everyone got along.

And unfortunately, by around five on Friday, it became apparent that my apprehension was well founded. The group was split into two groups: those who came to see the bands and those who came to party. I was really annoyed when people started falling asleep at shows after a long day of partying. The group left Nate and I alone at Radiohead after partying too much all day after just forty minutes of the show, and I was alone for Nine Inch Nails because my companions were tired. They paid too much money to leave early and fall asleep. Most of the weekend, I almost felt like I'd be having more fun on my own without the whims of five other people to follow. I was there for the music, and while I do like to have my cake and eat it too, everything else was second to the bands I wanted to see.

Even besides the excess partying, I just got fed up with people who did things like didn't bring water and then ask for mine. The whole weekend was meant as a last hurrah kind of trip for us and it really did make me realize how much I'm going to miss some people and how little I'm going to miss others.

BUT...as I said, the weekend was about the music so Katydid presents her Top 6 of Lollapalooza 2008:

1. Rage Against the Machine
Could the number one spot belong to anyone else but Rage? Of course not. Electricity was in the air from the moment we walked in the sold out fest. Would Obama show...would there be riots...how bad would the moshing be? We staked out a spot after Lupe Fiasco that we thought would be far enough from the stage to avoid the harcore moshers.
We were wrong. So wrong.
The crowd went nuts from the first notes of "Testify." Rage sounded so musically precise and Morello gets the most amazing sounds out of that guitar. The crowd was wild of course. "Bulls on Parade" was second and just when I was thinking we were on the edge of the madness, all hell broke loose.
I would guess 5,000 people all decided at once they needed to get out of the pit. Within a matter of seconds, we went from being fine to being swept up in the mob. I couldn't breathe, couldn't stand. I was falling and separated from my friends and holding onto a random guy behind me. I kept thinking about the Who and Pearl Jam tragedies as I looked at the only open place, the sky...and then in about two minutes it was over and I magically was able to pull myself to Aaron. The endorphin rush kicked in and I realized that I hadn't panicked too bad and I was all intact. Paige lost her shoes, but things could have been much worse. It was the most scared I've ever been in my life. We ended up about 100 feet from where we started and after we settled, Zack addressed the crowd to chill out...then after the fourth song, and the seventh. Things finally calmed down in our new spot and we were able to enjoy the rest of the show.
Musically, Rage was everything I could ever want them to be. The music was so angry but yet so technically efficient. I would've liked to heard "The Ghost of Tom Joad" but oh well. I especially enjoyed the chorus change in "Killing in the Name Of" to "Some of those who burn crosses/Are the same who hold office" and Zack's speech about how the Reps and Dems are both guilty of driving this country in a poor direction.
Rage did do just that--rage. They were political and loud and perfect.

The best photo I took, most of them are blurry because I was just glad to be alive:

2. Nine Inch Nails

This was my third time seeing NIN, so I was up for anything at all, having already seen every song I ever wanted to hear live in Cincinnati and Columbus. Nonetheless, Trent Reznor never disappoints me and I'm a bigger fan of NIN than anyone else that was at the fest. The LCD screen and light show was tremendous and perfectly synchronized, which you'll be able to see in some of the pictures and videos below. Trent told the audience he was having a rough time with his voice, but I thought he sounded fantastic, as did the overall clarity of music throughout the weekend. I'm not usually into such heavy music, but NIN has perfected the art of industrial music. As always, highlights included a rousing "March of the Pigs," "Terrible Lie," and "Closer." I actually really enjoyed the instrumental break that showcased stuff from Ghosts I-IV and I mean c'mon, Trent Reznor playing marimba? As far as pure enjoyment this show was number one, but I would've liked a few more songs from the early years. This show also provided me with my most profound moment of the weekend, during "Hurt." The tears have come every time I've seen it performed live, and Trent's speech beforehand ("I wrote this song in a very dark time in my life...then later, I gave it away to a friend") really amplified the emotion.

Trent Reznor, the angriest man to ever capture my affection:

And another, just because:

The whole group of ever-rotating musicians:


The only picture I took all weekend that's actually good:
3. The Raconteurs

We left this show early to stake out a place for Radiohead, which I now know was a mistake. I was really excited to see Jack White's virtuoso guitar skills again, and the man does not disappoint. Nate and I were hoping to hear some really cool cover like "Bang Bang My Baby Shot Me Down" but the regular setlist proved to be quite alright. Jack did this really cool improv thing during "Steady as She Goes" that sounded like Van Halen and that song was a massive sing-a-long and the highlight of the show. The whole band destroyed instruments and strings, which always makes me happy to know that there's energy going into the performance. Brendan Benson was some kind of intoxicated as he knocked his mic over and was bleary-eyed the whole show. As long as Jack White makes music, I'll be listening.

The man himself:

Brendan Benson, half alive:

4. Radiohead This was a close call for the #3 spot, but the first half of Radiohead was just too damn lethargic. That, coupled with the fact that I never actually saw any of the band made the experience less than perfect. BUT...the music itself sounded great. I wasn't expecting a hit parade of things like "Creep" "Karma Police" and "High and Dry" right in a row--that just isn't the kind of band Radiohead is. Nate and I were thrilled to hear lots of stuff from OK Computer, Kid A, and The Bends. As fireworks went off, you could've heard a pin drop for the final line of "Fake Plastic Trees," a song I don't really like, but in the context of the setting, was breathtaking. The only things I really really wanted to hear were "Optimistic" and "Idioteque," both of which they did, and also the whole of In Rainbows. Mostly, this show just made me want to see Radiohead again in a more sedate, compressed setting to let the complexity of their music stand out.

I'm short, my pictures aren't the best, deal:

Thom Yorke, being Jesus:


The split screen was actually pretty annoying for those of us who can't always see the stage:

5. The Black Keys

Before last year's Lolla, I had never listened to The Black Keys. After a stellar performance last year, I became a fan, and was eager to see them again this year. I love that two completely dorky white dudes from Akron can play such fierce blues rock. Highlights included "Girl is on My Mind" "Your Touch" and "Strange Times." The Black Keys were every bit as musically precise as NIN, but there was still a feeling that they could be making things up as they went along. Amongst all the aspiring hipster types (ahem) it was nice to hear some good ol' fashioned blues.

Patrick Carney broke like 20 pairs of drum sticks:

I get a crush on like every third rock star I see:

6. The Gutter Twins

I had to make a list of six just to include this band, a duo of ex-Afghan Whig Greg Dulli and ex-Screaming Tree Mark Lanegan. The Afghan Whigs were, in my humble opinion, the best band to ever come out of Cincinnati. Dulli wrote some outstanding, hateful, passionate music about love and relationships on the Whigs best two albums, Gentlemen and Black Love. He also DJ'd a bit for WOXY back in the day, so what a shock, I have a big rock star crush on him too. I was so very excited to see Mr. Dulli with Mr. Lanegan, being all angry and hateful, what they both do best. The sunny day and jubilant atmosphere was not the best place for the music of the Twins, but it was still lovely. If Satan took up residence in the Haight-Asbury in 1968 and started playing psychedelic rock, this is what it would sound like. Lanegan's gravelly growl and Dulli's high pitched whine go so well together with the heavy, trippy music. They even covered Massive Attack's "Live With Me," which wasn't suprising considering Dulli has covered everything from "When Doves Cry" to "Lost in the Supermarket."

Too many years and too many beers have not been kind to Greg Dulli (on the left):

Mark Lanegan was like Tom Waits Jr.:


And now the video portion of the program, beginning with Nate doing interpretive dance to "My Sweet Lord":

Radiohead doing "The National Anthem":

Nine Inch Nails, "Closer":

Lollapalooza 2008: I survived and have now seen over 70 bands live. I'm well on my way to Band-Aid status.