as soon as i got off the train, megan met me to try and scalp tickets. we spent an hour in the cold, haggling with scalpers and generally being angry at every 16 year old boy dressed like a woman and every girl dressed like a 12 yr. old. finally we were able to get two tickets, one from a nice and intoxicated kid going to school at loyola in chicago (sorry, em, he doesn't know your brother). the other came from a guy who's other ticket for his wife was a phony (foreshadowing). for the both of them we paid about $50, which was only $20 more than face value.
when we went through the line to get in, it turned out that my ticket (from the intoxicated loyolan) had already been scanned. the kid went through, then came back out and sold us his ticket. i don't know if it was out of malevolence or drunkenness, but anger and frustration are not adequate words.
we sat in the lobby for about 15 minutes just stalling, hoping the ticket checker would have a heart and let us in. there was nothing he could do. either megan went to the show by herself (not an appealing proposition, espeically in light of one of the better conversation we'd had outside the venue earlier with a particularly wise 19 yr. old: "i had sex with a girl at the last show! the enitre crowd saw my ass." amazing. i'm sure that's how she would describe it as well), or neither of us went. we gave up and went home.
i guess the most disappointing thing about the whole evening was that by the time we got home, i wasn't that depressed. maybe i'm trying to be coyly jaded or just getting older, but sitting outside the theater last night seeing those kids didn't make me want to experience that crazy concert at all. i should've known before going to a concert like girl talk, but i guess i just ignored that quiet, prideful and judgmental voice in the back of my head until last night.
i still love going to shows. and i even truly appreciate the semi-counter culture that the indie music scene can be. i've just gotten very choosy about live music and what was once unique is now mainstream. there are still plenty of original artists (girl talk is one of them) and there are plenty of listeners who will enjoy them as art and not as consumption (maybe girl talk is intended to be more of the latter?). but i guess all things change, including my love for live music and what used to be considered independent. this sounds pretty trite and stuffy, i know, but there it is. in spite of everything, here's to hope for art...
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the reason why i've started liking girl talk is because it's a party in my headphones, and gets me upbeat when i'm doing other stuff (i.e. working), but for that same reason i'm not sure i'd want to experience his music in real life. that being said, if you and megan had gotten drunk and/or done drugs, the show might've been awesome! so maybe that's the real lesson here: you're too old to get properly wasted to enjoy snippets of pop music.
getting hosed SUCKS!!!
emily and i saw them in knoxville for free ( i know, i hate to rub it in) at the valarium, and we had alot of fun, but were glad we didn't pay for the tix. one word: rave. it was a rave with bright colored glow sticks and drunken (or coked out) college kids grinding onstage with girl talk. it made me think of all those horrible dancing shows that were featured on mtv in the 90's like the grind, or mtv house party, but only in the dark with cooler music playing, and without bill bellamy or eric nies. so that's what you probably missed out on. as for the music, i thought it was brilliant and creative and just fun. if you ever do go see gt, take plenty of x.
Oh Stan, that was my brother.
Kidding.
I am sorry that your first show in St. Lew was a bust. Just means you'll get it right next time.
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