The Double Feature

Greetings.  The picture to your left is from Mia and I playing some drums at the music store. I swear, that kid loves music as much as I do..ANYWAYS I was a bit too tired to write last night, so I figured after my morning walk/run with Remi, I'd tackle this blog. I find myself having the opportunity today to in fact write TWO reviews from the weekend: An Alkaline Trio concert in Milwaukee, AND some thoughts about the Great Gatsby Jill and I saw on Sunday! It was quite the busy weekend. Friday was our anniversary but we both worked opposite hours and didn't get to properly celebrate that day, however we DID plan on going to the movies Sunday. Mia and I brought Jill flowers Friday. Awww...right? Anyways, so Sunday morning I was getting 7am texts from my little brother that he needed someone to go catch Bayside/Alkaline Trio show in Milwaukee at the Rave. I was unsure about going. My toe, still hurting and since I've seen Alkaline Trio about 10 or more times, I remember in the past, the sea of people in the crowd turning into a crazy bull stampede trampling everyone in front of them. PLUS, I worked at 6am Sunday morning, so all signs pointed that I wasn't going to go. Well, after a lot of thinking, I decided to go as a favor, plus he said it was a free ticket.

It was a fantastic show. First time at the Rave since 2008 when I caught the always entertaining The Hives. The very opening band Off With Their Heads wasn't very exciting. Next was my bro's favourite group; Bayside. Never really was a big fan of the band. A lot of breakdowns and guitar solos, however, they can put on a great show. I enjoyed their Smoking Popes cover of "Meghan". The next time I'm cutting grass, I'll probably put them on and give them another listen.

Alkaline Trio finally was on. Great performance. Very little banter in between songs, so they can pump in full volumes of amazing rock and roll. Just like old times, they played their hearts out. Here's a list of the majority of the songs they played:

This could be love
Cringe Olde English 800
Radio (encore)  If We Never Go Inside
Blue Carolina
She lied to the FBI
I wanna be a Warhol
I, Pessimist
Hell Yes Armageddon
She Took Him to the Lake
Donner Party
Clavicle
Sadie
All In Black
Torture Doctor  

There may be more in there that I missed, but that should cover 98 percent of what they played. They skipped over albums Agony and Irony and This Addiction surprisingly, but that's okay. They ended up really hammering out tracks from Good Mourning and a few jams from Maybe I'll Catch Fire. The new stuff sounded great live, and overall the night was pretty awesome. Glad I could go with my bro.  Sunday night after I got out of work at 2pm, we later dropped off Mia and hit up the movie theater for the Great Gatsby. After a very long early shift, I didn't think I'd make it through the movie. I was incredibly exhausted but luckily stayed awake. I'll make this one short: The movie was pretty great. Leo DiCaprio seems to pick the better of the films to get involved with.This one can be added to his list. Toby Maguire played an awesome roll as the neighbor who tags along with the Gatsby in his adventures & gets involved with helping Gatsby meet his former love interest. Both Jill and I were glad we didn't freshly read the book before watching the movie because we'd compare it way too much during the film. If you read the book, I'd recommend going and seeing it. It was a nice rare evening to go out with Jill without Mia for a little date. We haven't gone out by ourselves in over a year. No, really. A year. We've got two weddings coming up, in which she won't be with us either. The grandparents + Tommy are coming up this weekend, so we'll see how the night goes. Sunday, I may play soccer. We'll see. First game is 7pm. My toe is getting a bit better, but the nail is still loose. That's all for now. Thanks for reading.