I had a great weekend to kick off the semester. Friday night was the acoustic Magnetic Flowers show at the White Mule, located in what was Jammin' Java in my pre-Nica life. Recently opened, the White Mule is helping to revitalize (I hate that word) Main Street Columbia. What that really seems to mean is "get white people to go there at night." Regardless, it's a nice little subterranean bar, complete with back patio and food until 10. I ordered a sandwich at 10 'til 10 and it was out to me in minutes, absolutely delicious, and accompanied by a peppery pasta salad.
MF, photo courtesy of Mallane's FB page.
So the music... I will admit that I wasn't really a Magnetic Flowers follower until this summer, but they have quickly become one of my favorite Columbia bands. Their music is varied, energetic, catchy and emotional. They take risks and while I'm not always thrilled with the results, the excitement they feel about their music comes across in live shows in a way that makes me want to jump around. Last week the Free Times referred to their music as sh!t-kicking rock, and that seems about right.
This show was a little different, as the White Mule is aiming for an underground acoustic vibe. The boys reworked a lot of their stuff and did a couple of new covers, including Kids by MGMT (my favorite MGMT song). Albert also sang lead on a Band cover, which was awesome, despite my ignorance of Band songs preventing me from singing along. Adam accompanied him and it was so exceedingly excellent that I think they should force Albert to sing lead more often. One of my favorites, the bombastic Southern Baptist Gothic, was a toned-down version of its usual self, but in a way that wasn't at all displeasing. It was a reinterpretation more than anything and it was interesting to watch Jared try to control himself while singing it. All in all, it was a great show and I was kicking myself the entire time for not bringing a recorder. Doh! Next time...
After my late night on Friday, I set out bright and early to visit Lauren in Raleigh for Lazy Days. I actually got up early (*gasp*) and it didn't matter because I got stuck on 95 south of Fayetteville and went about 7 miles in an hour. No, there was not an available exit. I was about to run out of gas and Spencer was antsy and it was hot. After we finally made it past that, it was smooth going until about 10 miles outside of Raleigh, when a downpour began that required driving 30 miles an hour and turning on my flashers. A 3.5 hour trip took a little over 5 hours and so we were late to the craft fair.
Baby hand soap in Lauren's apartment. It's like their little souls are trapped and they're trying to get out.
Luckily, it continued drizzling so it wasn't hot or crowded. We didn't use an umbrella the whole time and while we ended up damp, it actually wasn't that bad. I got some awesome jewelry, some photographs, and a hummingbird made out of can. I bought one for me and one for the sis, as an homage to my mother. She loved hummingbirds and from the moment she saw that stuff, she would have been trying to figure out how to make it herself.
House in Cary. Not my photo. Apparently, he's ticked that they widened the road in front of his house and screwed up his drainage.
Then we ate sushi for dinner, watched a movie and slept in. Today was dim sum and good conversation and an uneventful drive home. A seriously fabulous weekend before my first full week of the semester begins with full force at 8 AM tomorrow morning. Time to put up laundry and get ready for bed!
MF, photo courtesy of Mallane's FB page.
So the music... I will admit that I wasn't really a Magnetic Flowers follower until this summer, but they have quickly become one of my favorite Columbia bands. Their music is varied, energetic, catchy and emotional. They take risks and while I'm not always thrilled with the results, the excitement they feel about their music comes across in live shows in a way that makes me want to jump around. Last week the Free Times referred to their music as sh!t-kicking rock, and that seems about right.
This show was a little different, as the White Mule is aiming for an underground acoustic vibe. The boys reworked a lot of their stuff and did a couple of new covers, including Kids by MGMT (my favorite MGMT song). Albert also sang lead on a Band cover, which was awesome, despite my ignorance of Band songs preventing me from singing along. Adam accompanied him and it was so exceedingly excellent that I think they should force Albert to sing lead more often. One of my favorites, the bombastic Southern Baptist Gothic, was a toned-down version of its usual self, but in a way that wasn't at all displeasing. It was a reinterpretation more than anything and it was interesting to watch Jared try to control himself while singing it. All in all, it was a great show and I was kicking myself the entire time for not bringing a recorder. Doh! Next time...
After my late night on Friday, I set out bright and early to visit Lauren in Raleigh for Lazy Days. I actually got up early (*gasp*) and it didn't matter because I got stuck on 95 south of Fayetteville and went about 7 miles in an hour. No, there was not an available exit. I was about to run out of gas and Spencer was antsy and it was hot. After we finally made it past that, it was smooth going until about 10 miles outside of Raleigh, when a downpour began that required driving 30 miles an hour and turning on my flashers. A 3.5 hour trip took a little over 5 hours and so we were late to the craft fair.
Baby hand soap in Lauren's apartment. It's like their little souls are trapped and they're trying to get out.
Luckily, it continued drizzling so it wasn't hot or crowded. We didn't use an umbrella the whole time and while we ended up damp, it actually wasn't that bad. I got some awesome jewelry, some photographs, and a hummingbird made out of can. I bought one for me and one for the sis, as an homage to my mother. She loved hummingbirds and from the moment she saw that stuff, she would have been trying to figure out how to make it herself.
House in Cary. Not my photo. Apparently, he's ticked that they widened the road in front of his house and screwed up his drainage.
Then we ate sushi for dinner, watched a movie and slept in. Today was dim sum and good conversation and an uneventful drive home. A seriously fabulous weekend before my first full week of the semester begins with full force at 8 AM tomorrow morning. Time to put up laundry and get ready for bed!
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