October 26th, 2018

Hey there,

I complain about Taiwan a lot in this space but think I am gonna say some good things about it today.  Let's see how that goes.

Here is Superette's 1996 song 'Taiwan'.

Not a single comment on YouTube for that clip, which is hard to believe in this age of identity through comment.  Shame, cause that is a bitchin' song.

If I were to recommend a visit here, have to say that October is the month to come.  The weather is as good as it gets and this year has been seen the best run in the 7 we've experienced.  The humidity precludes blue skies and stunning sunsets most of the time, but it has been muted as of late.  Saw this the other morning and while it would be just another day on the west coast, had to stop and admire it.

October is my favorite month as the weather suits my clothes, the sports and social calendars are just right and my color palette is definitely autumn.  If you come, and we may only have a couple more Octobers here so start thinking about it, you will still have to deal with the potential of an earthquake.  Had a 6.0 on Tuesday and while it didn't stop traffic, they can be disconcerting to some.  After grabbing the below shot, we had a 5.7 at midnight that sorta woke me up.

What's going on around on the island these days?  I didn't know about it beforehand but absolutely would have gone to check out the big rally for independence.  A group called the Formosa Alliance organized a street demonstration.  They are affiliated with the DPP/Green Party, who is currently in power and are pushing the matter.  I said big rally, but have seen reports that the crowd size was anywhere between 6,000 (as reported by their opponents) to 100,000.  It's now almost a week later but the cops have not weighed in.  Plenty of Fake News in this corner of the world too.  I hate that news term and apologize for using it here.

People send me news items to share about Taiwan, and if they involve traffic they definitely get my attention.  Betty forwarded this one about Taiwan's pedestrian nightmare.  I suggest that you go to that link only if you have a deep desire to know the difference between crosswalk markings around the globe.  That article is so dry, maybe because it was originally written in Mandarin and translated into English.  It did have links to a slew of other Taiwan traffic related articles, all of which I read, and there was I liked about overworked bus drivers.  These guys are working 7 days a week and while they don't drive every one of those days, they are forced to work off the books for free as traffic control zombies when they have accidents or incidents to work off their demerits.   Sounds like a recipe for disaster and has led me to give any bus a wider berth on the roads cause these guys are likely sleep deprived.  When you do visit next October, let's keep this in mind should we decide to hop on one of these tour buses.

In probably related news, we had a train wreck here a few days ago that killed 18 people (appreciate those that reached out to ensure we weren't on it).  Have been reading the local reports  and no cause had been officially given although the speculation is that the driver turned off the speed control warnings and was going too fast in a turn.  This sounds like the cause of every train accident, no?  Why would these drivers give a shit if they were running late?  They weren't the ones that made it late in the first place I'd have to assume, so what is their motivation?  Taiwan has a certain fetish with all things Japan, and the trains there run ON TIME, so that is what I'm throwing out there at cocktail parties.  Just heard another take that the driver reported issues and was told to push through by his superiors.  Updates as they arise will be shared

Thought I was gonna say nice things, but those ended up being kinda dark.

Thursday morning was parent/teacher conference day and spoke to all of Babydolls teachers.  Super impressive bunch of minds and very healthy eccentrics all.  I think we have all been surprised at how well B-doll has been doing in her math and science classes.  In elementary school, she didn't show a lot of promise.  Will never forget the day she came home from school, must have been Kindergarten, and was so happy to tell us that she learned that 5 apples plus 2 apples equals 7 apples. "That's great" I said, "Do you know how many bananas you'd have if you had three bananas and I gave you four more?"  She said no..."we haven't learned bananas yet."

An old gag and shared it with her Algebra teacher who liked it.  Think it is my responsibility to go to these things with a gag or anecdote chambered for each teacher to help personalize the relationships.  Didn't need to this year cause all her teachers are enamored of her both intellectually and socially.  She has been quite impressive in High School on all levels and the confidence snowball has avalanche potential.  See great things ahead if she can keep it together.

As for the Boy, it is harder to get info on him cause he simply doesn't share voluntarily.  Last weekend was the annual Food Fair at the school here and was again the Chair for the USA Hot Dog Booth.  Checked my records and have been doing that for 5 years/10 Fairs.  We often have more, but figure 700 dogs per and that is at least 7000 happy hot dog customers.  Due to a slew of scheduling conflicts, was missing several of our best workers so had to mine some new volunteers.  One of them was a teacher that is involved with the Upper School science department that is leading the schools iGem team to Boston this week who had also taught the Boy a few years back.  This teacher tells me the Boy is part of UVA's iGem team and that he will see him in Bean-town this weekend.  News to his mom and I, but looked it up and sure enough, off he is going.

Have heard the nerds here talk in awe about iGem, but upon research learned it is the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition.  Sounds ominous.  On their website, you can see a thumbnail of the schools projects.  The UVA team is doing stuff with bacteria and is what the Boy was working on during his internship this summer.  I didn't understand what he told me then nor did the below thumbnail help explain it any better.

Quorum sensing (QS) is a mechanism where bacteria detect the presence of nearby cells and coordinate their behavior among the population. Utilizing the QS genes of the Lsr operon and T7 RNA Polymerase, we are developing a biologically orthogonal quorum response sensitive to the universal autoinducer AI-2. This system introduces an alternative method of gene induction and biomanufacturing to iGEM, re-engineering microbial coordination of population phenotypes. Further, we have designed a synthetic feedback loop in tandem with the Lsr operon to increase the mean and homogeneity of quorum activation in a colony to levels comparable to industrial inducers like IPTG. This provides a system of self-regulating induction that can produce target proteins cheaper and more efficiently than current industrial methods. The resulting engineered microbe has increased biofilm production compared to the wild type, which has applications such as microbial cellulose biomanufacturing and hyper-virulent control organisms for testing certain microbial antibiotics.

It sounds like participating in this thing is an achievement that should be admired but on the flip side, helping to create super bugs for Monsanto that will end humanity is a real career path for him.  The worst part of this is that he goes to Boston and meets up with an old buddy of his that goes to school there, they head over to Fenway and somehow manage to sneak into game two of the World Series for free.  He says that the ticket check moved up the street for the playoffs and they went through an office building that then exited on the other side of the barricade.  That little shit falls up and am so jealous of him at every turn.  I've never been to a World Series game and he goes to one my effin' Dodgers are in.  

The TAS iGEM project addresses the genetics of what causes Asian flush (where Asians get red faced when they drink booze).  It isn't just a way to figure out a drug to eliminate that annoyance, but it is related to a dangerous enzyme that is prominent in 47% of the Taiwanese population.  Amazing stuff and makes me feel kinda stupid.  OK, not feel but confirm.  I ride the kids school hard for some things, but am always floored by the work they are doing at a high school level.  Went to a thing the other day put on by the School Board that was pure propaganda, but one thing they talked about was the new building called the Tech Cube that is scheduled to be completed in December.  It is a state of the art facility devoted to cutting edge sciences that would be the envy of most universities.  This school has a roster of the finest teachers they make and now have the facilities to make their visions into reality.  Really stunning and we are so fortunate to have had our kids go here.

As for the Hot Dog booth, we had great weather, which is key to moving product and we sold out at 1:26pm...10 minutes earlier than our previous best.  Even though we were down some super stars, we had enough seasoned vets to add to our newbies and it was the easiest day for me and for pushing dogs.

One thing about the Fair this year that bugged me is that they moved our spot for the second year in a row.  We are always in a certain corner of the Fairgrounds, it is a great location and you'd think that having a booth participate uninterruptedly for 15 years, they would leave us be.  The Koreans said they wanted to move to our spot last year and even though they assured me they wouldn't move us, they did and didn't tell me until the programs were printed.  And then they put us next to them so I'd have to smell their foul kimchi all day.   Not only did they do that again this year, but the Koreans added a third tent and then proceed to overflow into the ease way between our booths.

I really didn't care but it gave me something to rail on throughout the day.  Have come to realize that having something low wattage to complain and goof on keeps me sane and happy.  One of my gags throughout the day was to find a fair organizer, one of our booth workers, or anyone I knew and bitch to them about the Koreans, then say I was going to plant this in their food.

That's my plastic coackroach buddy Charlie that I keep with me to plant near food with hilarious results.  The Koreans also had three cutouts of sexy Korean girls in front of their booth this year to entice customers.  Filthy but effective.

Upcoming, this should be a fun weekend.  Tonight is the Community Center Auction and it is Halloween themed,  I'm going as Sexy Mental Patient.  Nearly everyone I like in town goes, gets boozed up and is always a good time.  Sorry that the Boss is outta town cause it is always more fun with her as she is a party animal and helps smooth out my rougher and introverted tendencies.  

On Saturday, at the big sports park across the street and all around our neighborhood, they have an annual Halloween party during the day.  Fun to see all the kiddies in their costumes and even better watching the girls that man the booths that give out candy in their outfits.  Sexy Devil and Sexy Nurse were two prominent ones last year.  Thousands, even 10's of thousands, of people come to that for 'trick or treating' so our area is gonna be hopping.   In addition, on the field behind where the Halloween thing is happening there is an American Football game between the Taipei Predators and Shanghai Cyclones.  Here is a link to the Predators Facebook page.  Watch these dudes practice on the weekend and should be a hoot to catch a game.  Will take my camera.

Finally for today, I voted already.  I hope you have or will vote.  One thing that seems clear at this point is that if you vote for a Republican candidate, any one of them, you are enabling a lot of awful shit.  You might say that this particular candidate disavows the bad stuff or that they may have some spectacularly good ideas.  While that may be true, it doesn't matter this time my friends.  We need a viable two party system and one of them cannot be this.

October 19th, 2018

Hey there,

This week is all Japan and Yo La Tengo in Japan.  4 nights.  Might have rambled on a bit, shared too many pictures  and had some difficulty coming up with ways to describe the music, but you get what you get.

Left on a Monday morning and had a show in Osaka that night.  Barely had time to check in, catch a quickie nap and then head to the show that was an unheard of 6pm start time.  We've done a ton of trips and am usually very confident going in, but whenever I've gone to Japan have felt a lot of angst about the language and maneuvering about.  Seems irrational cause they run a tight ship, signs are all translated into English and the locals are always helpful, but still...do not understand this feeling and don't like it.

Found my way to the club, which was on the 10th floor of a mall and found ample room in my favorite spot.

10/8/2018 Umeda Club Quattro.  The dates and club names in this are links to the show set lists, which were submitted by yours truly.   The show was great of course with my highlights being 'Stupid Things', 'Artificial Heart' and a cover of Devo's 'Gates of Steel'.  

They also did the guitar into the crowd thing during Ohm, which always takes it to another level.  They'd do this again in Tokyo with hilarious results.

 At the end of the second set, the closer was a cover of the Beach Boys 'Little Honda', which can be a standard garage tune or can get extended into a freak out noise fest.  It was freak out night, and as they launched into the noise, two dudes come out to play with them.  Later learned they were Shinji Masuko and Yojiro Tatekawa from an Osaka band called Boredoms and it got weird for the next 8 minutes or so.  I'd recommend that band to you, but only if you are in the mood for some white hot noise.

Have never had the opportunity to catch a show in Japan and was curious as to how the crowds were gonna be.  They have a long tradition of being hard core music freaks.  For example, after my dad passed and mom moved out of their house, it was time to sell off the stereo.  My dad had a great vintage system and we knew it was gonna be in demand from audiophiles, and the lady we had help sell off some stuff found a buyer in Japan and it went for 10 grand sight unseen.  Conversely, the culture has a reputation for being publicly austere.

The crowd this night was quiet.  Pre-show you could here a pin drop.  At every show I see in the States the crowd chatter is loud and there is typically a lout or yappy chick that is taking the opportunity to be overserved and have a conversation with everyone in a 10 foot radius.  This night, they clapped politely at the appropriate times but there was little screaming and no pushing/shoving.  They got louder as the band hit their freaky stride midway through the second set, and they rightly  lost their shit when the Boredoms came on and destroyed our eardrums, so it kinda went as expected.

One aspect that I found interesting but unsurprising was their alcohol consumption.  Every show required us to buy a drink ticket upon entering for 600 Yen (about $5.50).  That is de rigueur for a comedy show but had never seen it at a rock one.  Based on my observations, the crowd wasn't pounding drinks and since these places typically give the door to the artists and make money on the booze, this was a way for them to ensure they hit their target.  Additionally, they were so respectful in putting their garbage in the trash.  Was stunned after the show ended every night not to see a single cup or piece of anything on the floor.  I adhered to local custom and crushed my cup up and stuck it into my pocket to throw away later.

Nice crowd and a good start to the week

Next day needed to be in Nagoya so after watching some playoff baseball in the AM (Go Blue), hopped on the Shinkansen (bullet train) for the 50 minute ride that cost $60.  If you were to drive, it woulda taken 2.5 hours to go 189 kms (117 miles).  That Shinkansen is the shit.

As check out is 10a and check in is 3p, dropped my bag and walked around Nagoya for a few hours.  As with all places in Japan, everything was neat and orderly, they love shopping malls and gardens, and there really isn't anything unusual to see.  The weather was fantastic so it was lovely just to people watch and grab some food.  Being alone, eating out isn't as fun cause I hate eating alone.  Don't have any great food stories but I made a note that they have a wide range of choices that are both foreign and domestic and made me mad at Taiwan.

Nagoya Club Quattro 10/9/2018  Show that night was in another mall.  It was 15 minutes from hotel to club via the subway, which included a transfer.  Grabbed a pumpkin scone at the Starbucks to enjoy during the intermission and went in.  Got there early, grabbed the obligatory drink and walked right to the front of the stage.  

Tonight's show was the best for me.  Club was the smallest of the bunch and it didn't sell out, so plenty of room.  The setlist was just right for my taste with the second set being one of my all time faves.  I requested the song 'Flying Lesson' by email the week before and they busted it out tonight and it was incendiary.  Here is a YouTube version of it from a few years back where you can get the jist.

The second set closer Blue Line Swinger, which is always a journey, was a particularly long one.  On this song, Mr Kaplan usually gets on the floor and makes noise on his guitar and with the peddles, so being in the front, got to watch the magic happen close up.

Blistering.  For the encore, they asked one of the audience members in the front what they wanted to hear.  Last night they did the same and the person asked for it so quietly they had to get off the stage to hear what they wanted.  Tonight, the girl wouldn't even say it out loud but had written what she wanted down on paper and gave it to them.  He looked at it like all us old folks do, holding it out as far from his eyes as he could.  It was a great choice of 'Season of the Shark', which they rarely play and I'd never heard.  The band seemed delighted to play it.  A complete night.

Next nights show was in Tokyo so did the same drill.  Shinkansen this time cost $98 for the 1.5 hour ride which woulda been 4 hours by car to go 347 kms/215 miles.  There were two shows in Tokyo so when booking accomodations looked for a hotel in the Shibuya neighborhood where the club was located.  Found one a couple of minutes walk and booked at the Hotel Two Way.  Since I was doing this trip solo, booked places that were strategically located but were cheap and small to keep costs down.  The previous two nights were that, but everything was clean and my only gripe was the beds were hard as rocks.  As I am navigating to my Tokyo digs on the small side streets off Shibuya proper, see dozens of these little hotels offering nightly and "resting" rates for 3-5 hours, which gets me suspicious.  

Find the Two Way and it is one of these.  The reception desk is a little hole in the wall a bit bigger than a breadbox and reminded me of a cashier at a gas station in a really bad neighborhood.  Place still looks clean enough so get my room and it is decent sized for what it is, but this is obviously a place people go to fuck.  The next day had no travel so had it free and since I'd been to Tokyo before and seen all the touristy stuff was looking up things to do in town and adding words like 'weird' and 'unusual' in the search.  What came up on every list was to stay in a Love Hotel.  Here is one sites "recommendation"...

So you can stay in a fancy hotel, a trendy hostel or a capsule hotel—whatever—but for a bit of the unusual try one of Tokyo’s many love hotels. You might fancy a light-up hot tub, a rotating circular bed or a vending machine full of…entertainment, with a million more odd options available. Oddly, the rooms are actually often bigger than normal hotels and the themes make for a memorable stay (try illuminated cabinets of puppet clowns for one). They are also perfect for a cheap day nap with the ‘rest’ option, ideal if you arrive at a funny time or your jetlag kicks in!

Duh...these hotels are for couples that live with their parents but need to get their groove on.  Of course they have these things and knowing this, start to look a little closer at the folks walking around and sure enough, they are all young couples.  I don't know what a Japanese prostitute looks like, but these girls didn't look like that but rather just young folks in love and having fun.  Cute neighborhood with neat little places to eat interspersed with the hotels..  Would I have booked the Two Way knowing this?  Probably not, but it wasn't bad and other than the thought of it being full of bodily fluids (and what hotel doesn't have that as a distinct possibility), it was perfectly fine and would certainly consider staying in this part of town again.

One weird thing about the hotel to mention before moving on was that they had music playing softly throughout the building, including in the rooms and could not figure out how to shut it off.  All sexy background instrumental songs you'd know ('Girl From Ipanema', 'Imagine' 'Wonderful Tonight') played on acoustic guitar with a hint of crashing surf in the background.  

One more one more thing...the bed here was much softer.  

TSUTAYA O-East 10/10/2018 Tonight's show was at the Tsutaya O-East, which is a proper club and not in a mall.  

I show up a few minutes before the doors open and unlike Osaka and Nagoya, the crowd is there early too.  They have a system that lets you in based on the number of your ticket, but not understanding what the deal is I ask a guy that looks like he could speak some English cause he has a Hoboken t-shirt on signed by the band.  He does and tells me I am screwed cause my number is 800-something.  His is high too so we get to chatting and he is a nice guy with the auspicious name of Ichiro.  Here we are post show.

He lived in NYC for a dozen or so years in the 90's where he became a Yo La Tengo fan and it was also apparent that he had the hots for Ms Hubley as he knew a lot about her like that they were both the same age.  As a Yo La Tengo stalker myself, I respected that about him.  Knowing who the band had been asking for encore song requests the past two nights, tell him to be ready cause he has the right look.  Sure enough, during the encore they ask him and he whiffs.  Mr Kaplan even makes a comment along the lines of that being an embarrassing thing to happen.   See Ichiro after the show and he was busted up about it.

Even though I have a crappy entrance number, found a nice spot dead center about 5 rows back and settle in.  This club is bigger and as the start time is approaching they did something I've never seen before.  To fit everyone in, we need to get packed in tighter in the front so they motion to the crowd for people to push forward. Typically it is too crowded up front and we are implored to move back.  Gonna be sweaty night.

The first/quiet set was the best of the 4 with them playing three of my favorite gems.  Second set was solid too (of course, would I say anything less)

I mentioned they did the guitar passing thing during 'Ohm' twice, and this was the second night of that.  They have this song they play often and during the end part, which is loud, Mr Kaplan hands his guitar into the audience and they/we get to bang on it however they/we see fit for a couple minutes.  I've had a couple of turns strumming/banging the guitar in the past and since it is popular, I tend to not fight to get my paws on it and let others have an opportunity.  This evening, I am in just the right/wrong spot and it comes to me.  As you'd imagine, everyone is clawing at it, which is totally appropriate, but then suddenly, they all stop and move away leaving me holding it alone.  I get two seconds to do my worst and then the another wave of people jump on top of me and the guitar and away it goes.  It was like being at the shoreline when a wave goes out and your back is turned so you have a feeling of calm, but then you're hit with a giant unexpected shore pounder and wipes you out.  I am too old and way too broken to withstand this often, but for one moment, felt young again.

 Good times.

Was happy the next day as I didn't have to lug my gear to another city and could just hang.  I wake up early and need coffee so stroll to the Family Mart around the corner (as in Taiwan, they are a stones throw from you anywhere).  Why I mention this is that I noticed two things about the neighborhood I was in.  First, due to the high concentration of restaurants around and that they leave their trash out on the street at night meant that there were also large populations of rats and crows.  Giant ones.  I remember them from previous visits, but the size of Japanese crows is shocking.  Like mid-size dogs.  And they are bold...one was munching on something and is in my path and he stares me down instead of flying away.  I crossed to the other side of the lane to avoid him.  The other thing I noticed was a lot of walk of shames going on this time of the morning.  Makes sense being in the Love Hotel district, but it's been a while since I've seen those.  

As mentioned, had seen stuff in Tokyo before and had no agenda.  Malls might be dying in the States, but they are alive and well in this neck of the woods with them being the main attraction for locals and tourists alike.  Not being that kind of shopper, looked up weird stuff to do and didn't see anything there that I wanted to do either, so decided to just go on a long walk.  Stopped by the Tower Records...they still have them and they are awesome.

This sticker on a signpost.

Made Takeshita St a destination.  This is the lane famous for the Harajuku girls...the ones that dress up like Hello Kitty or whatever.  We went on our trip there a few years ago and was unimpressed so thought I'd give it another try and was even more disappointed.  The girls with the cat ears and fancy stockings are all over town...everywhere but here and this seems like a tourist trap in the vein of Hollywood Blvd.  What I found interesting this time was the amount of black guys standing in front of the stores to entice you in.  Don't think I saw a single black guy anywhere else in 5 days, but there were a couple dozen here.  S'up?

 Tokyo is a curious place with things like a pot of live turtles on a random street...

 a store called Nude Trump...

and a place that takes you on a tour of Shibuya in a go-kart where you have to dress up like a character from Mario Kart or one of the Muppets.

I know you've been asking yourself, 'what did you think about the people?'  Being in the 92nd percentile of judginess on the Myers Briggs scale, you know I judged the entire culture based on 4 days, so here it goes.

Osaka and Nagoya have a much more conservative vibe than Tokyo.  As I was there during the week, saw them in their business attire and the ladies all wore nylons, which you rarely see anywhere anymore.  They guys all had on the same close fitting black suit with white shirt and skinny black tie.  Very cliché company look and right out of the Eisenhower administrations Japan reconstruction handbook.

In Tokyo, the fashion explodes in much the same manner that I feel about San Francisco where everyone has to look fahbulous.  Was commenting to Babydoll when I got home that the girls like to wear bulky gear and she was way ahead of me.  She knew the names of the big cable knit sweaters the girls prefer and such from some website she frequents and proceeded to give me a dissertation on the differences between the Japanese, Korean and Chinese looks.  "You have to be really skinny" to wear what the Japanese do she tells me and have to agree.  The girls are like stick figures but the bulk gives them shape.  It works and give them credit for it cause it is way more creative than what passes for fashion in this dump.  They also dig wearing giant platform shoes and saw three of them twist their ankles violently but not fall and keep on walking.   

As for the dudes, not as fashion forward as the ladies but they make an effort overall.  Found it funny that I did not see a single Japanese guy wearing shorts, nor did I see a single westerner not wearing them (including myself on walkaround day).  Mine didn't have cargo pockets however while every one of the other white guys did, so felt a bit of redemption.  What the Japanese guys have is great fucking hair.  There are 60 million Japanese guys and it feels like there are 60 million different hair styles, and they all look cool.  Whether it is a residual effect from centuries of bonsai being an art, or the construction of their hair follicles, it is impressive.  Even the dudes with the shaved heads look good as the shape of the skulls is so proportional and cappuccino colored.  Juxtapose that with the Chinese dudes and have maybe seen a dozen that look cool.  Was just at the local market and looked around and laughed out loud at how comically bad their heads look.  There are like three hair styles here and at least two of those involve bowls.  Combovers are even still a thing.  

Made notes that I did not see a single local wear sunglasses, bowing is an endearing trait that is common practice for all service occupations and casual greetings, and that women cover their mouths when they laugh but the men do not laugh at all.  Also, while these folks are slight of stature and not meaty of frame, I would not mess with a single one of them.

TSUTAYA O-East 10/11/2018  After a nap, headed to the club for the last night.   My number was low tonight so went in and got a spot right up against the barrier in front of Mr Kaplan.  Tonight's show was different as there was an opening act...Shintaro Sakamoto.

Wasn't familiar with him previously but investigated prior to the trip.  He was the guitarist for the legendary band Yura Yura Teikoku and has been a solo act for the last 6 years.  Listened to all of his stuff leading up to the trip and while I didn't understand the lyrics, liked the vibe.

My spot was right in front of him and fully enjoyed his set.  Unlike Boredoms, I do suggest you dial him up on Spotify.  Makes for groovy music to enjoy around the house and you can also impress your friends at how hip you are.

 And look at that hair!  Also note how skinny the bass player is but is so sexy with the bulky outfit.

The dude on percussion/saxophone provided the stage antics and while it is harrd to tell in this shot, that bald head looks delicious.

Since there was an opener, we only got one set from the beloved Yo La Tengo.  Sorta liked the change-up cause we didn't get all the same songs from the new disc, which I like but as this was my 12th show this year, was a break from that routine.  Spirited versions of 'Red Buckets' and family favorite 'Mr Tough', and the closer of 'Story of Yo La Tango' had feedback antics that were new to me.

Encore was a bit different tonight.  They come out and invite Shintaro-san to join them for The Velvets 'Run Run Run'.  He got to display some of the psychedelic chops he was known for in his previous band that are not a big part of his solo stuff.

Then for the fun stuff.  They point to three members of the audience to come on stage.  I'm sure there was some translation issues involved cause they don't know whats going on and none of them wants to go.  It takes several minutes to get them to go up and I had to physically push the guy next to me to go.  They have the three members stand to the side while they set up the bit.  The looks on their faces was priceless.

 The band then plays the verses to Anita Bryant's (yes that Anita Bryant) 'My Little Corner of the World' and then have the audience members join the four guys in their road crew to whistle the chorus.  Not sure how they did it or how they picked three people that could whistle, but it sounded OK.

There were smiles and laughter all around (except from the two Japanese guys of course).  They came back for a second encore playing 'Yellow Sarong' and it was over.  Sorry to have spent so much time detailing these (and the west coast summer) shows, but was just something I had to do.  If someone asked what my hobby was, would have to say that communing with Yo La Tengo is a big one.  Knowing what song they are about to play just by seeing what guitar they pick up or hearing a couple of notes is fun and am never disappointed in the songs they choose to play.  And every show there are several moments when you can feel the electricity coursing through your body.  Yum.  I picked up the coffee mug made for this tour, which is a design of Mr McNew's with Yo La Tengo written in Japanese.  Makes me happy every morning when I fill it up and gets the day started off in fine fashion.

Hadn't had dinner and noticed a little joint across the street from the Two Way that looked good and sexy.  Ordered me up a spicy chorizo pizza and glass of wine and had a chance to reflect upon the week and what a lucky boy I am.

See ya.