Behind Closed Doors

There is this great scene of Cameron Diaz at the beginning of Charlie's Angels dancing in her underwear in her room. More than one person said it reminded them of me... of course I don't let people see me dancing around my room in my underwear... but that doesn't stop me from dancing around fully clothed.

Growing up, my parent's friends called me Katie Jean the Dancin' Machine. Especially Patty Broderson. She had this clown jukebox that played music when you pulled out the drawer at the bottom, and the clown danced... I believe she was the one that inspired me to dance. That's what I remember most about her; loud music, loud laughter, and her loudly telling me to 'dance Katie! Dance!'

This is sort of a backdrop to my life. Ballet at 4, moved around a lot so classes weren't always available... luckily there was MTV sometimes. This gave me an outlet for inspiration, self teaching, and new techniques in dance. Michael and Janet were two of my faves. I grew up thinking I was going to be a backup dancer for Janet...and actually was working towards it, until I went to a Ballet Master Class at Cornish and one of the women told me I'd never make it since I was 17 and didn't have formal training. So. I gave up thinking she was right... unfortunately.

So, every Halloween when this song comes on, I know the moves. I also know the moves to three of Janet's videos, and some other dances we were taught in HS and in college. So, if you happen to come to my house and I'm dancing around in the living room. You can thank Patty, Michael, and Janet.
Michael Jackson-Thriller

Why are you like this? Like what? Like, how you are?

Those of you that were in High School in the 90's or even Junior High, might remember my favorite show My So Called Life. It was my favorite show for so many reasons, mostly because it was my life. I was Angela with a different name, and the guy in my life at the time had a different name than Jordan Catalano but they looked alike, they acted alike... they both had bands, it was weird.

I'm sure you are wondering (if I didn't leave you a hysterical message from Chicago) what any of this has to do with day three of Lollapalooza. Lets start on Friday.

So, you might remember that Kevin and I had in and out privileges for the show. Thank god. We took advantage of this on Friday at a break in the bands and went to the Exchequer for food. Its just pub food, but its dark and cool in there so we thought it was amazing. On the way into the festival on Friday I was grabbing all the handouts, one of which was a newspaper describing all the bands.

As I've mentioned before, Lollapalooza is about choices. At 3:30 on Sunday there were three bands that I wanted to see. Playing, of course, at the same time on three different stages, right on the heels of another band I wanted to watch. In the 3:30 time slot, there are four bands playing and one of them is 30 Seconds to Mars, who I didn't know or recognize. (They aren't played on KEXP...and if they are I haven't payed attention enough to care.) Kevin makes a comment about them and I look them up.

OMG. Its Jordan Catalano's band. I am so going! But first I have to map out my day on Sunday. It goes something like this:
12:15 Trevor Hall
12:30 Sparta
2:15 Hot Chip
2:30 Nickel Creek
3:30 Andrew Bird; Pepper; The New Amsterdams... and now 30 Seconds to Mars. NO WAY is Jared Leto going to be in the same zip code and I'm not going to see him.
4:30 The Shins
5:00 Of Montreal
5:30 She Wants Revenge
6:30 Queens of the Stone Age
8:30 Red Hot Chili Peppers.

If you bothered to look at the times, and the map from the area... you'd realize this is next to impossible... but I try.

I got there late, so I missed Trevor Hall, but caught up w/ Sparta. Who's lead singer looks similar to someone I dated...

I watch Sparta til its over, then I'm off to Hot Chip, who I was introduced to by not only KEXP but my friend Jesse. So, I wanted to see these guys up close, and since I'm short, I wanted to get there early enough to be in the front. My brother and Lori are going to meet me somewhere when they get there, but our schedules are a bit different, so I know we'll meet up later in the day. I'm on my own.

On my way to Hot Chip's set, I take a gander at the haps at the Virgin Megastore tent where they have bands that are going to show up to sign autographs. I notice 30 Seconds to Mars will be there at 5 and smirk to myself about getting Jared Leto's autograph. Then, continue on my way to Hot Chip.

Hot Chip is just fun. The singer looks A LOT different than I thought. and I thought the guitar player was the sound check guy... but they sounded great. After I called Jesse and left him a message, found out where Lori and my brother were and made a meet up place, I was off for a good viewing point for 30 Seconds to Mars.

I'm giggling as I walk over there. I cannot believe I'm doing this... oh well. I'm 1/2 an hour early and I'm 30 rows back. You're kidding me. Eh. Oh well. Then I notice the crowd. Lots of girls here. And none of them have those beer bracelets...either they don't drink.... or they are that young -- meaning yes. I am that old.

I wait. and wait. And then I see someone bring a couple boxes of popscicles on stage. How thoughtful! Cause its hot. At least that is what everyone is bitching about around me. That and how their makeup melted yesterday so they got a sunburn. Ha. That one made me laugh.

And then...dun dun dun. The dark music begins to play. A tragic, dramatic, classical piece plays loudly over the speakers. The entire song. At the end the group runs out dressed in all white with kubuku mask covering their faces and white bandanas covering their necks; black hair flowing out the back, with a flag of thier band that sat on stage right the entire performance. This entire act was a crescendo into Jared Leto ripping his mask off for the crowd to see. and then he threw out roses. 30seconds to Mars

This is the horrible video I shot.

So, I'm not sure if it was seeing Jared Leto in person, trying to figure out if the music was good or not, or all the anticipation of seeing Jared Leto in person, but I lost all control of how to work the camera, my stomach was doing something strange that reminded me of the time I met Vince Vaughn, and my eyes were open. Staring. Just feet away from Jared Leto. Then... His drummer is his friend from My So Called Life (who I thought was way hotter than Jordan...but he was such an ass. Must be why I liked him. Seems to be a theme in my life. I bet his real name is Jason.) I'm screwed. I'm captivated. Mesmerized. Hypnotized.

And then Jared climbs the scaffolding. And sings a song. I couldn't tell if I was horrified or if I liked this. It was so strange. It was like watching a play.

So, I stay for more songs than I thought I would. It was like a train wreck. I couldn't pull myself away. I immediately pick up my phone and call my mom to tell her that the show that she recorded for me in H.S. just entered a new phase in my life. She appreciated it since I was obsessed with my own version of Jordan Catalano (but Daymon was real and had better hair) and that was all I talked about back then. My english teacher even had me write a compare contrast paper about my life and Angela Chase's life. I included pictures. You will not see them here. Nice try.

I catch up to Kevin and Lori and I can barely breathe I've been laughing so hard w/ my mom. So, they want to go check it out and on the way over I call a few more people and leave out of breath messages.. and then

I go stand in line for an autograph.

Here I am with my signed Mt. Rainier bottle:

Here's many more pictures from that day.

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. I'd had a plan. It was ditched the minute I saw Jared Leto.

The other highlight was seeing Mixmaster Mike... that was a great. He is amazing. Perry Farrell made an appearance to introduce him, and he played all kinds of things. Kevin got this great picture of him We danced there for a bit, then it was off to the Chili Peppers ... with the rest of Lollapalooza.

Chicago makes a great backdrop for a show:

Overall, the trip went well. Got some great stories, evened out my tan...told a bunch of people all it does in Seattle is rain... you know. The ususal. I will go back to Chicago, though maybe not for Lollapalooza. I felt like it was too big, and I was too old. Though... you never know.

The Boy in the Bubble

There are times in your life where you have to make choices; sacrifices if you will. The second day of Lollapalooza was one of those days. The lineup was a bit of torture. Gnarles Barkley v. Sonic Youth; Common v. Flaming Lips; Kanye West v. Manu Chau. And all of these bands were playing on stages about 1/2 a mile from each other. Lollapalooza Map.

I picked the latter of each group, due to the fact that Wolfmother was playing at 3:30. We had to leave Built To Spill after thier first song (which ended up being ten minutes long, and slightly anti-climactic) in order to get to the venue Wolfmother was playing at for a good spot. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea.

A realization made during this event was that I used to be one of those girls at these concerts that annoys everyone. To a point. I knew every word to the album of the bands I was seeing. I had enough disposable income to buy each album the day it came out, and enough extra time to research everything about the band. I knew everything about them, and not in a teenage crush sort of way, it was more like "i'm a tough girl for being 16. And I snowboard." Yes. I thought I was amazing. Still do, but now I'm 29 and snowboard and surf. I've upped the anty.

Anyway, Kev and I wanted to be the first people around for Wolfmother so we went over 45 minutes early to get a spot... with the rest of the people who decided they also wanted to see Wolfmother. When we got there we were halfway out. There were a lot of Austrailians that came to watch, and they kept chanting "Aussie Aussie Aussie OY! OY! OY!" Pretty entertaining.

Wolfmother rocked. And reminded me again, of why I love shows and what I want to see when I shell out money. I like rock. I like energy. I like crazy. Wolfmother is all three. No wimpy love songs just straight up rock. A mix of Floyd and Zepplin with a twist. They were my Saturday.

Sonic Youth bored me. I've never been a huge fan, so oh well.

Flaming Lips? Great! Energetic, colorful, happy, silly, and worth getting stepped on and listening to girls piss and moan about how hot they are, and how people are stepping on their blankets. UH! Sweetheart... you are in the middle of the crowd in front of the soundstage. This is not a beach party. Stand up like the rest of us. Man, I'm glad I grew up in the grunge era, when people wore their crappiest clothes to a show because they knew they would lose their shoes, their pants would get super muddy and maybe even ripped. No stillettos, no heels, no mini skirts... ok, maybe mini skirts, but that was different.

The Flaming Lips started out by putting the lead singer in a plastic bubble so that he could walk over the crowd like a big hamster in a wheel. He profusely apologized before he went out onto the for stepping on people's heads and the like. It was great. Then the confetti kept coming along with oversized balloons and more singalongs... happiness galore. It put a good sized smile on my face.

Manu Chau followed up Flaming Lips set with the mexican jumpin bean impression of 311. Very energized, and when he started doing split leaps on stage... it was all I could do to stop laughing. Kanye was playing at the same time on the other side of the park, and apparently lost sound at one point which got the crowd nice and angry, but I'd seen him at Sasquatch two years ago, and would have liked to have seen another person, in case I could have found another favorite.

Saturday was a low key day. Wolfmother rocked. For the rest of it, people watching was more entertaining than some of the shows. Kevin was the photographer for the day, and his images can be seen here: http://meankatie.smugmug.com/gallery/1748222/4/86543978. This is also the reason most of the pictures look like I'm standing on a stool in the middle of the crowd. This is my brother's perspective.


OH! If anyone knows this man....he's beautiful. We should have children. They'd have great genes.

Piss Up A Rope

Piss Up A Rope is my new favorite Ween song. I'm not a huge fan of Ween, but this song is not only funny, it is sort of a theme for the day.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

My dinners on fire while she watches tv
And if youve ever wondered what its like to be me
She takes all my money and leaves me no smokes
Yells at my buddies and insults my folks
Im breakin my back doin the best that I can
Shes got time for the dog and none for her man
And Im no dope, but I cant cope
So hit the fuckin road and piss up a rope

You can piss up a rope
And you can put on your shoes, hit the road get truckin
Pack your bag, I dont need the ag
On your knees you big, booty bitch start suckin
You ride my ass like a horse in a saddle
Now youre up shits creek with a turd for a paddle
And I cant cope -- piss up a rope

Uh, you can piss up a rope and feel the pissy dribble
You can piss up a rope and watch me giggle
For the last 6 months I been packin your bag
You can wash my balls with a warm, wet rag
Till my balls feel smooth and soft like silk
Im sick of your mouth and your 2 percent milk
And Im no dope, but Ive lost all hope
So hit the fuckin road and piss up a rope

You can piss up a rope
And you can put on your shoes, hit the road get truckin
Pack your bag, I dont need the ag
On your knees you big, booty bitch start suckin
You ride my ass like a horse in a saddle
Now youre up shits creek with a turd for a paddle
And I cant cope -- piss up a rope

Now, you might ask, MeanKatie, what does any of that have to do with A) you, B) Lollapalooza, and C) Pissing Up A Rope?

Lets start from the beginning.

I flew into Chicago last night at about 9 pm. I think that is actually Chicago time, so that would be 7 pm my time. I'm exausted, my brother is stuck in traffic, and Peggy has just talked my ear off for the remaining 2 hours of the flight after I woke her to go to the bathroom. Peggy is a very sweet woman going to visit her daughter and her two grandsons... and not until later do I find out its actually to move her out of her place because she is getting a divorce. (which btw, is not something she wanted)

I've eaten all my granola bars, drank all my water, and am watching all these people get picked up by their friends/family when an older woman sits down beside me. She too, tells me her life story, as well as the fact that her granddaughter(?) is never on time, missed her flight from Texas and sat in Iowa for a day (I mean, its only a 45 minute flight, I don't know why she sat there.) and they just found out she is four months pregnant with a baby girl. Apparently, the new mom was disappointed -- she wanted a boy. If you ask questions, with some people you actually get answers. Unfortunately, this is not what happens with guys I date. They end up changing the topic.

But, I digress. Kev pics me up from the airport and we proceed to the apt to meet Dylan and Michelle, both of whom are super friendly. His apt is nicer than some of the places I've seen in Seattle (I thought Chicago was supposed to be old). I think Seattle landlords need to do some renovating. Although, I must say, if I were left to drive around this city, I would get completely lost due to the fact that every block has the same row of houses that look exactly the same. No wonder people around here know street names.

So, today I get up and get ready for my big trip on the train to the city for LOLLAPALOOZA! Woo! I can feel the excitement already! Anathallo plays at 1:00 and I expect to be there. Kevin's friend Lori and I are going to meet up before Kevin gets there since he has to work, and lucky for me that was the plan. I could totally get lost around here. I mean.. I can SEE the EL. Can I find where to get ON the EL? NOOOO. So, I had to ask directions like three times, but I finally made it downtown. Where everyone just kept telling me to "go towards the lake."

Let me paint a picture for you. Chicago is flat. There aren't any gently rolling hills, no mountains in the distance, no place where you are looking down, or up, or over... just flat. Someone tells me "go towards the lake" I immediately wish for N,S,E,W directions, which we ALL know I don't know and standing in the middle of downtown Chicago surrounded by super tall buildings I can't even tell where the Sears tower is. And its tall.

Now, the water for us west coasters... pretty good directional to have. Its west. Here, the water is east. I get completely screwed up everytime I come here.. Anywho, I finally find the way to the lake, and I'm on my way to LOLLAPALOOZA to see Anathallo, Editors, and others.

Now, we all know there are twists in my stories. Here is the first one. I'm talking to Lori, who I've never met. We are attempting to find one another HERE. She calls and says "I'm at the fountain." I immediately think.. ok, sooooooooooooo which part? its round... we're both standing at the opening of the fountain... then I see her. She's "in" I'm still outside, but apparently I find the loophole through security. Which by the way is a joke. No metal detectors, no pat downs, they don't even look in your purse. So, I go to find Lori and when I get to her I say "I don't know if they'll let me in with my water bottle half full, I think I have to toss the water." She replys with "Well, I don't think its a problem since you've already gone inside." Ha. I just totally bypassed security.

So, we go to see Anathallo. They are great. I really liked them and they were super appreciative of how many people turned out to see them. They have the kind of music that starts out slow and quiet and creshendos into a melodic pulsing movement. I love that kind of stuff.

Back to Chicago being flat. Ok, so the way Lolla is set up is that there are 4 stages on each side of this HUGE fountain in the middle. One of the main stages is right next to where Anathallo was playing. This is important because when you get people up there who really rock, but the people on the other stage have some quiet parts to their music... the noise travels and its hard to hear. So, thats something to get used to. Oh, and there is so much walking. WALKING. You thought that hill up to the second stage from the first stage at the Gorge was bad... that's nothing. I think I may have walked 6-7 miles today. In flip-flops. My feet are toast.

So, after Anathallo, we went to see Aqualung, who I love, but he was a little to slow for me, and there were too many people, so Lori and I cut out to walk around, play a little leap frog... find some clowns with secret words... you know. Normal concert going stuff.

OH! I forgot about the guy. So, partway through Anathallo, I turn around just to survey the crowd, and I find THIS GUY. What was he doing? WHO KNOWS. He was just standing there like that.

So, we head to the stage where the Editors are playing. They were really good. Very entertaining. I would go see them again. For sure. Stickers were given out, and I put one on my Mt. Rainier bottle. First sticker on the bottle. GOOOOOOOOOOOO EDITORS!

At this point I'm hungry, I've been in the sun awhile, and I'd like to sit down somewhere and eat. At Lollapalooza they give you in and out priviledges w/ your wristband if you bought the three day tickets. So, we leave to go to Exchequer. A pub that has lookalikes to the windows of an old castle outside, that also, has a dungeon-like feel when you go in. We eat. We leave. We go to THE BEAN.

This waterfall is cool. There are 10,000 Chicagoans (is that how you say it?) that have different pictures up on this waterfall... after 10 minutes of their face being up there, they shoot water out through their mouths! Its really funny to watch all the kids standing there waiting for it to happen. Then, the face disappears and the waterfall comes back. Pretty cool.

Then, we visited the Bean, which reminds me of the spaceship from the Navigator. That was cool. I got some good pics of that one click here for more pictures.

So, off to the show again to see the Raconteurs. Jack White's other band. Now... here's where things get crazy. I need to go to the bathroom, and we are right next to the stage when I spot this lone porta potty with one person in line in front of it. So, I take that magic moment to use the restroom. By the time I get over there, I realize everyone else had the same idea and end up fourth in line.

Porta pottys are hit and miss (pardon the expression). Sometimes you get clean ones, sometimes you get REALLY nasty ones. We lucked out at Sasquatch by staying at the Wildhorse Campground (can't sell them enough) because they are clean. Even in the Gorge the porta pottys had hand sanitizer and a mirror to check yourself out... they were top notch as far as public 'outhouses' go.

Now. As we are standing on this path there is foot traffic, and there is also golf cart, mini truck, and forklift traffic. We kept having to move around to get out of the way of the service vehicles supporting the stations around the grounds. When my turn comes up, I go inside the WORST porta potty I think I've been in. THANK GOD it was in the shade. I mean, I don't think I've been in a porta potty THAT full EVER.

Now, lets take you all back to 1996. The last year I went to Lollapalooza and stayed at the Gorge campground. People were pushing over the porta pottys. They smelled bad. Some people missed... but they weren't really ever full.

This porta potty... I almost turned around and walked out to find another one. But, I'd waited in line so long and was now at the point where I just needed to go. So, I get in 'the stance' and I'm trying hard not to touch any surface whatsoever. This is hard since there is a urinal on your right, the tp dispenser on your left and about 12 inches when you are standing upright between your nose and the door. I start to go and I can hear the sound of a motor coming closer and people outside shifting to get out of the way. Apparently, it didn't work. The vehicle bumped the porta potty. Did I mention before how full this thing was... well.. I got hit.

Sirens should have gone off, a camera crew should have come out running with new clothes for me.. something! but, noooooooooooooo. So. I toss the undies that were soiled. Go back to where my brother is standing, try to keep my back covered, and run RUN to the place where I bought a dress earlier. I purchase a skirt, change, and now I'm less disgusted. And I have a new favorite skirt. But. I am totally afraid of porta pottys now.

I return to find my brother at the Raconteurs. I fall into a celebrity crush worthy of a twelve year old with a Bop magazine full of picutres of Jack White. I have no idea what it was. I didn't find him attractive before. Maybe I inhaled fumes from the porta potty. who knows. But, I have a huge crush on Jack White. I am sure I'm not the only one.

We stay for Ween and while they are setting the stage up, listen to the Violent Femmes, who's stage shares the same field. I think they had the same setlist from 1993's Canada Day show I saw back in H.S.

Ween comes on. I listen to the song, then I listen to the words of their songs. They've got some interesting stuff. Oh, and their lead guitarist...LOVES his solos. They are a bit long.

Never the less. Piss Up A Rope, is not only a funny song, but a fitting ending to my first day at Lollapalooza. I'm glad Jack White was playing and not walking through the crowd. That would have been mortifying: you know, not only to have a schoolgirl crush on a 'rock star' but to have pee on your pants.. that isn't even yours? I mean.

More to come. Two more days... at least 10 more bands... hopefully no more porta potty stories.

MK

Save the Date

October 7, 2006.

No. I'm not getting married. But, I am having a PARTY! So, save the date for all you in Seattle... and those of you who want to come to Seattle. Its called Liquified.

Raffle prizes, silent auction, at least one band, maybe a DJ, some action vids (snow, surf, ski, wake, kayak...do they have those?)...beer, oh and me! (ok ok, there will be other girls there too, but you best give me the attention I deserve peeps!) Its all to help fundraise for the Seattle Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

So, come out, drink beer, drink clean water, and be entertained.

mk