Weekend highlights
I kicked off the weekend at the Les Nubians concert at the Shattuck Down Low. The show started 2 hours late and was preceded by a 90 minute wait in the rain. Somehow pho with friends and anticipating a good show made it all ok. Sadly, our whole crew did not endure the rain and long line with us die-hards, but in spite of the bouncer who displayed escalating levels of idiot behavior throughout the evening, Nobuko, Joannie and I made it into the club and scored a great little spot. Many thanks to the kind souls who either gave us or sold us their extra tickets. I vow to keep the good concert karma flowing. And read on for a link to a bootleg recording posted especially for those folks who didn't make it to the show.
Nobuko captured the experience best when she said, "you know when a dog finds a patch of something it likes and then it just rolls around because it wants that feeling all over itself? that's how it felt to be in that concert." I agree. I couldn't take my eyes off the stage. It was kind of a spiritual experience. Of course, this could be attributed to a mild contact high. People were blatantly flaunting the "No Smoking of ANY kind" admonition all evening.
Demain and Sugar Cane were highlights, but their encore and most awaited performance of the night was of course, Makeda. Click the image below for a grainy live recording from my camera--don't watch the video because it will make you sea sick. And for those who can't view it, this Wednesday's track will be a Les Nubian selection. Yes, it was one of those concerts that make me want to listen to their music all day.
It was a friend and fun filled weekend and part of Sunday was spent mastering the art of flipping takoyaki--little tasty octopus balls. This is street and festival food in Japan--which usually means "do not try this at home." But our foodie crew was determined to make use of Boyoung's long neglected and mysterious cast iron device. After several rounds that resulted in octopus mush (it was tasty tho), the pan was seasoned and Nobuko and Boyoung produced these masterpieces.
I'm making myself hungry. Having so much fun over the weekends makes the work week even harder...