the domestic zoo

- this song

- this short film

- having a night to myself after two VERY busy weeks

Some days it does not.

What I do know is this: it will all work out…someday.

But this in the meantime business can be really hard.

♥

(or: How I Got to See the Doobie Brothers in Concert for Free)

I had a pretty good day yesterday. I bought an adorable $50 dress for just $20, and I got a new 500GB external hard drive (I don’t know which purchase I’m more excited about). In the evening I went out with Dad on the motorcyle for dinner at Panera Bread, then we scooted over to downtown Portsmouth for coffee at Breaking New Grounds.

While still sipping our coffees, we strolled through Portsmouth, heading over to the Music Hall to pre-purchase tickets for the Saturday showing of Gomorrah. While we were standing outside the theater, and I was talking on the phone with Mom, this guy walks up and asks us if we want to see the show. We figured he was just hustling us, but he insisted and told us to come right in. He was holding the tickets for a couple friends and didn’t want to wait for them any longer.

I wouldn’t have considered myself a big fan of the Doobie Brothers; I knew who they were, though I couldn’t have named any of their songs. But the concert was absolutely AMAZING. The band was incredibly tight, and I was surprised that I already knew and loved most of their stuff. And yes, I sang along and clapped my hands. I didn’t dance, though – I left that to the two 70 year old women in front of me.

So there I was, in boots and a leather jacket, dreadlocks pulled back with a flower in my hair, rocking out to the Doobie Brothers. The crowd was so energetic and the band was so much fun. If you had told me this is where I’d be at 24 years old, I would never have believed you. I almost can’t believe it now.

Stephen and I saw Flogging Molly in concert last Tuesday night.

It was amazing, nay…it was EPIC.

The tickets were a birthday gift from my parents; the show was at the House of Blues in Boston, right across the street from Fenway Park. For standing room only, we even managed to get a pretty perfect spot, right against the rails of the balcony, directly across from the stage. No one in front of us and, more importantly, no chance of being hit by splashes of beer and lord-only-knows-what else.

The doors opened at 7 o’clock. The first opening act came on a little after 8. They didn’t introduce themselves, didn’t have any vocalists, and weren’t on the bill, leaving us to wonder: who are these guys and why are they so awesome? It was the kind of music that you don’t just listen to, but you experience. We really liked them and were definitely feeling pumped for the show. The whole audience was pumped (and, I’m sure, starting to feel a happy beer buzz). Johnny Cash came on during the interlude between sets, and everyone joined in the chorus, complete with dance moves. I fell into a burning ring of fire. I went down, down, down, and the flames went higher.

It took the crew about thirty minutes to clear the stage and set up the various speakers and mics. And then the second opening act came on. At this point, it was well past 9 o’clock, we had been standing for over two hours, and were admittedly a little ancy. This band was…how to put it nicely? They knew one song and they played it fifteen different ways. They even managed to make a Beatles song sound like one of their own, and not in a good way. When it takes me a minute to figure out where else I’ve heard the lyrics “Don’t let me down”, you know it’s bad. The Beatles are up there with Dave Matthews Band and Flogging Molly as my top three favorite bands. Flogging Molly, who I was at this point, rather anxious to see.

And they tried, they really did try, to get the crowd motivated. There was a group of people who formed not so much a most pit but a mosh pocket right in the center of the crowd. It would last for a few minutes, then die out. They’d start it back up, but after a little bit, it would die out again. And repeat.

Of course, when Flogging Molly finally did take the stage at 10 o’clock, the floor exploded. It was like looking down on an ocean of bath toys. People started moving and they didn’t stop, just slowed down a bit to sway and wave lighters during the mellower songs. Because Flogging Molly, aside from being absolutely fantastic musicians, also know how to work the crowd (and the beer flowing like water probably helped some).

They played new songs, old songs, never-performed-live songs. They played for a solid hour and a half, plus a rousing encore, and it was incredible, beginning to end. It made up for being on our feet for over four hours, and for not getting home until almost 2 a.m. My sleep patterns still haven’t recovered. But it was so, so, so worth it.

I watched the latest BSG episode twice. I still can’t believe that this amazing show is almost over. *sniff* Guess I’ll just have to watch it all over again…

Went to see Watchmen this afternoon with Stephen. I really, really loved it, but then again, I am a die-hard fan of the novel. I can’t really imagine appreciating it fully without having first read the book, to be honest. And Rorschach was just…amazing. Seriously.

Then we came home and Hannah decided that we should watch Homeward Bound. I never really cry during movies, but this one is a guaranteed tear jerker and I’m PMS-ing this week so I just about lost it during that final scene. Lordy. That movie gets me every. single. time.

In not-movie-related things, I’m about halfway through Witches Abroad. I think I want Nanny Ogg to be my grandmother.

Yesterday I took a two-mile walk in a long sleeved tee. Today it snowed. March: comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, and in between goes through some weird kind of split-personality disorder.

I need to get to bed. Stephen and I are leaving for Boston around 2:30 tomorrow for the Flogging Molly concert. It’s going to be pretty rockin’.