Chicago: customers are advised to allow extra travel time

We weren't able to go last year, but we did go the year before & I was completely star struck. The only fairs I had been to were smaller "free fairs" in the next county over. Next weekend we're going to an agriculture-heavy county fair & we'll probably hit the state fair on labor day weekend.

The man in the room was playing solitaire, and then someone with a Schwinn came in and ran him over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-5Lr2IhB_o

it's 52 foods on a stick...

it's not really worth watching all the way through, mind you.

Also: PRINCESS KAY OF THE MILKY WAY!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e5/MNStateFairButterHead2005.jpg/483px-MNStateFairButterHead2005.jpg

I would eat all this stick foods.

(except the huge penis "Jurassic dog")

My friend Adam is a big fan of the walleye on a stick.

I think you'd be a blast to go to the state fair with, Jordan. I suspect you could be convinced to eat a lot of the stick foods...

butter sculpting: A++

I have had lots of people tell me about bad dealings they have had with MPShows, including Sh@rks and @leks and the Drumm3r, and I believe them, but I have to say that most of our dealings with them have been as easy and pleasant as with most other booking people. They also seem to have different booking people assigned to different venues, and the woman we dealt with for SUA was very nice. Finally, they are pretty much the only Chicago booking co. left who is actively offering us shows without us having to nag them, so that's cool. The only issue we had with them was after we played two shows at R0nny's that both sold out, they asked us to headline a third show, and we asked for a guarantee, and they wouldn't give it to us. But maybe we were out of line.

I want something on a stick. My healthy lunch (grilled salmon with potato and veg) is not going to see through till 11 PM. Such a long day!

Sushi on a stick?

Haha, there's no convincing about it!

they also have fried cheese curds which are not on a stick, but AWESOME.

Salmon air on a stick?

Leaf & I tried the deep fried snickers bar. I think that might have been the only on-a-stick food we ate that year.

I could go for a Big Mac right now. On a stick.

Now I'm hungry. I ate those little Morningstar Farms "buffalo blobs" for lunch. They're pretty good for junk food, I guess, but they're not really enough.

I had delish NY stylee pizza, all thin and floppy and greasy and nom nom nom

Last night I decided to fucking relax, not to go the gym, and have a burger & fries for dinner. It was nice but I still don't feel very relaxed.

I don't think asking for a guarantee was out of line, but I suppose it depends on how much you asked for.

xpost tonight: black tar heroin

My lunch:
http://www.kvue.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/01-07/0116amysbean.jpg
and a side salad

Tastes much, much better than it looks.

Part of the reason we wanted a guarantee was that it was a Sunday night.

you weren't relaxed, jordan, because you forgot to add BEER.

Dammit. I'm at Argo and I think I'm going to wind up eatin a choco croissant.

The crazy lady just left. She spent time doing her drawings of spaceships and then took a moment to sob into her hand before pacing furiously with her wheely luggage.

too true

Today is Leaf's last day at work & so we may celebrate but he hasn't decided the "how" yet. Getting a six pack & playing the wii (maybe renting a new game) is on the table.

I think we asked for $100? We had never asked for a guarantee before but it looked like kind of a weak show and on a Sunday night and they wanted us to headline so basically we were hoping to have some reason to justify playing the show so we asked for the money. We ended up playing the show anyways, with no guarantee, and it sucked and I think we got paid $20. We're trying to be more selective with our shows now.

Dan, when your band is ready to play shows let us know and maybe we can set up a casual show somewhere fun like Hotti Biscotti or the Mutiny or something. I want to try and alternate between doing shows at clubs we like, like the EB and the HO, with just fun shows at scuzzy bars with lots of friends and beer and partying.

And I wasn't trying to be condescending, like oh let us help your band or you're not worthy to play at HO or EB, it's just that when we manage to get shows at clubs we like we don't usually have any control over who we play with. So that's why I want to have a casual show at a scuzzy place, because we could pick the whole lineup.

Hahaha it's ok. I know we're not worthy! I'm totally down.

We can start a SCENE

Amanda's buffalo blobs have me watching speed runs of A Boy & His Blog on youtube.

I kinda wish I was in a band with dudes who all live in the same city and who didn't need $$ to play a fun show.

who didn't need $$ to play a fun show.

$50, no touchy-touchy

I liked Hotti Biscotti the one time we saw the Sh#rks and Nu3va C@ts there but they have some weird policy about how there has to be one acoustic act on each bill or something? At least they used to.

Oh hi Eric.

We're all whores.

http://steelturman.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/05/22/prostitutes_and_taxes_in_germany.jpg

I remember that show! It was raining sharks and cats.

Guys can I be in yr scene? I play three instruments! Two of them badly!

The concept of a "fun show" as distinct from other shows is sort of alien to me. The two poles for us are usually money vs. prestige.

I'm leaving in a minute for a gig, because they give us $200 "extra" if we show up super early to soundcheck.

For me there's usually an inverse relationship between fun (club shows) and money (weddings, corporate, anything where the audience is captive but there for some other reason than to hear your band) gigs.

xp - Woe is you dudes.

I'm reminded of Baby Teeth Abraham's Reader letter last week, talking about the "creeping professionalism" of indie rock.

Now that I think about it, though, there are shows that are more fun to play than other shows. But I'm not sure the venue has much to do with it.

I guess Simon's is an example of a place that's really casual and fun to play in the same way that I imagine Mutiny or Hotti Biscotti is (never actually been to either), but I also can't imagine we'd ever play there if they didn't pay us like $300.

Then we must bring Funzone! to Hotti.

the "creeping professionalism" of indie rock.

Sort of an inevitability if you want to make a living at it, though. Which I don't, but some people do.

Well hopefully all of our shows are "fun shows." But some are fun because they are casual and playing with friends, and some are fun because we get to play somewhere exciting or with a band we like or for more people than usual. We almost never make any real money, so that generally isn't a consideration.