a few shows i have enjoyed this summer

(...concert pics are so much fun, thanks to all my fun phone camera apps!)

Dispatch, first Red Rocks of the season!

Sanctus Real, at the church where i work. how fun is that?!
i got to hold sessions across from the kraft services (or whatever the food room is called)

Brett Dennen, the Super Ginger
(cause he's super red headed, and super tall, and super skinny)

Jazz in the Park
(that i always want to call City in the Park, cause it's in City Park)

best day of summer

(...ever).

you know those things in life that just leak nostalgia, no matter how different they are each instance? i think of ice cream trucks and christmas mornings and birthdays and family traditions when i think of nostalgia.

the other thing i think of is the westword music showcase.

the wmsc happens once year, at the beginning of the summer, and it's the best day of summer for me, every year, hands down.

essentially it's a day of:

~ music. almost a hundred local bands playing in 13ish venues all day, sets back-to-back at each venue.  

~ sun. it's been three years and counting, and each year, it's been hot and summery and sunny.

~ friends. each year i've gone with different, fun people, and it always shows me how awesome my friends are

~ loyalty. each year they add new bands, but many fan favorites (and ones i love) are repeaters. such as boulder accoustic society, kinetix, air dubbai...

~green transportation. we ride our bikes down to the golden triangle, the area on broadway where the venues are located, and walk around all day.

~ people watching. there are more crazy people at this music showcase than i have ever seen. ever. EVER.

~ heat. i love that it's hot and sunny and the venues can be stuffy with sweat and energy and people. it just adds to the fun

~sundresses. it's fun to wear a short, summery dress all day.

~bars. i don't go to bars. they aren't fun for me. however, on this day, they really are, and i remember when they used to be fun.* *note: bars are gross in the daylight.

~ all day fun. it starts as early as 11, and ends as late as 10 or 11... i think. i've never made it right at the start, nor til the end, but i've stayed for hours and hours.

~ Arbys. there is an arbys on the corner that everyone goes to. i would guess they make their whole year's worth of revenue on that one day.

~ personal growth. each year it's around the same time, which makes it easy to see the marked differences that i make during each year, and allows for personal self reflection. funny how a concert can do that...

so i reiterate: nostalgia. as funny as it may sound, this all-day, once-a-year, summery fun day leaks, oozes, breathes nostalgia for me, and i can't wait for it each and every june.

hola, senorita.

(... te amo, frederico)

wednesday night, i was excited. he and i decided to do something, but had no real plans. i had a "few minutes" during work, so i did some research. the first thing that pulled up on the online westword was a live show at the walnut room, with frederico ambuele, who looked, and sounded, like a latin hipster. what i knew at this point was: a, i LOVE live music. b, i LOVE the walnut room, with all my heart. c, what's not to love about a crooning latin hipster in skinny jeans? answer: nothing. sold.

he said yes, so i bought tickets.

around 7:30pm, i threw my freshly-washed hair into a stylish updo complete with a peacock pin, threw on a corduroy shirt dress, and fun boots, and drew on some extra black eyeliner, and drove my lil self over to the walnut room. i think i even pre-partied with an NA beer and a rod y gab pandora station... i was in the mood for a fun wednesday night.

arriving, i was early (shock, i know!) or he was later than my late (actually, that's what really happened, and he had reason to be late. i never do). i sat at the bar, holding my purse and trying to not look awkward. which is not easy for me, since i don't normally frequent bars, sitting as a single lady with no drink and a short dress, on a wednesday night.

he arrived, we went into the venue and found a corner by the bar and huge trash can. he moved the can, we ordered a delicious pizza with walnuts and pesto (thanks to the suggestion of the adorably cute mini bartender) and got ready to enjoy the night.

we waited, ate, and watched people. lots of different walks of life show up to the walnut room, in the middle of the denver ghetto, for a latin loungey performance. the opening band was a woman playing a double bass, wearing bright blue tights, with yeti-like hair and "stylish" yet useless, hipster black-rimmed glasses, and a man "playing" a metronome and a computer. i thought this was the highlight of the evening until he whispered in my ear...

"look at that pirate over there."

i turned around, and looked. i saw a man with scraggly, long hair and a bald spot, a ratty old tshirt and old jeans. i could only imagine that's who he was talking about. i turned back around to him, and said, "why is he a pirate?"

"look at his boots."

i turned again, and looked down, but he had moved just enough out of view that i couldn't see his feet.

"i can't see. is he wearing pirate boots? why is he a pirate?"

he didn't tell me, he laughed and told me to just look when he comes around again. dejected, i let it go and kept the pirate in mind. frederico was on his way up, anyway.

a few minutes later, the tallest, skinniest, biggest haired man that was a mix of (we decided) john mayer and beck, came on and started crooning away, playing some classical and flamenco guitar, singing bilingually. his bandmate played a keyboard with a long tube he kept blowing in, creating a french, accordion-like sound that made he and i feel like we were in an underground, french hipster lounge in europe. as the tall, lanky frederico sang swanky, loungey ballads to the crowd, i caught sight of the modern day pirate.

he walked solidly into view, and i immediately looked down at his feet.
he had a legitimate, 100% genuine peg leg.

like a pirate. a real pirate.

the loudest laugh of astonishment escaped my mouth and i buried my face into his shoulder, for at least a minute until my surprised laughter subsided.

after that, all i could see were pirates: the longer, lankier, hairier photographer walking around looked like he was ready to hoist the sails or scrub the deck; the scruffy, long-haired man wearing a knit cap reminded me of smee, from peter pan; and of course, the peg-legged man walking around looked like the captain of the motley crewed, latin pirate ship.

it was a good night.  every time i hear classical guitar paired with sassy drums and an accordion, i will now think of hipster pirates.

catching up....

(...where i explain what's been going on, through daily pictures)

oh hi.

i've been busy. lots of things are going on, but the most exciting thing is this non-dud, red headed boy (man, really, he just turned 30) that has entered my life. he's stealing away my time, and my kisses, and i am very happy about it all.

i've also been working a lot. and walking the dogs, and trying to run (yay spring weather), and meeting other friends and crafting and concerting and working some more. oh, and taking pictures (at least one a day).

relaxing with american idol and sweat pants. awesome.

will i ever finish? i think not.

he brought me these for NO REASON. boys, take note. this is key.

shenanigan alley.

i am going to make these.

cold war kids, 6 years sober, and great friends. and red headed boy. awesome night.

i wish i had really written that i like beefy tacos. i don't. i like chickeny tacos though.

close up of some craftiness from last night. ooo lala.

you anchor me down

today on the way to work, i was listening to 'mornings with brant', my favorite radio morning show. brant was discussing the miracle of the miner rescue, and how powerful it was. He mentioned the parallel between their rescue and the rescue Jesus offers us: one metaphorical and the other a literal rescue out of a dark hole. i haven't been paying much attention to the miner rescue, although every time i hear it it pulls at my heart strings. then he played one of my all time favorite songs, 'anchor', by satellites and sirens, a song about Jesus being our anchor in a storm (sound below- no video really, just play to listen to the lyrics).at first i didn't get the connection, as he was talking about being pulled out, and the song was talking about being anchored down. as i thought about it further, though, the juxtaposition of Jesus being the one that anchors me down and my Savior that pulls me out of a pit was awe-inspiring.

as i listened to the radio talk, i thought about the miners, and how emotional a rescue would be after being trapped for so many days. brant spoke about how they had formed their own community, found their own patterns and ways of doing things as a group... 'this is my space, this is your space, we take turns doing this, we'll do that together', etc. i immediately pictured men in a dirt hole, sanctioning off their space, and communing in a way that at first seemed foreign. it reminded me of how my elementary school friends and i would play pretend in the dirt at recess. it was like playing house, but with only our imaginations. if i were trapped in a hole, would i be able to play that game again? would i be able to play it for 69 days?

i thought, too, of that book, 'lord of the flies', a fictional story of what humans will do when no one is looking, and all order is thrown to the wind. in this mine, these men were not held to any order, any social rules. and yet, reading reports, they all found roles to play and tasks to accomplish. they played nice for 69 days, and held steady. i can't imagine the emotions that ran through each of them every day- i'm guessing some times were hopeful, some times were desperate. and yet they remained human. hopeful in their cores.

and, they were rescued. many of the miners, once out, were in high spirits and good health, and maintained that they were certain, the whole time, that they would be rescued. hope- they held hope. one even mentioned, 'there weren't 33 of us down there, there were 34. we can't discount the presence of Jesus'. He was their Anchor.

and, they were rescued. they were pulled out of the dark pit they had been living, and pulled back into life. they were given dark sunglasses, to protect their eyes from the bright sunshine that they hadn't seen in 69 days. they had to go up, one at a time, and re-enter life... and i can bet you all the money and cupcakes in the world that each of their perspectives on life are different now, flavored with the isolation and unfathomable situation they had found themselves in. i would guess each of them see life differently now- from the 19 year old to the only bolivean to the 54 year old shift foreman. they were rescued, from the dark, cavernous pit, and brought into the open, fresh light of the world.

that's what Jesus does for us. he pulls us out of this life we were living, gives us bright light and a new perspective, new eyes to see a new world. and that's the beautiful contradiction of our faith: He is our Anchor in our storm, and He is our rescuer from the pit. He holds us down, and He lifts us up. He pulls us out of the darkness, and He keeps us safe from the weather outside, around us.

would i have survived in a dark, humid, collapsed mine for 69 days with 32 other people? me, kaci, alone? no. i would have flipped out and probably gone a litte (lot) postal. kaci + Jesus? yes, i have faith i would have survived that time. maybe not as graciously as the men that actually did, but i know that with His strength, i can do anything. when i look to Him as my Anchor, and my Savior, then i am able.

You said, "the storms that will come will be more than enough, and alone you can not win...without hope you'll only sink, not swim."

oh pete.

ask anyone that really knows me, and they will tell you that they know who i am marrying- pete yorn (hottie above). i know it, friends know it, i guess i just need to make sure he knows it, eventually. when we're ready to settle down and all.

in the meantime, pre-wedding bliss, pete's cranked out yet another album (love this man, an album almost every year the past 3 years, with tours ta boot!). this is his 7th album, if you count that thing he did with scarlet j last year, and his live from NJ albums (i do count them. why? because they are both awesome). i have also heard, via the grapvine/internet, that pete doesn't do a lot of official 'writing' of his music, that most of his music is essentially conceptualized prior to playing it with his band, and then they find a rhythm and record. i am not 100% sure if that's true, but i like the idea... and if he's done it 7 times, he is getting pretty good at it. so, without further ado, my dear readers...

bear with me. i am now going to attempt a musical review.

pete yorn's pete yorn has been spinning with me everywhere for the past few days: car, work, home. i'm already singing along to a few songs (love 'precious stone', 'rock crowd', 'paradise cove' and 'wheels') (oh, and all the rest of them too). while this new petey pete pete is good (he is ALWAYS good, that voice... that hair... those lyrics) t's a different sound from his usual indie rock, and i'm still taking it in.

his album with scarlett j had an indie, bohemian vibe to it, and was more true to the artist i think she is trying to invent herself into than the artist he already is. she made a good choice, having him accompany her on journey into music town. his last album, back and fourth, was a great, great tribute to his indie rock roots, i thought, and a fabulous combo of some new sounds and classic pete lyrics and beats.

this one, well, it's new. he's gone much more indie than rock, and i catch snippets that remind me of the black keys and other raw, indie bands with repetitive yet catchy lyrics and sounds- rough guitars and unpolished vocals make me feel like i'm listening to him actually rock out in his garage, or at least in a studio without lots of high definition gloss and finish. this one is missing a few of the somewhat nostalgically ballad-type songs that endear pete to my heart, but he pulls it off with the new sound, and his tribute to velcro shoes on track 3 reminds me of 'burrito' from 'day i forgot'.

the lyrics in this album are what really strike me: his attitude seems to be more ambivalent, almost more cavalier- like he's trying to show the nonchalant, i-dont-care-but-i-do kinda guy. he sings about lack of love (contrasting his other ballad- love songs in other albums) and in 'rock crowd', he even sings about his love and need for his fans to surrond him. sadly, the desperate, teenage girl inside me that is secretly hoping to woo pete is completley encouraged by these lyrics: i figure if he just met me i would totally fix all this existential sadness that he is bemoaning. in real life, i am a little disenchanted by his lyric 'i want you on top... i can see you anytime, so i don't' and am beginning to wonder if he is trying to reinvent himself as a rockstar rather than a heartfelt, indie artist true to his roots. that said, i realize that when i find a musical jewel like pete, (an artist i love and many don't know about), i am constantly worried that they will sell out and become the rage, then die out like a fading star or become cliched commercial soundstrack (read: jewel or bret dennen).

i would recommend pete to anyone, this album included. however, if you are a first time pete listener, i would not choose this album to introduce you to him- music for the morning after or day i forgot are classic pete tunes, and will allow you to fall in love with his sensitive yet rocker side. also, back and fourth picks it up a notch, and i think shows him really hitting his stride in terms of musical and lyrical genius. i would prescribe a cocktail of three main albums to showcase pete's amazingness: back and fourth, live from NJ, and pete yorn selftitled. rock on, readers.

and now, a letter:

dear pete,
how i love thee. your musical genius rocks my world, and you're not too shabby lookin' either. i've seen you quite a few times live-i'm that one girl, in the front, who knows all your songs? please note i am NOT the girl screaming about wanting to marry you or have your children; i have much more restraint than that, although i have been known to kiss your tour bus a time or two.

anyway, i think we'd be a great pair. i would counsel you on the road, making you and your roadies some rockin' cake-boss-like cakes, and you could sing songs about us. i could be your muse, maybe, and if i get on your nerves, i could just go for a run.

let me know what you think, pete.

love, kaci

it's like CHRISTMAS!!!

Just got back from maybe the best concert ever. Pete was fantastic, (of course!) and the company was great as well... Made me realize how long it's been since I've really let loose at a concert- belting all the lyrics, pushing my way to the front row, and whooping it up after every song... I even got a rockin' t-shirt and kissed the tour bus (a blossoming tradition). It was like Christmas in August!