At Yorktown Lanes
July 29, 2006
Parma, Ohio

Cult of the Psychic Fetus are a local band in the Cleveland Metro area that has national appeal. I had never heard of them prior to living here, but have learned they have made quite a name for themselves in a more underground circuit. They put on a show in Parma, Ohio (a Southern suburb of Cleveland) at a bowling alley of all places, but that proved to be a pretty good idea as the party room/banquet hall at this venue was well-equipped for bands to play at, and hopefully they book more in the future. The beer was cheap, the music was good, it had air conditioning, and lots of room (it was better for a concert than most of the concert venues in Cleveland, most lack space and ventilation or regulated utilities!)
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Live at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Cleveland, Ohio
7/26/06

Every summer (at least since I’ve been living in Cleveland) the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame puts on a free concert series called “Summer in the City” and usually every 2 to 3 weeks in the summer on a Wednesday night, they showcase a few bands to the public, rain or shine (outdoors if clear, indoors if raining… so the show always goes on).

This year much to my surprise, the Electric Six from Detroit were one of the freebie shows booked. I’ve wanted to see this band for a while now, but every time they come to town, something in my personal life seems to prohibit that from happening. Luckily this time, I prevailed, and was able to catch a really great show.
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‘Hey, you gotta hear this band’, I said, sliding the new Art Brut into my Honda’s inconspicuous CD player. Thirty seconds, from the passenger seat, my friend declares how sarcastic Art Brut is. A bit taken back, I encourage him to keep and open mind. We listen to track one, as a voice speaks (not sings): “Formed a band, we formed a band. Look at us…we formed a band!” My friend looks at me. ‘What would you call this, if not sarcasm? This is exactly what sarcasm is.’ I don’t get it. I’m confused and hurt. There must be something he’s missing. Isn’t there? Isn’t this one of the most un-sarcastic thing I’ve ever heard?
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So, earlier today I was like, fuck you, KFC. If I have to listen to the instrumental parts of Sweet Home Alabama one more time, I will blow my soggy papas fritas brains out all over the men’s room. Not wanting to feel suicidal and frustrated anymore, I ran out to pick up a pawned ipod mini and loaded that fucker with Human Television’s newest album Look at Who You’re Talking To. (Never mind that who happens to be talking to you right now is a steamy pile of mashed potatoes, corn and unidentifiable chicken pieces all covered in gravy and a three cheese blend that resembles diarrhea. But seriously, read some of the Famous Bowl blogs out there. Most will agree I taste a lot better than I look.)
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According to Wikipedia: “Cookie mountain is the area above Vanilla Dome and the following levels leading up to Ludwig’s Castle. No secret passages here – but plenty of monty moles!” I have no clue what a “monty mole” is, or if the Mario Brothers have anything to do with this, but Brooklyn’s TV on the Radio are responsible for a fantastic record that’s deliberate, passionate, and impossible to decipher.
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Music, Food, and God

I enjoy cooking. It’s a fun, creative outlet that sometimes provides edible, and on rare occasions, even delicious results. It is somewhat fraught with disaster though, as it is much easier to produce an average or poor result than to attain culinary nirvana. Poor ingredients, random oversights, bad timing, or general lack of kitchen savviness can easily topple the palatable structure of the meal you’re attempting to create.
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I hadn’t been to a show in a few months, pretty much because the very few shows that came through town either totally sucked or I got to the venue and there was no place to park. With that said I flipped through the local arts paper and saw that ABC would be playing at The House of Blues, and it was a Friday night nonetheless. Perfect! Now, is this the same ABC I was thinking of? The one with the swank Martin Fry and his gold suit who sung “Poison Arrow”… or was it the other ABC (aka Another Bad Creation) the one with the little kids who were rapping about some girl named “Iesha”. Or… was it some other band that didn’t realize there were already 2 bands called ABC, and named themselves that who were some local act that does Dave Matthews/Creed cover songs? Well… THANK GOD it was my initial guess! The ABC I went to see was the one with Martin Fry, but to be honest, I am not sure how many other original members were present. I didn’t really care, as long as Martin Fry was there!
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