DUDE, I found an awesome site to where you can upload video for free! So easy! Thanks for the suggestions! Check out PUTFILE.COM
Sadly, I erased a bunch of pictures from my camera to make room for the events of Monday. I thought I has already downloaded them to our computer at home, but tragically, I had not. So many wonderful memories... just gone with the push of a button.
No more falling down drunk antics of adorable gay men.
No more Daddy and LL getting water poured all over their naked torsos in our front yard, holding each other in a lurid embrace. Yea, we got bored on Saturday and decided to have a "sexy photo shoot" in the front yard. We are dicks.
No more Dio, grilling some chicken on the porch in pink pair of jogging pants I let him borrow.
I need a God damn memory card!
This is the only photo I managed to salvage:
He took this all by himself! He looks so proud... and he should be. It was delicious!
So before I get into the 4th, the rest this weekend was the best of times and it was the worst of times.
Friday night, H and I headed out in the "Strokemobile." (Molly's Aunt's van, so named by me because she crashed the left side into a brick wall, rendering it completely paralyzed. We must now climb over each other to get in. Gotta love it.) We went to Home Depot and Jewel to buy a grill and some food. Well, Heather bought, anyway. I chipped in $20 for charcoal and lighter fluid. Times are lean for me. And she understands that.
We whipped up some fruity rum drinks and threw some burgers on her brand new charcoal grill. Dio grilled his ample ass off and the results were astounding. Some more people showed up and merriment was made by all. Especially when H's friend Pat brought out some potent-ass Mary Jane. Now I ain't lyin, y'all... I am the ONLY ONE who did not partake. Weed only makes me sleepy, paranoid and hungry, three things I did not want to be on a swinging Friday night. Besides, it is so fun to laugh at stoned people when you aren't.
15 minutes after said weed was smoked, all hell broke loose. People were dancing to Janet Jackson (oh wait, that was me!) and falling down for no apparent reason. I saw sides of people I had never seen before and it was awesome. The food rapidly disappeared and giggles echoed throughout the apartment. Two of H's guy friends had brought some 19 YEAR OLD GIRLS that looked about 40 to our place, and that started to make me nervous. Contributing to minors, anyone? When the chubby blond started talking about her sorority, I had to leave the porch and seek the sanctity of my bedroom.
Certain people were not feeling so well. I am NOT going to name names, but apparently when you mix vodka, rum, beer and the best cheebah money can buy, the end result is not pretty. It was not pretty all over my sheets and floor.
So I ran outside for fresh air and thinking about what I had just witnessed, I was not pretty all over the side of my porch.
Dual pukings and sorority sluts be damned, I still had a pretty great time!
The next morning, everyone looked like death warmed over. There was nothing productive that could be done with this day. So H and I headed BACK to Jewel (our Dominick's burned down!) and picked up some Turkey burgers and potatoes. Dio fired up the grill once more and we settled in for a long day of watching LIVE 8 and back-to-back Sex & The City episodes.
This will be my third time since buying the DVDs watching the entire series from start to finish. Those episodes are like crack. Productivity? Hell naw! Just one more! One more hit and I'll get up, I swear! they are like Jay's potato chips. You can't watch just one. They remind me of... aw, fuck it, I am trying too hard here.
After all the crazy kids had gone out for the night, Dio and I spent our Saturday night snuggling on the couch eating candy and watching Season 3 Disc 2 of S&TC. How rare is it to find a guy who'd think that was fun? And how old am I that I can't get crazy two nights in a row?
I had a severe case of cabin fever on Sunday morning. Me being the impatient person that I am, decided I needed to go to the beach and I needed to go RIGHT NOW! I was sick of waiting on other parties that were going. It was after one and I was antsy as hell. I hadn't had any alone time since I got back from San Diego, and I mean NONE, so I stormed off to the lake alone. And damn it, if it didn't feel good. To be alone with the crazy train of thoughts in my head. To listen to my iPod in sweet tranquilty.
Lord knows I love new roommates, ex-roommates, current roommates and their assorted friends, but my place has become pretty hectic as of late and I needed a break. I went home, got ready and headed off to a sweet gay little BBQ. There was keg beer, but the spread was fan-taaaaaaastic! Dio and I had a nice, long talk and before you know it, were were plum worn out. We had a late meal and off the beddy-bye we went.
We awoke early yesterday (early being 10:30am) and got ready for a looong day of food and music. LL was throwing a party at my place that I really wanted no part of, but it made me nervous that of the roommates, only Daddy was going to be present for said party and that no one was really being held responsible. Love the kid to pieces, but you can't count on him for shit.
I put all those thoughts aside and tried to enjoy my day. Dio and I had made plans months ago to go see the WXRT free concert at the Petrillo Band Shell featuring Blue Merle, Stereophonics, John Hiatt and MOBY! Yes, that's right... MOBY!!!!!
We got to the Taste of Chicago around 11:30 am and promptly asked the WXRT lackeys were we should stand in line to get tickets for the free concert. Some bitch pointed us in a direction and off we went.
We were towards the front, so I was happy. We waited in that line for an hour and a half, blissfully unaware that we were totally IN THE WRONG LINE. Everyone in this line had VIP tickets.
So... we had to get to the back of some other line for people without tickets that wasn't even formed when we first got there. I wanted to knock that bitches teeth out. All that waiting for naught. I teared up a bit and Dio was like "Come on, Beth! Get a grip."
But it was all part of my sinister plan. We went up to the people we were right behind in the VIP line and I tearfully explained our plight. They were extremely sympathetic. We slunk off to the back of the line for people with no tickets.
About an hour later, some yokel approached me saying some lady at the fence wanted to see me. It was one of the ladies in front of us the in the VIP line. She managed to score one more VIP ticket and said they would save us seats up front. I was elated! See? I am not a girly girl, but I will bust out some tears when necessary. Fucking A right I will, it got us FRONT ROW for MOBY!
We couldn't believe our luck. Fuck you, XRT lackey! I got 99 problems, but a bitch ain't one!
First up was Blue Merle. I highly recommend them... They lead singer has a beautiful Chris Martin-like voice and their arrangement of instruments is awesome. They have an electric mandolin player! A violin player! An upright bass player, who uses that instead of a bass guitar! They are reminiscent of Dave Matthews and Phish, but totally have their own sound. If you have the means, check them out. They are so choice.
Aw, look at their cutie violin player. I wanted to eat him up with a spoon.
Then the Stereophonics took to the stage. Nick loves them and I had never really heard their stuff before. Very good. Very British rock. For cripe's sake, the lead singer was wearing a black leather jacket in 85 degree sticky-ass humidity! Talk about suffering for your art!
Dio and I took a food break and got royally raped by the Taste Of Chicago ticket sales and prices. I always say this, but that is the last time I am going there. All the food I have ever gotten has been piss poor and in tiny portions. It was raining on and off all day, so it actually wasn't horribly crowded, but it sucked none the less.
Then John Hiatt started playing. Kinda reminded me of Jimmy Buffett. I only know one of his songs, Have A Little Faith In Me, and I can tell you the rest of the songs did not impress me one bit. I kinda got bored. The ladies in who got us the seats were going nuts. So were most of the other older, trashier people in the audience. You could really tell the huge difference between the Moby fans and John Hiatt fans. Wowza.
I did think his bass player was totally adorable. He kept giving me the eye through his dark glasses.
The ladies in front of us got kicked out because their little boy took a piss inside the venue by the trash cans. Shitty for them, awesome for us.
Our backwards view from the front row.
I lamented how horrible I looked at this point. Soggy ponytail, sun burned face, baggy cut off sweats and my PURDUE GRANDPA t-shirt. But once Moby took the stage...
... I forgot all that. I LOVE HIM SO!
He is the consummate musician. He can do it all!
He can play the guitar...
...he can sing...
..he can even rock out on the fucking bongos!
Watch my video of Moby playing the bongos here.
All concert long, I was distracted by the girl they got to fill in for their ailing lead singer. She was awkward and didn't even know the words! It kinda ruined the experience for me. Made it seem like amateur hour.
Watch my video of her here.
She did redeem herself when they started playing a Led Zeppelin's A Whole Lotta Love. She rocked out on the vocals and did Robert Plant proud. She has an amazing voice, I just wish she knew the words to Moby's songs. But I give her kudos for even getting up there. That takes guts. But please Moby, I implore you, don't put someone the stage that doesn't know your songs verbatim.
Then he did what is my ultimate favorite song of all time that sounds outstanding live... PORCELAIN.
What a long and awesome day. Moby was over by 8, so we headed home.
I had never been this close to Buckingham Fountain before. Isn't that sad? I plan on going back, it is ever so tranquil there.
So that was my 4th of July weekend. True, I didn't see any fireworks, but I got plenty of sun and ate more barbequed food than anyone should.
Random Fact Of The Day: Women blink nearly twice as much as men.