Magnetic Fields at Town Hall

After almost a decade of waiting, I finally saw The Magnetic Fields when they came to Seattle last week to play Town Hall. I still wish that I'd seen them during their 69 Love Songs heyday, but this show was a good substitute. They played a full set of 25 songs, focusing on their most recent release Distortion, but including quite a few from their seminal triple album.

Town Hall was mostly a good venue for a Magnetic Fields show. A beautiful old building with pews sloping gently toward the stage, it's definitely a better fit than a noisy bar, but maybe a bit too old and sleepy for a indie pop concert. The whole audience and the whole band remained seated for the entire concert, almost like a symphony performance. I appreciated being able to relax and see easily, but the show lacked energy.

Stephin Merritt didn't do a whole lot to increase the energy, acting like a misanthropic bastard most of the night. Sometimes that meant cutting humor, but mostly it meant that he came off like a detached and angry bastard who knows he can act like a detached and angry bastard because he writes better songs than just about anyone alive. Claudia Gonson did her best to provide lighter stage banter between songs, but let's face it: people go to Magnetic Fields concerts to see and relate to the genius behind those amazing songs. Outside of singing and strumming his bouzouki, the closest that Merritt came to relating was when he went into the crowd to get someone to turn off their video camera.

But the songs. They didn't disappoint. The songs from Distortion sounded much better live, without all the distortion that hangs over the album. I felt like I was hearing some of them for the first time, and was glad that Shirley Simms joined the tour to sing on the new songs. I particularly liked "California Girls," "Drive on Driver," "The Nun's Litany," and "Too Drunk to Dream." I liked that people actually laughed out loud when they heard the lyrics. It made listening more communal and made me feel like the audience was actually relating with the band.

I also liked the clean and professional sound throughout the performance. I credit Sam Davol and John Woo, who sat quietly in the middle of the stage, holding the performance together with their attentive and precise cello and guitar and playing. I think that they made the more formal setting work because they seemed so serious and deliberate with their movements.

The highlights of the concert for me were the songs from 69 Love Songs. They are just flat out better than the songs on the current album, not matter how they play them. I wish that they would have played more songs from that album, but that time has passed. The best "oldies" for me were "Come Back From San Francisco, " "The Night You Can't Remember," and "Papa Was a Rodeo." The duet at the end of "Rodeo" always send a chill down my spine, even if it is a bit cheesy.

The songs from i also sounded surprisingly strong, especially "I Don't Believe You," "I Thought You Were My Boyfriend", and the closer, "It's Only Time."

Overall, it was a good concert. It confirmed my love of The Magnetic Fields many wonderful songs and helped me appreciate their new album. I wish that Stephin Merritt had been a bit more personable and energetic, but I guess his fussiness and crankiness were just about right for the mini-symphony staging and performance. The man is a genius after all.

Mercer Island Half Marathon

I wasn't all that satisfied with my performance in the Relay Del Sol, especially my pace after about 4 miles, so I decided just last night to do the Mercer Island Half Marathon.

I didn't really know what to expect. I hadn't raced a half marathon in a few years and I hadn't run at all in the week after the relay, having chosen post-race beer and ice cream instead of light running and a good diet. But I wanted to see Mercer Island and figured that I could use the race to build up my endurance and get ready for the next relay.

What I didn't realize last night was that the race course was extremely hilly. The biggest hills went up only about 150 feet, but they just kept coming. Almost none of the terrain was flat, and the second half of the route was particularly challenging.

That didn't stop me from going out too fast, though. I did the first 3 miles at a 6:14 pace, which is way too fast for me and not a particularly good strategy considering I'd twice failed to maintain my pace after 4 miles just the weekend before.

Fortunately, I realized that I still had 10 miles to go and that I needed to slow down, so I settled into about a 6:45 pace -- a bit slower uphill and a bit faster down. I got passed repeatedly and passed almost no one, which felt strange and demoralizing. But I knew it was my penalty for going out too fast, and I just kept to my race despite the fast field.

Around mile 13, I had to climb one last steep hill. Fortunately Jana was there to cheer me on. I worked my way up the incline and sprinted down the last few yards between the top of the hill and the finish.

I timed myself at 1:27:50. That's not a spectacular time, but it was satisfying considering my lack of preparation. And it was actually a PR because I hadn't run a half marathon for such a long time.

I think that I should run some more races. Maybe I'll even learn to stop going out way too fast. Maybe.

Menomena, Blitzen Trapper, and BOAT at UW

The other weekend I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Menomena, Blitzen Trapper, and BOAT show at UW. I wanted to see all three bands, particularly Menomena and BOAT, so I was thrilled that a ticket cost a mere $6 -- with no ticket charges!

The venue, however, was a disaster. The show was in the basement of the HUB on a makeshift stage that barely raised the performers above the crowd. Believe it or not, this setup was even worse than the HUB Ballroom staging for the Hold Steady and Art Brut show.

At least the performances were good.

BOAT, a local band, started the show. I've wanted to see them for some time, having read about them at Three Imaginary Girls and heard a couple of their songs. They play sing-along indie pop with a charmingly lo-fi aesthetic, and they seem like friendly, normal guys on stage. I liked their set quite a bit, and because the concert ticket was so cheap and I could buy directly from those nice guys, I bought both of their albums. They were extremely thankful and earnest, which was refreshing. I love supporting local bands.

Blitzen Trapper played second. Their sound fits somewhere between scruffy alt-country and Pavement-style indie rock. They barely fit on the stage, and their diminutive lead singer was barely visible behind the bobbing heads in front of me. Their set opened with more of a polished sound than I expected based on their album, but eventually turned into more noise than song. Their set was the least interesting of the night for me, but that's what I expected.

Menomena were the headliners, and for good reason. Friend and Foe was one of the best albums of 2007. I've heard that they're pretty amazing live, that people finally "get" Menomena after seeing them. A big part of getting the band is seeing how only three guys play such dense and interesting music on such a variety of instruments. Unfortunately, I could see only Justin Harris and Brent Knopf. I couldn't see Danny Seim's percussion work at all, and I couldn't see Knopf switching between his many instruments. That detracted significantly from the show.

What I could see was how much emotion Harris and Knopf had on their faces while playing. Menomena's songs rely on a series of cathartic moments, and those moments are much more focused and intense live than they are on the album. When Harris pulled out his baritone sax, I could see and feel the anticipation of his great sax lines. They played most of Friend and Foe and a few other songs, which was exactly the right set list. As they closed out with "Evil Bee," I was more than happy with their performance.

But I couldn't say the same thing about the venue. I'd like to see both BOAT and Menomena in a better venue.

Up Next: I saw The Magnetic Fields at Town Hall just the other night. Write-up coming soon.

Weekend in the Columbia River Gorge

A few weeks ago Jana and I drove down to the Columbia River Gorge for the weekend. We'd never visited the area before, but we'd heard about the amazing scenery and the waterfalls. The weekend didn't disappoint.

We stayed at the Columbia Gorge Riverside Lodge in Stevenson, WA. It is a collection of cabins sandwiched between two parks, right on the riverfront. The rooms feature outdoor hot tubs with great views. Everything about the place is perfect except that it is right on a busy train line.

I was willing to forgive the train noise, though, because the lodge is also a 30-second walk from the Walking Man Brewery. We made our way to the pub the first night for dinner and drinks. The pizza was forgettable, but the beer was exceptional. I had a sampler tray with all 10 brews that they had on tap. My favorites were High Road Scotch Ale, Homo Erectus, and the Black Cherry Stout. Some really good (and strong) stuff.

The next morning we went out for a serious hike. Because we had Lyra with us, we decided to hike up Dog Mountain. It was a steep hike, with almost 3000 feet of elevation gain and snow at the top, but we had a good time. The views of the river were exceptional, and the forest had the sort of Northwest trees that pulled me back to Washington. I've read that the hike is even better in the spring, when the mountain is covered in wild flowers, but we couldn't complain. Standing at the top of our peak, we could see Mt. Hood to our south and Mt. St. Helen's to our north. Great hike.

The next day we decided to see waterfalls on the Oregon side of the river. We drove across the Bridge of the Gods (love that name) and headed for Highway 30. There are amazing waterfalls all along the road, some that you can see from your car and some that require a couple miles of hiking. The most famous (and the biggest) of the falls are the Multnomah Falls. We saw those falls and at last a half dozen more spectacular drops. I'm particularly fond of waterfalls, so I was in heaven. This collection of falls rivals Yosemite's.

After taking in all the waterfalls, we headed back north on 5. We had good views of Mt. Rainier as we made our way north. It was a great weekend. I love traveling in this part of the country.

Bonus: For once, I actually took some pictures!

Arizona Relay

I flew down the Phoenix over the weekend to run in the Relay Del Sol. My team won the race last year, and we had a strong contingent again this year. The competition was stronger this time, though, and we finished 3rd.

Here's how my legs (10,22, and 34) went:

• My first leg was long -- 7.4 miles -- and rated very hard, but I expect to do well because I was fresh and it was cool in the middle of the night. I started out way too fast (11:15 at two miles), but hung on to finish about a minute and a half under the projected time. Everything felt good except my stomach about 10 minutes after the run.
  
  
• My second leg was just before sunrise. It was suppoed to be short -- 3.3 miles -- but they put the exchange points in the wrong place, so it turned out to be about 3.7. I expected to do 3.3 in less than 19 minutes. When I saw a "One mile to go" sign with about 16 minutes on my watch, I wasn't a happy camper. I think I came in a bit under 22 minutes, but it was a frustrating run.
  
  
• My third run was bad. It was in the 80s and I wasn't ready for the heat. My legs were dead and I hadn't been able to sleep at all. I had to cross 7 major intersections -- stoplights with 8-lanes (including turn lanes) across. The good news was that I was expected to run a reasonable 6:21 pace and the route was slightly downhill. The bad news is that I just couldn't do it. I only had 3 decent miles in me, and had to fight through the last 3 miles. I ended up at about a 6:28 pace, ready to fall over.
  

Despite my struggles and our team's failure to defend our title, it was a good race. I'll be in better shape for the next relay -- plus, who can complain when they have beer at the finish.