Explosions In The Sky @ MindSay

Explosions in the Sky is an incredible band. I've been listening to a lot of them, just recently got their album "The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place" and it's awesome. Their sound just seems to flow as if it was a manifestation of some inner-working of Nature. Soothes me to no end.

Check them out!
Last.FM: http://www.last.fm/music/Explosions+in+the+Sky/
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/explosionsinthesky

I went to Minneapolis late last week to see Explosions in the Sky (with Paper Chase and Eluvium) at the First Avenue Club downtown. Truly incredible music. They're an instrumental "post-rock" band - whatever the hell that actually means - 3 guitars and a drummer. I like their studio stuff a lot, but always felt they held back a bit on CD and was hoping they'd let it loose live - and, god, did they. It was amazing. Most of their pieces were at least 10 minutes, often starting out slow, but building to wildly energetic finishes. And they never really paused between songs, segueing directly from one to another. Can't say enough about how great their live shows are. Here's a YouTube video of a live piece - The Only Moment We Were Alone. It's nearly 10 minutes, but to get the full effect, I suggest listening all the way to the climax. It appears to be from a few years ago, but it's one of the songs they're still doing although they seem to be letting it out even more these days.

Eluvium (a single guy) was also great - again, very different from his studio stuff which tends to be a bit too mellow for my personal preference. Live, he used a computer and other equipment to actually build a song by layering guitar tracks on top of each other. Most layers were similar to each other, so each piece was a bit like a minimalist composition, but one that grew larger and larger until they became literally a wall of sound. Very intense.

Paper Chase seemed an odd fit for the other two. Not sure what you'd call them - punk maybe? - but they reminded me of the Sex Pistols. They were OK. Extremely loud though - everyone who had earplugs were stuffing them in after they started.

If you're interested in hearing the full concert of any of these three from the D.C. date on this tour, NPR did a webcast and has them available for listening or download here.

With Explosions in the Sky and some heavy breathing, I knew things were going to be OK. I met this girl a little while back and we exchanged Myspace's (since phone numbers are SO 2003)... and we've kind of been talking since then. She's a theater major at EIU in Charleston, about 20 minutes from my house. She seemed really cool and she's a beautiful girl (with a more than beautiful body) so I was, to be honest, rather surprised by her interest in me. I mean, we both just talked about being friends for some time. We had made kind of a "date" but more just meeting up to go see "Tru," a one man show about Truman Capote at EIU. We both agreed it wasn't really a date... she actually made it sound like she just felt sorry for me not really knowing anyone around here. Well, the appeal of Tru wained as I realized I know nothing about the man, and haven't yet seen Capote with Phillip Seymore Hoffman.... and that TRU is the show they made fun of in Family Guy LOL.... when Brian flashes back to his production of Tru. So I cancelled on the night of, with about an hour before the show started. Yeah, I know... I'm a douchebag. She seemed really disappointed but she told me not to worry about it and to be honest, after much apology I decided not to. I went instead to my buddy Luke's to drink some beer and watch some movies.

We continued to talk for the next week or so and tried to keep it friendly. Like I would tell her about this girl at work I kind of like and I think digs me back, and she would tell me about going to the bar and having guys hit on her the past night. Its all good. She even said a few time she thought I would be a really good friend to her... I thought more or less to keep reminding me she wasn't interested or something. Again, its all good.

So a few nights ago I had to get some shirts and ties for work and asked if she wanted to meet up and go with me. She came, and we had an awesome time shopping lol. Once we got inside she took off her jacket to reveal the low cut shirt she had worn (and filled quite nicely). I commented on her seemingly wonderful style and she did the same for my brown polo and faded jeans. I made her laugh all the time and she made me laugh back, and her laugh reigned supreme on the cute and enchanting meter. She talked me into buying a pink striped shirt and a white tie to go with it, which looks fucking amazing. We then went to a China Buffet type restaurant here, where I introduced her to Peanut Butter Chicken (fucking best shit in the world) and she almost gagged on their desserts. Then, after some arguing, I let her pick up the check. She just wanted to, and mentioned I'd get it "next time," so I was fine with it after awhile. So we said goodbye, I came home, tried on all my stuff lol and got online. She IM'd me and we basically started asking eachother if we had a good time together and what we thought of eachother and things, and, ultimately, we both found out that we kind of liked eachother, were attracted to eachother, and quickly began making plans to go out again.

The next get together was at her place, last night. She asked me over and wanted to fix me dinner (dinner on her twice in a row now, my bad). She fixed salmon with this weird sauce made from maple syrup (I know...) that was actually quite tasty, and I brought a bottle of Reisling wine because its fucking spectacular and goes with salmon. I asked beforehand if I could bring "the ultimate dinner music" and she said sure so I burned an amazing Explosions in the Sky mix and copied Zero7's first cd Simple Things... if you haven't heard these bands/cd's, you haven't fully experienced life. So dinner went well, and we watched Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas because she wanted to see it.

About halfway through the movie we kind of started to cuddle, and I decided to test the waters to see what I was dealing with here. I liked her company and I think she is one of the most gorgeous girls I've ever seen... so I didn't want to like, I dunno... cross the line or scare her away. I just put my arm around her, and periodically would rub her shoulder or hold her hand and occasionaly stroke her palm with my finger. She did it back, and I felt the most relaxed and happy and comfortable and NOT SAD as I've felt in over a year now. It was spectacular.

The movie ended, and we decided to just chill on the couch for awhile and talk while listening to the cd's I brought, which she dug. Thankfully... cuz I don't know how I could date someone who didn't like Explosions in the Sky. JK, for the most part ;). So we talked for a few hours and I gave her a foot massage and we joked about some shortcomings we had (my moustache and her leg stubble... I hate my moustache and she hates her leg stubble lol), and it turned kind of physical as she began tickling me and playfully grabbing me and I did the same, and everything was just really cool. We put in Office Space and she sat at the other end of the couch... so I said something about how far away she was and we joked a little about cuddling before she nudged up to me and made herself, and myself, extremely comfortable. So I held her there and stroked her skin softly and commented on her beautifully aromatic and extraordinarily soft hair, and everything was just fucking awesome. About halfway through the movie she got up to use the bathroom and I asked if we could switch sides because my leg had been going to sleep lol, and as she sat back down she got very playful again... and well, one thing led to another and I finally got to lean in for the kiss. She was reluctant at first, which threw me off a bit, but I knew she had been getting sick for a few days, and when she said that I told her I didn't care, so she grabbed me in to finish what we had just begun. So I got to make out with an insanely gorgeous girl. Its the afternoon after and I still feel like I could fly.

I'm a bit of a touchy feely guy so I was rubbing her back and legs and things... and well I started rounding first, but got in a pickle and she held my hand in hers as if to say "not quite, Cassanova..."... and we kept kissing for probably another hour or so. Afterwards I apologized for moving too fast and she said it was fine and I got the point and ... well... everything was just great. The movie got over at like midnight and I told her I should get going, and she agreed because she had a busy day today with class very early. Then as we kissed goodbye, it got a little heated again, moved to the couch, and after about twenty minutes she suggested it would be much more comfortable in her bed. I had to agree. She made sure I wasn't uncomfortable with this, to which I replied, without much thought ... "Are you kidding?" She laughed and grabbed my shirt to pull me on top of her, wrapped  her legs around me and things just got better. I still didn't quite make it to second, though I tried once more (after her legs were wrapped around me and she was throbbing into me I figured it was a shoe-in... lol...) so I called her, with a smile, a tease... and she just laughed a little and said she wasn't. I told her she was... just a little, and she agreed. And that was fine with me. After a couple more hours of passionate kissing I finally got out to my car and off to go home. She came running to my car from her building and I figured I had forgotten something (might I add the pleasure it is watching her run hehe...). I rolled down the window and she said "one more..." and leaned in quickly to kiss... I got ready, opened my mouth a little... and WHACK she hit her head on the door frame. HAHAHAHA it was outstanding! She laughed so hard and got embarassed and I just had to laugh with her and told her not to worry about it... I did she'd come to know the stupid shit I do that's so much worse... and finally she leaned in and we kissed for a few extra, appeasing seconds before she started shivering and went back inside. Man... it was an awesome night.

So that's it. Tonight we are going to a bar called The Jazz because there's an open jam there and I'm aching to slap some skins for anybody willing to play with me, and I get the distinct feeling we'll be a "couple" soon enough. Man. I never thought it would happen here. This certainly makes up for being in a shit hole town in a shit hole state in a shit hole state of mind. Let's just hope for the best, eh? ;)