Weekly Rochester Events #432: College of Perpetual Penance

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Last Thursday I hung out at Monty's Korner (355 East Ave.) with the rest of the crew from Drinking Liberally for a bit then went to The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) When I arrived, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (also at LiveJournal) was already playing. I still like the first incarnation I saw which was literally a guy and a Casio keyboard, but this time — with a guitarist, violinist, and a Roland — they had a similar stripped-down feel that I definitely like better than with a full band. Also playing was Gaybot who continued their tradition of being a [seemingly] out-of-control absurd non-band. Finally was the debut of The Labrador Hawks who did some good mellow acoustic-rock.

Friday night Ali and I stopped by John's Tex-Mex Eatery (489 South Ave., renamed from Taco John's, formerly Ly Lou's Pearl of the Orient) for dinner. It's been a while but it's still an excellent place to eat. In case you haven't been there in a while either, they have a license for some alcohol — we had the mango mimosa carafe which was really good. After that we caught Pillowfight Accident (formerly Deadly Pillowfight Accident) at Boulder Coffee Co. (100 Alexander St.) around the corner. I had heard they were planning to do a more subdued set for a coffee-shop environment, but by the time we got there, they appeared to be playing quite hard with their flavor of chaotic jazz/rock.

Next, we headed up to The California Brew Haus (402 West Ridge Rd.) for the show there. Worm Quartet started things off, playing to a crowd already familiar with his superfast synth-rock novelty songs. Finishing off the night was Buffalo's nerdy response in the form of Ookla The Mok who do a funny, nerdy, solid rock-and-roll show — with characters in costume and such from comic books and popular media.

On Saturday I had a minor windfall: a check from a retirement account I had forgotten about. It was less than my surprisingly plump donation to the Federal and State governments, but good news nonetheless. That night I headed to the Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) for The Animation Show 2007. I was happy to have enjoyed all the films in the show. Starting off was Rabbit which was a slick animation based on the illustrations from children's books — with floating names above nearly every object. In it, a couple kids discover a magical idol who turns flies into gems so, they try to exploit it to get rich and get their comeuppance in the end. I also liked City Paradise which is a somewhat abstract narrative about an young woman learning the language in a new country, and she discovers a strange world in the pool where she swims. Overtime was a neat homage to animators and puppeteers — particularly, I assume, Jim Henson. In it, a herd of identical frog-like puppets attempts to lovingly reanimate their recently deceased creator. Finally, I greatly enjoyed Don Hertzfeldt's Everything Will Be Ok, the tale of a man whose mental and physical health is apparently failing; told from a detached, diary-like internal monologue, yet shown as an intimate, terrifying experience.

I stopped at Solera Wine Bar (647 South Ave) afterward and had some wine and chatted with the owners. I stopped at Lux Lounge (666 South Ave.) for a drink as well before heading on around the corner to the relatively new Black Pearl Cafe (791 Meigs St., formerly Dicky's) I was surprised to learn they actually opened last November. Anyway, the place is quite nice — not looking much different from Dicky's, actually. The bartender said the owners were shooting for a "thinkers' bar" where people could come together for intelligent conversation. Perhaps an erudite neighborhood pub, if you will. Oh, and their selection of local micro-brews is quite good, too.

On Tuesday I goofed around a bit on the Internet. I wrote my first entry on the Instructables website: a way to replace the DC plug on an Apple iBook silver "yo-yo" power adapter. I think it looks pretty good and it wasn't too hard to do (although the website is really slow for building instructions.) That night I went back to the Dryden for the films there. I thought it was funny that in both animated shorts before the feature — The Case Of The Stuttering Pig and Cracked Ice — characters on-screen mentioned "the guy in the third row". That was me, even though I wasn't even born when they were made. In point of fact, neither were my parents, so it's remarkable that they'd pick me! The feature, It's Only Money was just okay. I was lukewarm on the comedy and I guess I don't really find the physical comedy of Jerry Lewis all that funny — I assume mostly because it's been so overdone by now. I did like hearing him expertly ramble on how television works, especially since it was all gibberish.

And finally: Wednesday, April 18 represents one whole year with Ali. I don't really believe it myself — I was never one to endure even the most minor of irritations for more than a few months, but here I am: one of those people. It's been excellent so far and I have no doubts it'll continue to be so. [P.S: I love you Ali!]