The soundtrack of my life - live in LA

Don McGlashan, the man whose songs played on endless loop in my head for over a decade, is opening for Crowded House on their American tour. McGlashan was behind the bands Blam Blam Blam, the Front Lawn, the Mutton Birds, and his own solo efforts. My Mutton Bird and NZ music partner in crime Bibi is flying out to Los Angeles from Atlanta, and I am trying to convince fellow Mutton Bird forum listees Steve C. in St. Louis and Marc H. in San P that now would be a lovely, lovely time to meet. Matty will be there for one of the two nights and watching Wyatt the other.

There will be the stress of trying to have nimble and accurate fingers on the computer the morning of the presale. There will be the excitement of seeing McGlashan perform the songs that have been the soundtrack to my adult life live. There will be the sober grown up things that Matt and I have to address in the days after the shows, when we take Wyatt to his diabetes and now, Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) consultations (the Prevacid only works so well).

Ever the Pollyannaistic opportunist, I have fired off an earnest letter to McGlashan's Manager Roger King pitching Bishop as a wonderful decompression spot for singer songwriters who like playing in front of enthusiastic crowds. Luckily, Sam Scott put in a good word for our efforts when he was on tour with King last year.

Nothing ventured....

*and I might ask for my first autograph ever if Harry Sinclair, one half of the brilliant brilliant Front Lawn, should be there.

Flight of the Conchords on HBO

I know I have always groused that I liked them best when they didn't talk about getting it on with women ....the Bus Driver Song is still my favorite. It reminds me of why I love the Front Lawn so - perfect storytelling encapsulating hope, loss, regret.

I was not prepared for how awesome the Flight of the Conchords' HBO special would be. Michelle, Matty, and I piled around the laptop and watched and laughed and laughed.

Good on them!

The character Mel, the married stalker fan, kind of scares the hell out of me. Please dear God, please let that not be me.

Having fun with the Silvia

The new Rancilio Silvia has a steep learning curve, but it's fun. It makes lovely microfoamed milk, too. The tamper got left out from the shipment, so it's only going to get better. I am not comfortable enough to use the naked/crotchless/bottomless portafilter with the 3 shot basket. I'm busy working on my temperature surfing techniques.

Matt's ankle hurts and my hip hurts. This means a big storm is coming in. Big enough to keep my dad home and not hang out with Wyatt tomorrow.

Daycare will be a bit of an adjustment for Wyatt. He's just not used to being around so many children. His peer group so far has been a bunch of 40 year old alcoholics who swear too much. He will have to learn about children sometime. It won't be the end of the world for him. We're only looking at daycare 2 mornings a week. He's been lucky to have had it so good for so long.

NPR's Day to Day did a lovely wee segment about the Front Lawn. Naomi mentioned something over Chinese New Year festivities about "some obscure New Zealand band on NPR." Little did I realize it would be something so near and dear to my heart. It was lovely, they talked to both Harry Sinclair and Don McGlashan who said the Front Lawn releases still sell. Bless.