Drew McDermott

I Know It's Lame, It Breaks My Heart

John Darnielle worshiping at Mac's feet.

Superchunk - Cool

I'll Just Stare Up At Your Light

One of the nice surprises of Superchunk's set was breaking out a few songs that seldom get played live, including On The Mouth, the B-side that gave the album its name, yet didn't appear on it.

Superchunk - On The Mouth

All The Kids Around Are Scared

On Friday, I drove down to Chapel Hill with a few friends to catch a rare Superchunk show. In the photo above, that's John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats on the left, Mac McCaughan of Superchunk on the right, from Superchunk's second encore on Friday night. The 5 hours of driving that I did in each direction turned out to be well worth it, since they knocked out a great show. If you want to get a preview of what might be in store for the upcoming tour, Mac posted a setlist from the show on his Portstatic blog.

Rill Rill

I'll admit, although I resisted the hype for quite awhile, I've finally fallen head over heels for Sleigh Bells now that their debut album is out. Except for Straight A's, that song is pushed into the red so far it's just noise. And that's coming from someone who likes noise!

Sleigh Bells - Infinity Guitars

Do Not Pass Me Just To Slow Down

Superchunk announced a bunch of tour dates! The tour includes DC, NYC, Boston and Chicago, which are the dates that will matter to my friends. In any case, I already had plans to drive down to Chapel Hill this Friday to see them play for the first time in ages, but looks like I may get a few other chances this year as well.

Relive some past shows: Package Thief and Water Wings live in Seattle in 2001
Cast Iron and Precision Auto in Osaka in 2009.
Swinging and Night Creatures from their first show ever, in Raleigh, all the way back in 1989, before Jim Wilbur and Jon Wurster were in the band.

Still Spelling

At The Spelling Bee

Straight Out of Louisville

Mark and his parents under our tent at Churchill Downs.

Suppose I should post a song by my favorite band from Kentucky: Rodan - Big Things, Small Things

At Turn 1

At the Derby, we had an excellent spot on Turn 1 to watch the races because 4 of my friends got up at an absurdly early hour. In a torrential downpour, they headed down to Churchill Downs and were at the gates when they opened, thereby securing our spot at the fence. From that vantage point, we were able to actually see the horses go by in person, then turn and watch the finish on a nearby Jumbotron.

Of Mud and Bourbon

Well, I survived my first trip to the Kentucky Derby!

"Later Friday afternoon, we went out on the balcony of the press box and I tried to describe the difference between what we were seeing today and what would be happening tomorrow. This was the first time I'd been to a Derby in ten years, but before that, when I lived in Louisville, I used to go every year. Now, looking down from the press box, I pointed to the huge grassy meadow enclosed by the track. 'That whole thing,' I said, 'will be jammed with people; fifty thousand or so, and most of them staggering drunk. It's a fantastic scene--thousands of people fainting, crying, copulating, trampling each other and fighting with broken whiskey bottles. We'll have to spend some time out there, but it's hard to move around, too many bodies.'
'Is it safe out there?' Will we ever come back?'
'Sure," I said. 'We'll just have to be careful not to step on anybody's stomach and start a fight.' I shrugged."
--from The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved by Hunter S. Thompson