Category Archives: Life in General

The Wanderer • U2 Back in Nashville

Posted on by
1

Any concert is a lesson in waiting, and a U2 show is no different. After standing in the Nashville heat for 9 hours, we finally entered the stadium and continued waiting, squashed together with hundreds of other fans in the inner circle. Only 3 people stood in front of us as we tried to conserve body fluids and survive until showtime. Finally it came, with Florence and the Machine opening to a hot crowd.

As the sky turned black, U2 finally took the stage with a new song, rolling right into Even Better than the Real Thing. And it was. The stadium exploded. Straight from the Real Thing to The Fly to Mysterious Ways to Until the End of the World. The show could have ended there and I would have been infinitely happy. No, seriously, these are four of my favorite songs of all time, back to back, live, feet from the band themselves.

But the show actually goes on.

Bono is on fire by this point, and I am jumping up and down like the piston of the engine powering the whole thing. Get on Your Boots only adds to the energy so that the crowd is in a frenzy. Not the frenzy you see in concert DVDs, where the inner circle is a continuous moshpit, but a mild frenzy nonetheless.

At one point, Bono pulls a guy up from the front row and they scream into the microphone together. He’s only there for 30 seconds or so, but by the end he’s having a hard time keeping up with Bono’s dancing. Try to flail your arms like an Irishman. Hilarious.

In a city of masters, we will stay students. Will you sings with us? So began Still Haven’t Found What I’m looking For, during which Bono jibes at us: You’re a little sharp (that’s a joke).

Then, though my mind was already blown, Bono convenes a brief meeting with The Edge. Clearly, the setlist is being modified. Suddenly, Johnny Cash is on stage for two verses of The Wanderer. Forgive us, Johnny. Feel like I should take my shoes off when I’m in his company.

Zooropa, Stay (Faraway, So Close), Beautiful Day, Elevation, Pride, Miss Sarajevo, Zooropa, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I’ll go Crazy, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Scarlet.

The rest of the show was beautiful, with Bono and The Edge soaring to melodies never before recorded. Adam was as solid as ever, truly a rock amid all the bassists of the world. And Larry. Can’t thank you enough for making this happen.

Walk On, One, Amazing Grace, Where the Streets Have No Name; Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me; With or Without You, Moment of Surrender.

Amazing transition, per usual, from Amazing Grace to Streets. Still gives me chills to hear it.

Encore.

This is the theme of our whole show. This song is called Moment of Surrender. Thank you, Lord. While The Edge blasted the bridge, Bono raps where were you when they crucified my Lord? Where were you when they crucified my Lord?

Then, though we were begging the band for more, U2 were clearly walking off the stage when Bono turns around, has some strange conversation with a guy in the front row, and then helps him on stage. A blind guitarist. Get a guitar for this dude. You can get him my guitar… a little acoustic guitar…. Dude’s gonna play some guitar. He dedicates All I Want is You and plays with Bono singing along, and then Bono gives him his green Irish Falcon guitar. Astounding. The fans are in tears, screaming their support and amaze, and the show was over.

You can be anything you want to be

Posted on by
Reply

In denying the natural place reserved for longing and error in the human lot, the bourgeois ideology denies us the possibility of collective consolation for our fractious marriages and our unexploited ambitions, and condemns us instead to solitary feelings of shame and persecution for having stubbornly failed to become who we are.

Alan de Botton, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

Pizza with Rain Washed Basil

Posted on by
4

This is my best pizza yet… the crust, kneaded to perfection, was also baked to a glorious crispness only available on a stone bed, preferably in a wood fired oven, although an oven with a heating element will do. I’ve found that a gas oven is dreadful for producing a crisp pizza. Recession or no, the economy toppings are the way to go, here with bell pepper, onion, and rain kissed basil.

When I was one-and-twenty

Posted on by
2
A. E. Housman (1859–1936).  A Shropshire Lad.  1896. XIII.
When I was one-and-twenty

WHEN I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
‘Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;

Give pearls away and rubies 5
But keep your fancy free.’
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again, 10
‘The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
’Tis paid with sighs a plenty
And sold for endless rue.’
And I am two-and-twenty, 15
And oh, ’tis true, ’tis true.

Chicken de la onions

Posted on by
Reply

Here’s a great quick chicken recipe. Caramelize a sweet onion in butter, then add a little sugar until the sugar melts. Set aside to cool

Heat olive oil in skillet. Dip chicken breasts in flour with salt, pepper, basil, oregano, then dip in egg/water mixture, then add to pan until browned, about 7 minutes each side.

Drain skillet (not in your sink, silly. Outside, behind the back steps). Cover chicken with parmesan slices or brie (oh la la) or any nice cheese, then top with caramelized onions. Back 350 degrees until done.

Serve with veggies and your favorite wine.



Suburban, meet City

Posted on by
Reply

Growing up in an ever sprawling metropolis, I’m used to driving. Everywhere. To get groceries, to get coffee. To go on a run. To go on a walk. In suburbia, one drives everywhere.

When I moved into the downtown area of the small but distinctly city Charlottesville, I have only slowly begun to relinquish my driving habits.

Having begun such a journey, I’ve found that it’s not for any particular environmental reason that I enjoy walking places, but merely because it’s more joyful to walk. I discovered today that within easy walking distance, in addition to my coffee shop, is my hardware store. Yes, I can walk to my local hardware store. I discovered this as I was driving to Lowes, a good twenty minute drive away. Old habits…

Regardless, I am now a fan of such local beauties, and have also succeeded where my landlord failed….

Home Improvement

For the last month, I’ve employed two of my towels to help seal the gaping holes under our front and back doors. No more. I have sealed the holes and am already feeling warmed by the endeavor. Here’s to keeping out the cold and snow!