van hunt at s.o.b.'s

so last night van hunt played a solo set at s.o.b.'s. i never got to see him live his first time around so i wasn't going to miss him this time. the show opened with a woman by the name of shae fiol.


this little white girl almost had me crying like a baby amidst a bunch of strangers when she busted out with "love is stronger than pride"...i'm hardcore though so i held back the tears and sang along with the rest of the crowd. good songs and lovely voice so i'll be checking for her.

next up was van hunt with only a keyboard, a guitar, and a rag on his head. i was a bit apprehensive when i heard he would be playing alone but i think i preferred him that way. he was very personable, cracking jokes and engaging the audience.


songs performed included "if i take you home", "being a girl", "highlights", "hold my hand", "down here in hell...", "character", "dust", "what can i say...", and "hopeless". he did some more too that i can't remember.

all in all i'm glad i went. the crowd was live - there were these two drunk dudes singing their hearts out (to each other?). the dj was good - i've never seen a crowd get LOOSE to "around the way girl" until last night. women? sure...but dudes too? everyone was jamming. (and i'm gonna pretend like someone else decided to play "secret lovers" and "three times a lady" before the show started.) i forgot to bring my camera so i only have these shots from my phone (which would have been much better if mr. broad shoulders hadn't planted himself right in front of me...loser). oh and i saw my party crush! i almost didn't recognize him and was all up in his face like "where do i know this guy from?" i didn't realize it was him until later.

i love you still

the sole highlight of last night's vma awards was stuart zender playing with mark ronson. i'll add a picture later if i can find one. that man is too fine. fine fine fine.

my hooptie

i met laverne in the fall of 1996. i was starting grad school and had qualified for an auto loan. since my school wasn't in walking distance i really had to get a car. i hadn't had much experience driving - i was already away at college when i turned 17 and got my license. with no car to practice on i was still pretty much a novice, even though i had taken behind the wheel my senior yr of hs (shoutout to mr. hicks!). laverne was my road dog.

we've been through a lot together. from the first time i drove her to school and scraped that car in the parking space next to mine to the spring break road trip from atl to chi to nj and back to atl - she's always been there for me. but vernie's getting older now.

lately she's been making a lot noise...embarassing me at drive-thru windows and such. despite that she's been a trooper. she made it all the way to bk and back on saturday. however, yesterday proved to be too much for her. while i was on my way to a meeting her brake light and battery light came on after i turned on the air. luckily i was just about to pass a sears so i stopped in to have the battery checked. turns out nothing was wrong with the battery but my alternator belt was dragging on the pavement. and the noise was coming from her vibrating heat shield (that sounds nasty) that the mechanic just cut off and threw away (that sounds really nasty in a different kind of way) she's better now but i was told that she needs new cv joints and tire rods in the front AND she has a "massive oil leak"* as well as a cracked pipe somewhere near the exhaust - all that's not gonna be cheap to fix at all.

i've been feeling for the past few weeks that me and vernie were gonna have to part ways soon. we've been together for 11 years and it may be time for her to go. i have no desire to take on a car note at this time nor do i wish for my car insurance to go up. i'm just getting my budget stabilized and i'd like to keep it that way for a while longer. what is i'm gonna do??

pssh.

*the mechanic's words, not mine. if it was massive i think i'd notice huge oil spots wherever i park. on another note, man was that mechanice fine. fine fine fine. i had visions of me lathering his greasy arms and hands with lava soap and scrubbing his grimey nails with one of those handled nail brushes until they were sparkly clean. sweet n sour sauce, indeed.