NP: The Pixies, Come On Pilgrim / Surfer Rosa (MP3)

I really should be paying bills and doing my finances, but I also really don't want to. Maybe I'm afraid of what I'll find, but with "accounts receivable" what it is at the moment, in part due to Bowie last night, it shouldn't be a problem. And perhaps resolved on a grander scale very soon, but more about that later.

Bowie last night. Where to start? To say the man has aged gracefully would be quite the understatement. As much as I hate to say it, this blew Peter Gabriel's show last year out of the water. I have a nasty habit of just "watching" a concert instead of really feeling it. No problem this time. I'll try to write a more formal review (yeah, I know, I'll believe it when I see it, too) by the end of the week, but a few moments stand out. "China Girl," with Bowie on his knees, pleading "oh you baby, just you shut your mouth." And the juxtoposition at the end of the set of "I'm Afraid of Americans" and "Heroes" was damn near transcendent.

Also, Macy Gray's hair may have it's own ZIP code. At the very least, it's own e-mail address. And her giving up on getting the audience out of their seats and telling her whole band to sit down for their finale of "I Try" was great.

Afterwards, I made it over to Vaughan's, where Eric and Geno were waiting, even though I told Eric I might not make it. No bother, it was fun, although I refrained from playing any Filter this week. And completely hacked through Bowie's "Scary Monsters," which I clearly need to work on a bit more. After a few beers and a few shots, I told Geno about my selections last time, and now he wants to here my rendition of "Where Do We Go From Here?" Not sure how I feel about it. He's also now talking to Anto about the big rock thing, and I've got a little bit of an Alexander Graham Bell-esque "what hath God wrought" feeling about that, but it should be fine. Dunno if they'd fit stylistically, but Anto definitely has the pipes to pull it off.

Anto, in fact, wasn't thrilled with my renaming of the band this week. So the Sheffield Exiles is likely out. The newest idea, arrived at almost in the middle of a song at open mike, is Diver, which I kinda like, and am thoroughly surprised hasn't been claimed, at least as far as I can tell. It's good enough that I didn't mention the idea to Geno, who might steal it.

More interviewing tomorrow, so all requisite digits should be crossed in ritual fashion. Dropping a bit out of character, I actually stoked some other irons in other fires today, just in case my optimism, growing less cautious by the minute, is once again misplaced. I want to say this one feels different, but I really won't know until it's over. The other upshot from last night's extended post-open jam drinking is that Eric might have another project for me. And they're playing Peter Gabriel in it, which is still attractive despite Bowie being better in concert.