mrs-roboto's Diaryland Diary

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I Saw The Pixies and I've Got the Bruises to Prove It

So Friday night I headed up to Vancouver for a little Pixies lovin.' My travel companions included the lovely RDG and two others whom I did not ask permission to write about, so you'll just have to keep on wondering about their identities. We started our road trip off with a little music from the outrageously talented Lizzie McGuire. Nothing really gets you revved up for a show like Lizzie. Well actually, we were dropping a five year old off at that point and kids love Hillary Duff (who is one in the same as Lizzie). Reason # 5007 why I am never having kids - Hillary Duff.

After we dropped off the kid, out came the Baileys and coffee and the collection of Pixies CD's. We sped up the highway belting out tunes and stopping roughly every ten minutes to pee. You see, the woman driving the car is a mom and as such she is used to making frequent stops at public bathrooms (Reason # 5008 why I am never having kids) whereas I am in fact a Nazi about stopping the car to pee. If you should ever go on a road trip with me, I advise you to use a rest room first because I am not pulling the car over. I don't care if you're going to have an accident. I am not stopping. On my cross country trip with Pete, I allowed us to stop twice a day. This is mostly a result of my loathing gas station bathrooms. If I go into one, I feel as if I need to take a shower in rubbing alcohol. OCD, anyone?

The funny thing about the stopping is that although I mostly remained in the car, I did ask my fellow travelers for a rundown on every rest room. Was it clean? Were there plenty of towels? How about hand sanitizer? I even ventured into a certain I5 rest stop which RDG had told me won an award for Best Rest Stop in Washington or something. Being named the best rest stop is alot like winning the title of the world's tallest midget. I was not impressed. There were Krispy Kreme donuts and free coffee but still, I wouldn't make a special trip to see it or anything.

I know what you're thinking. This chick goes to see the Pixies, a band that hasn't played together in more than a decade, and all she can talk about are toilets along the highway. I swear, I am going to get to the Pixies themselves. First I have to gush a bit about Vancouver. For those of you who don't know, I adore this city and I visit as much as I possibly can. Approaching Vancouver on a clear day is like transcending into heaven. The city is surrounded by snowcapped mountains complimented by a skyline of tall, silvery buildings. There's a lush, greenness that you can smell in the air and yet you still feel so cosmopolitan. I highly encourage everyone I know to visit Vancouver. Okay, now on to the Pixies.

The show was at the Commodore Ballroom, a venue so cool I can't begin to do it justice with words. It's just classic and beautiful and the sound cannot be beat. We arrived early and ignored the opening two bands. Well, actually we half paid attention to the second act since we began jockeying for a position before they closed their set but I can't tell you who they were or if they were any good. My mind was on other things like Pixies, Pixies, Pixies!

One of my many talents is looking pathetically small. In fact, I have a method of making myself so tiny that any person with half a conscience will let me stand in front of them at a show. I usually hold back on using this power because I am afraid if I continually select it from my bag of tricks, I'll used it all up. But this was the Pixies and you can bet your sweet ass I was going to make myself minuscule to get to the front of that stage. One by one, people offered me a more choice position and each time I'd look woefully back at RDG and they'd wave her through too. We made it to a point where we were one person from the front and the person in front of me was all of 4'10". No way could I look smaller than that but that's okay, I could see clear over her and I was practically within arms reach of the mic.

Things were looking real good and RDG and I were beaming. The Pixies hit the stage and started in with Planet of Sound and the crowd started moving. I had made some idle chit chat with the bouncer earlier and he had sort of let me know he thought I'd be crushed to death but myself and the tiny gal in front of me got a a system going that involved using the crowd barrier as a brace against the pushing. It worked for a bit but I knew there was no way on earth I'd be able to keep this up for two hours. As the band launched into Caribou, things get even more complicated. You see Ridiculously Tall Guy With The Never Ending Heavy Metal Arm (an arm that pumps furiously in the air) arrived behind RDG and began making life miserable for all those around him. I saw him actually put his elbow on her head and apparently he was putting his other hand in places I couldn't see. It was also getting viciously hot. I noticed I was dripping in sweat and I was fairly certain some of it wasn't my own. We made it through about three more songs before we decide to head towards the mezzanine level and chill. Here's the great thing though, the view was still perfect! And we got seats! And some much needed water. And to be a whole lot less punk rock as floor had become a seething mass of bodies more volatile than many of the hardcore shows I've been to in my life. And it was wonderful, they played every song I was hoping to hear (Debaser, Levitate Me, Wave of Mutilation x 2, Gigantic, UMass, Gouge Away).

It was wonderful and I'm so glad I got to go! Big thanks to RDG for procuring tickets and also to the anonymous companions for driving! Woohoo Pixies!

12:48 p.m. - 2004-04-26

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