Stuffed burgers; SxSW
3/14
Due to incompetence on somebody's part (City of Houston?), I had no water. But I was going to the store to buy dinner supplies anyway, so a couple gallons of water solved that problem.
Cindy and I had, for some time, been discussing our idea of stuffed burgers. To offset the massive amounts of grease, we started with a salad. For the burgers, we cooked up some mushrooms and bacon. I split two 1/3 lb. burgers in half, making two patties of each, and put the mushrooms and bacon on top of two of them, along with some bleu cheese. Then put the unused patties on top and seal the seams.
In retrospect, I didn't get the seams quite right, because they opened up a bit during the grilling. Despite some scary moments in flipping them, I managed to keep the topping from spilling out. We put them on some nice hefty whole wheat buns, and I garnished mine with some steak sauce.
We consumed them in front of an episode of Lost. Suffice it to say they kicked ass.
3/15
Despite an unhappy boss, I took off Friday so that Cindy and I could head to Austin to catch some of South by Southwest. So that night there was some packing, and, since I was in the throes of an addiction to the season one DVDs of 24, I stayed up a bit late watching that.
3/16
We got a bit of a late start the next morning, much to Cindy's displeasure. We arrived in town and made straight for Waterloo Records to catch an instore by Peter Bjorn and John. We were initially quite concerned about the line, but it turned out that much of it was for a later act that Waterloo wasn't forming a line for, so we were soon toward the front. The show started and we were still outside while they were doing one in, one out, but we made it in and caught over half their set. Not bad for free. They were pretty straightforward live, but enjoyable.
After that we dropped my car off at Becca's and caught the bus to her place of employment. From there we went the the ACL studios, from which place KEXP was broadcasting for the week. When we arrived they were interviewing the Good, the Bad, and the Queen, and Beirut was setting up, which was the main attraction for us. We were there maybe half an hour early and there was hardly anyone there, possibly due to the (short) distance from downtown.
Beirut were great live, and once again, free. I think they definitely benefited from the live presentation, though I still find that their music is... well, not soulless, but not exactly meaningful. Maybe if I could understand the words...
Dinner was next on the agenda, and Becca suggested the new Salvation Pizza. The pie was excellent; very well seasoned. I need to eat there again so I can try to replicate it.
After that, back to Becca's to let our stomaches settle. Then we went to the nearby Ms. Bea's to attend what we thought was a free Architecture in Helsinki show listed on the 'net, but it didn't materialize, instead filled with bands I'd never heard of. We stuck around for a couple rounds of beer, before heading back to Becca's for the evening.
3/17
After some leftover Salvation at Becca's and a run by the liquor store for some purse-sized whiskey, we headed downtown to try and get into the filter party. Unfortunately Dan didn't show, and we were left without a way to get in. Toni showed up and figured she could get one of us in, and since it was the Pipettes performing, the girls graciously let me go in while they went in search of refreshment. The Pipettes were fun live, as the visuals definitely accentuate the girl-group revival sound. The weren't anything unexpected, but a competent reading of their material was all that was really required, and I certainly enjoyed it.
Becca had noticed that McCormick & Schmidt had a special on appetizers for St. Patrick's day, so we went, had a few cheap beers, and a lot of cheap appetizers, including corned beef sliders, chips and salsa, a burger, fish and chips, and some other stuff that I forget.
We wandered around in a slightly drunken haze for a bit, and happened to be walking by Club DeVille when we overheard the door guy say "Yes, the Polyphonic Spree is playing here." I didn't take any further convincing, so we hooked an immediate left turn into the club, got some drinks, and got in position for the show.
Having not seen them in four or so years, they were once again a revelation. Their new militaristic uniforms and slightly darker tone was effective and complementary to the current political climate, but their was still plenty of bright optimism and I got completely into the show. It was incredible.
Afterwards, in line for the bathroom I chatted with a couple of members, asking about their lack of a French horn player. He had been gone for a while, apparently, and they asked if I knew someone. I mentioned that I played, but was in school in Houston, and they told me that if I ever wanted to relocate to let them know.
Certainly, the idea was intriguing. I'm sure it would be an incredible experience, being part of such an incredible group, but in the end, I let it be a daydream. Somewhere there's a Ward that went for it, and I'd love to sit down with him and hear about it, but I've got a great life here and I've got a degree to finish. And I just may not be cut out for touring, anyway. I certainly like my comforts.
After the show we started a slow, tired walk back towards Becca's car and after a laborious negotation process managed to get Cindy's brother and her friend Sarah to meet us at Thai Passion up north. We had a nice Thai dinner and Steve nicely picked up the check.
We headed back to Becca's place and then walked over to Courtney's, picking up some beer on the way. We had a great evening of beer drinking on Courtney's porch. Good beer, good friends, good times.
3/18
We had brunch at an Italian market sort of place, and I enjoyed my breakfast panini with trouffled eggs.
We walked to a nearby record store and looked around a bit before meeting up with Kristin at the unveiling of a mural at a South Austin music store before returning to Becca's place. On the way out of town we saw Becca's piece for the Texas Biennial, which I hadn't seen in person yet, and then made for home.
Due to incompetence on somebody's part (City of Houston?), I had no water. But I was going to the store to buy dinner supplies anyway, so a couple gallons of water solved that problem.
Cindy and I had, for some time, been discussing our idea of stuffed burgers. To offset the massive amounts of grease, we started with a salad. For the burgers, we cooked up some mushrooms and bacon. I split two 1/3 lb. burgers in half, making two patties of each, and put the mushrooms and bacon on top of two of them, along with some bleu cheese. Then put the unused patties on top and seal the seams.
In retrospect, I didn't get the seams quite right, because they opened up a bit during the grilling. Despite some scary moments in flipping them, I managed to keep the topping from spilling out. We put them on some nice hefty whole wheat buns, and I garnished mine with some steak sauce.
We consumed them in front of an episode of Lost. Suffice it to say they kicked ass.
3/15
Despite an unhappy boss, I took off Friday so that Cindy and I could head to Austin to catch some of South by Southwest. So that night there was some packing, and, since I was in the throes of an addiction to the season one DVDs of 24, I stayed up a bit late watching that.
3/16
We got a bit of a late start the next morning, much to Cindy's displeasure. We arrived in town and made straight for Waterloo Records to catch an instore by Peter Bjorn and John. We were initially quite concerned about the line, but it turned out that much of it was for a later act that Waterloo wasn't forming a line for, so we were soon toward the front. The show started and we were still outside while they were doing one in, one out, but we made it in and caught over half their set. Not bad for free. They were pretty straightforward live, but enjoyable.
After that we dropped my car off at Becca's and caught the bus to her place of employment. From there we went the the ACL studios, from which place KEXP was broadcasting for the week. When we arrived they were interviewing the Good, the Bad, and the Queen, and Beirut was setting up, which was the main attraction for us. We were there maybe half an hour early and there was hardly anyone there, possibly due to the (short) distance from downtown.
Beirut were great live, and once again, free. I think they definitely benefited from the live presentation, though I still find that their music is... well, not soulless, but not exactly meaningful. Maybe if I could understand the words...
Dinner was next on the agenda, and Becca suggested the new Salvation Pizza. The pie was excellent; very well seasoned. I need to eat there again so I can try to replicate it.
After that, back to Becca's to let our stomaches settle. Then we went to the nearby Ms. Bea's to attend what we thought was a free Architecture in Helsinki show listed on the 'net, but it didn't materialize, instead filled with bands I'd never heard of. We stuck around for a couple rounds of beer, before heading back to Becca's for the evening.
3/17
After some leftover Salvation at Becca's and a run by the liquor store for some purse-sized whiskey, we headed downtown to try and get into the filter party. Unfortunately Dan didn't show, and we were left without a way to get in. Toni showed up and figured she could get one of us in, and since it was the Pipettes performing, the girls graciously let me go in while they went in search of refreshment. The Pipettes were fun live, as the visuals definitely accentuate the girl-group revival sound. The weren't anything unexpected, but a competent reading of their material was all that was really required, and I certainly enjoyed it.
Becca had noticed that McCormick & Schmidt had a special on appetizers for St. Patrick's day, so we went, had a few cheap beers, and a lot of cheap appetizers, including corned beef sliders, chips and salsa, a burger, fish and chips, and some other stuff that I forget.
We wandered around in a slightly drunken haze for a bit, and happened to be walking by Club DeVille when we overheard the door guy say "Yes, the Polyphonic Spree is playing here." I didn't take any further convincing, so we hooked an immediate left turn into the club, got some drinks, and got in position for the show.
Having not seen them in four or so years, they were once again a revelation. Their new militaristic uniforms and slightly darker tone was effective and complementary to the current political climate, but their was still plenty of bright optimism and I got completely into the show. It was incredible.
Afterwards, in line for the bathroom I chatted with a couple of members, asking about their lack of a French horn player. He had been gone for a while, apparently, and they asked if I knew someone. I mentioned that I played, but was in school in Houston, and they told me that if I ever wanted to relocate to let them know.
Certainly, the idea was intriguing. I'm sure it would be an incredible experience, being part of such an incredible group, but in the end, I let it be a daydream. Somewhere there's a Ward that went for it, and I'd love to sit down with him and hear about it, but I've got a great life here and I've got a degree to finish. And I just may not be cut out for touring, anyway. I certainly like my comforts.
After the show we started a slow, tired walk back towards Becca's car and after a laborious negotation process managed to get Cindy's brother and her friend Sarah to meet us at Thai Passion up north. We had a nice Thai dinner and Steve nicely picked up the check.
We headed back to Becca's place and then walked over to Courtney's, picking up some beer on the way. We had a great evening of beer drinking on Courtney's porch. Good beer, good friends, good times.
3/18
We had brunch at an Italian market sort of place, and I enjoyed my breakfast panini with trouffled eggs.
We walked to a nearby record store and looked around a bit before meeting up with Kristin at the unveiling of a mural at a South Austin music store before returning to Becca's place. On the way out of town we saw Becca's piece for the Texas Biennial, which I hadn't seen in person yet, and then made for home.
Labels: concerts, cooking, music, restaurants
posted by L. Maxwell Ward at 7:26 PM
