blm, thanks for your comment! i loved my visit much more than i expected, but you are spot on - it's hard to imagine giving up my city/mountain inclines. i am looking forward to being back in brooklyn though .. soon, soon. allison, i am sorry for your woed week of hard adjustments. the long distance relationship is a nasty endeavor - much harder than i ever expected - and in reality, I have no idea how long it will go on this way. I hope things work out for you & the boy - and that you will get to see him again, soon!!!! xo.

Good bands, eh? Glad you like, hugs.

I listened to this, Jim!!! Hahahaha. Very sigur ros-y.

Can't wait for the show! And Natalie, thanks for the link! YAY.

They are fantastic --- you'll love it!

thanks for all of the happy words, everyone!

Allison, I read your button post --- priorities indeed! And crustt, I have listened to the whole album. <3 <3 <3 wanna see them live!

:) Hi matt, hope all is well with you too!!!! Revamped my "UMPH" playllist and it's much more respectable now. Thanks for the recos, as always.

Yuri! Hmmm, health hazard, prob not. Safety hazard? ... YES! I can totally envision myself rolling out of bed, tripping over the stack of books, and poking my eye out on a happy antler spear! Hmmm, mayhaps "by the bed" is not the best location after all? I love Arcade Fire, but plans last night kept me from seeing the webcast. Cannot wait for them to come back to the Bay! I am still absorbing their new one, but I do like it.

Speaking of $325, I was looking at the menu for Zuni Cafe and HOLY EXPENSIVE!!! But according to yelp, if we don't split a roasted chicken we will regret it for the rest of our lives. I don't want a chicken to get in the way of my happiness, so I say: LET'S DO IT.

I know, right? This boy has skillz. And Yuri, I think I would pass out. It hasn't occurred to me to try to meet them. I'm such an avid fan, they don't need to sign anything or give me anything. Their music, their performances are enough. Thanks for the kind words about my blog, and yessss, high five to Brooklyn!!!

I'm crazy about him, guys, and thanks for the comments and the emails! Headed to Brooklyn soon, I cannot wait.

V, next time we must hang out! And Ryan, yes, yes. You will be famous among DOZENS. :)

Thanks Zach & mister INMD, I appreciate your comments & very kind words! And Dominick, it is so nice to see your comment this afternoon. Still to this day, some of the best feedback I've ever gotten was when you wrote to say that my blog made your days a little better. Meant so much. :) Glad you are safe and able to go to shows once more!!! Take care.

Gus, I struggled between Whirring and The Greatest Light for this post!!!! .... ok, now I am going to listen to Whirring before bed. Here's to the JF going places, indeed.

Glad you like it, Marc. And Drew, the Marina remix is current #25 on hypem, and its rank is getting better and better. My top hypem tune rallied at #3, let's seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Mwah. I concede this success to you, neighbor.

I loved the talk, Gus. Booth is definitely getting up there, and Matt Diffee did a good job in "bringing him back" when his thoughts would wander (in an adorable old person-y way, of course). With that said, he was a wonderful story-teller and very clever. It was fun to see a retrospective of some of his best cartoons. I was more aware of the work he did with The New Yorker, so it was nice to see some of the other things he has been involved in. If I had known you were a fan I would have gotten him to sign something for you! And Katie, I really want to be at the LA dates, but I will have to wait for the Oakland performances. I am sure they will kill it there, loved seeing them at the Wiltern last year! Blow kisses at the band for me.

I know, Kelly, hurray! So grand to have new music from them. Thanks for the shout-out on your latest post, glad to provide some background music. I'm likely to be at the National show in Columbus in August, so if you trek over from Cleveland it would be nice to meet you guys! And Gus, I actually thought of you last night, so great to see your comment today! I went to see George Booth and Matt Diffree speak at the Herbst Theater (I have such a burgeoning love for illustration, what can I say) and although their work is more of the "cartoon" variety, I loved what they had to say about it all. I still check in on your blog and love your work. As for High Violet, I ended up getting the high-res release (I caved to the leak as well) via emusic when my vinyl and cd did not arrive that morning. Impatient. It is the best album of the year so far - hope you love it as much as I do!!!

I don't mind, Zeedle and Allison. I wish I knew the artist ....

Whenever I don't pay attention to things, I always imagine them woefully sitting in the corner with an escalating drinking problem. For example, my hand weights are completely drunk on gimlets right now. Left overs in my fridge? Drunk on pinot. Old bridesmaid dress? .... drunk on mouthwash. (So sad.)

Thanks so much, Yuri! Your comment means lots & lots and fingers crossed they make it to your lovely country in the new year. I'll get back to posting soon, I've been drowning in busyness since getting back from my amazing VA trip: Back at it, self! Back at it.

Hey Ben! I really liked your write-up of the concert and it was interesting to be there for both nights and note the differences. And Jamie: It was so great to meet you and high five on the new stops! I saw that they were coming to Detroit and thought of you guys. I'm going to see them again in Ohio with a couple blogger friends, and I am about 75% in for the NYC Radio City Music Hall show. It's going to be a great summer!!!!

Yeah it is great. "Boxer" is still my favorite album, but this album is really wonderful too. I was really worried the album would be a let-down, but it isn't. Songs like Sorrow, etc, will prob put High Violet at the top of my list for the year.

Hi Katie! Man, I need to write about the April 23, but I don't think I have the time this week to do it. It was great though, both nights were so different. It was fantastic meeting you, and too funny to run into someone who reads my blog at a National show. Btw, I cannot believe that pic of you and Matt!!! JEALOUS. Will, seriously considering coming out to NYC to see the Radio City performance. If it happens, we will indeed form a blogger wall of tall - I would never come to New York without hanging out!!! xo.