My Ex-Boyfriend's Band

Vicarious concert calendar

I will be missing some key music events this next week, especially a very awesome event tomorrow, and that makes me bitter. So I pass the torch to you, my friends, and encourage you all to take my place and then regale me with your tales.

So, yeah, I was saying something about tomorrow night. Go to Mohawk Friday night. This is an order. I am totally ga ga over this band (yes, hint). It seems this show has been kept under wraps, but I'm sure that bubble will burst at any moment. Whatever. Just go!

Saturday features two solid options. Get Him Eat Him is guaranteed to deliver an energetic electronic opening for the lovely Wrens at Emo's. I am fond of the Wrens, but Get Him Eat Him is the band that will get you hot and bothered. If you're looking for something a little more '80s or a little more local, check out Black Tie Dynasty and their Dallas crew at the Parish. Fabulous neon and white pants would be highly appropriate for this show.

Of course this trip spans two weekends and yet another great set of shows. On Thursday, go get all melodramatic with Travis at Stubb's. My Friday pick is Bishop Allen at Emo's Lounge, featuring the great Cully Symington keeping time for a brand new set of Brooklyn pop tunes. The ethereal My Brightest Diamond is not to be missed at the Parish on Saturday. If I'm lucky, I'll be back by Sunday to see Tokyo Police Club and White Denim crank it up at Emo's.

Don't let the image of me crying in a tent pitched amongst the corn ruin these shows for you. Really, I'll be fine. Just have fun without me.

Hold your horses, I'm coming back

But not quite yet. I have decided to keep My Ex-Boyfriend's Band all to myself, which means I need to implement all the changes I've been waiting for on my own. Nothing big, just some organizing, a little freshness, a touch of pizazz if you will.

Plus, I'm gonna be dying in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa next week and probably won't have the energy to type, nonetheless listen to music or breath or other important activities. I thought I learned my lesson about conditioning during my first RAGBRAI, but alas I am even less in shape this time. Before I was naive, this time I'm just stupid.

Hopefully my body will make it back to Austin, and when it does, My Ex-Boyfriend's Band will relaunch with a great and grand glory. Until then, I will leave you a few more nuggets of music gold to sustain you in my abscene.

Unmasking the ex-boyfriend's band!

Sometimes, blogs have principles, a set of moral and ethical guidelines, founding beliefs. One of the main ideologies of My Ex-Boyfriend's Band is for it to remain completely and utterly ex-less. But sometimes, principles just don't matter. This is one of those times.

Check out the new St. James MySpace blog to see what the rock star life is all about. From playing in a massage parlor to subsisting on McDonald's Surf n' Turf, it is a luxurious life indeed. I just hope Aust double bagged it with the cockatiel, I hear the Bird Flu itches like a mofo.

The day GW died for our sins

Happy Fourth o' July everyone! As my friend Nate says, George Washington wasn't crucified on the Statue of Liberty for nothing, so I hope y'all had a superb vacation and got drunk with dignity.

I started the day off watching a horrible documentary on CMT about the most patriotic songs of all time. Within 11 seconds I remembered why I was so desperate to leave Nashville. Within 11 minutes I was pretty much over the entire show. Why does no one put this glorified singing puppets out of their misery?

But I did have one fond Nashville memory today. It was three or four years ago, on Independence Day, and there was a grand concert in Nashville on the river. The Reverend Al Green ruled the show with his white suit and smooth moves. Ever since I have considered "Love and Happiness" the quintessential American song. It is all about love and, shockingly, happiness. Not a single nationalistic lyric in the whole thing. Which makes it far superior to the Civil War country crap I momentarily ingested early.

"The power of love
make you do right
love'll make you do wrong
make you wanna dance
love and happiness"

Hell yeah Rev, that is red, white and blue.

The final countdown

Am I the only person that listened to Europe in the 80s? I am guessing not, as they are second only to ABBA in Swedish rock history. The cool girl down the street from us used to bring the tape over when she babysat. Not only did she ride horses, she also listened to glam metal. That means she was more than cool, she was pretty much the most amazing person I had ever met, and proved it by choreographing an emotional dance to "Carrie" with me.

I may have my own final countdown going on. On July 9, the b5media group will launch their music channel, and My Ex-Boyfriend's Band just might be a founding member. I have already be talking to some of the other bloggers, and it looks like it will be a fabulous and diverse network, covering everything from Motown to Manchester. I would be taking care of the Austin music scene and indie rock.

You know what this means, right? I could be a professional blogger. Sweet! But sweeter than Joey Tempest singing his Swedish heart out on "The Final Countdown?" I think not.