RAVE

I'm listening to Daft Punk's Essential Mix from the 90's, my first time. And I'm wondering how to put a rave in perspective, in words. With many, the e talking takes control so I guess its appropriate to start there. The three of us, Erik, Cesar, and I arrived to The News all tea'd out to see The Bloody Beetroots. The line was gargantuan with kids from across the border making the bulk of the crowd. Cesar got in no waiting attached with his friends, Click Click Bang. Erik and I later got the star treatment and went to the front. We went to the bar upstairs and shared a Tecate or two. My first time going to the bathroom provided the initial side effect of tea: loss of intelligence. My hands went down to my zipper but they had forgotten the procedure to going number one. After finally returning from my rudimentary self, I admired the humor in my position and thought about using that scene as starters for my upcoming stand up routine, coming this summer. I then got the first burst of the radio, so began the e talking. We went to the balcony and caught Click Click Bang from Albuquerque. Once the mood captures your attention, you divorce yourself from everyone. You gain this autonomy from your friends and family and only the present counts. I went downstairs and get mixed in the crowd. From then on hydration would play a major part of my evening. Erik was a generous chap the whole night with his water, so were the myriad of kids in the crowd, whether it be water, ice, or Coca Cola. I have to say that Click Click Bang took the night. They had a longer set and caught the attention of the crowd more than the latter of the night. Everyone was jumping and dancing and touching themselves. I had someones baggie of Vick's vapor rub in my front pocket and was the Vick's viceroy for the night. the waves were coming, countless, filling my entire body. Any contact from any one was stellar. I met a fellow chap in the crowd who refilled my radio and just in time for the Bloody Beetroots. Like I mentioned, they were great but not the kings of the night. I give the crown to the kings from Albuquerque. They started and ended their set with Warp. They played every remix I have of them on my iTunes including the popular, Cornelius. I'm usually in a minimal state with my movements and demeanor. But for the climax of their set I was raising cane and jumping and getting buck on the dance floor. I saw a few fights and douchers in the crowd but that didn't deter my great time. It was for the record books, and for the photo album if I had a camera.

And in California my brother and friends enjoyed great performances from my favorite djs including The Beetroots.

MSTRKRFT.

John Legend with MSTRKRFT.

The whole lot. Para One. Gaspard from Justice. So Me. Alex and Andie. Pictures by Alex. Thanks to Alex for letting me post these pictures. I was really happy for his adventure and wanted to share with everyone.

Bang Bang

Easter

I was driving home from Village Inn tonight and had I'm From Barcelona in mind. The song, "Chickenpox." Its a great song, but "great song" hardly gets the tune and words right in description. I hummed some of the melody and the first lyrics. "You can't have it once you've had it." Thinking about the song, you can't chickenpox more than once unless you have shitty luck and you can't have your youth once you've had it. I don't remember having chickenpox. I hope I had it because how the saying goes is pretty disconcerting: Its best to have chickenpox when you're little because as an adult you'll get an angrier outbreak and die a painful lonely death. But I can remember my youth and I hope to never bury it albeit I have a tattoo saying otherwise.

Today was a good Easter. It was a good Easter because there wasn't anything Easter about it. I woke up late and showered and went to the library to do some belated research for a class debate on apartheid in South Africa. The city was a ghost town the drive there, everyone in their homes eating and drinking. Listening to At The Drive In on my headphones-a dangerous thing to do behind the wheel but my only means to disrupt the silence in my car-I hoped no one would be there and saving myself the embarrassment of being the only asshole not at some family gathering. But there were people there and it really didn't matter. We were all heathens, together, online and printing shit for homework.

After the library I went home and made a quick breakfast/lunch and watched an episode of Futurama. I then went to Jessica's grama's house to pick her up. I took a glance of her collection of animal figurines in the front yard, nice novelties to give the place a friendly welcome. Bunch of frogs and red cheeked gnomes. We got in the car and headed east for Harley Davidson to see Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. We saw them last year in Marfa for free. Today was the same with a donation of food or other perishables for orphans in Juarez. We met up with Priscilla and Gabe and caught a beautiful set, an El Paso twilight as the background as an extra. The crowd was ecstatic, almost obnoxious at some points, probably East Siders, ha. They played songs from their freshman album and a few new ones from their sophomore to be released in a few weeks. I got the shakes from the set, I even was in a trance for a few solo songs just with Conor. A great lyricist, a great poet, a novelist really. It was a very spiritual show for me, I wish I had more of them.


Photos by Jessica.

At the end we tried to get Jessica's raffle ticket signed but the man, the policeman shut down the party and so we headed for our cars. Jessica, Gabe, and I went to Village Inn by UTEP and enjoyed a nice meal. We played tic tac toe, we had trouble deciding on the ever-expanding menu. I decided what I wanted and then found out breakfast was served anytime of the day and I had to go back and reaffirm my decision. We talked about cults, movies, drugs, Coachella, Asia, and The Doors. Eventually we paid our bills, Jessica and Gabe both touched my face in the parking lot then laughed, me completely oblivious to the fact and we said our good-byes. Then I drove home.

Tote Me

I'm a man who loves a good tote bag.

I bought these two bad boys from overseas and I'm super excited to debut them in school. The applications are endless. They're also good for a little grocery shopping, shoplifting, going to a picnic, and antiquing.

William Faulkner. Shirtless, making babies with the typewriter.

Ernest Hemingway. Pensive at work. Mothers, lock your daughters. This matador goes for the kill.

I was having fun looking for old pictures of some of my favorite writers and influences. Here's Hunter Thompson when he had hair. Rum Diary era I'm thinking.

These guys are fucking the buzz. We're lucky there wasn't an embargo on British goods in the 60's.

And MC5. I saw this video in class. Fuckin' tough!

The Who

It's pretty belated, but I recently fell in love with The Who. Maybe its a generational thing. In high school everyone wore Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin 197-whatever tour t-shirts but it was more about the persona and finding something to match your Birkenstocks.

These YouTube videos have rocked my world. This is before the "industry of cool." This is a rock n' roll to call your own. Now that I think about it, no one wore The Who on their clothes in high school.

Maybe that extra-fried "hippie" had one lost, behind his bed frame collecting dust with a bunch of empty Cheetos bags.

Ultra-Everything

The Bronx at Mess With Texas Three. You can see a bunch of us El Paso droogs moving around and causing some ultra violence.

The Bronx at Emos during SXSW. I'm the guy with the blue shirt and the shoes in the air are mine. RIP Sperry's.

The Bloody Beetroots are coming and you should go. A nice place to find a devotchka of your own.

And I'm reading A Clockwork Orange. The introduction by Burgess helps to bring everything in a clockwork motion, making you very empathetic. Alex is another Holden Coffield.