[wanted to make sure i saw one last show in minneapolis before we left - i saw 4 ... i work well w/ a deadline. silversun pickups were the perfect band to see at the entry w/ my uptown yw rocker girl co-worker kimberland, and my plan for it to be my last big show would have worked perfectly if it hadn't been for the noxious fumes someone near us kept emitting - shame on you whoever you are ... then i heard that a local band i'd been wanting to hear for 3 years on the basis of their name alone - coach said not to - were playing at a new venue i'd been wanting to check out since lori barbero told us to - the nomad world pub (in the old 5 corners saloon building on the west bank) the day after thanksgiving. liked the venue, but the coach said not to girls should have listened to coach. good thing the band that opened for silversun pickups - solid gold - were headlining and they have a decent sound so that saved face for me since i brought my sis + nephew along ... i had known for weeks that brazilian girls were coming to the fine line and i kept on telling myself i wasn't gonna go even though i knew i'd end up going ... kung called the night of the show all excited about devotchka, who were playing a few days later, and since i have no interest in that band i talked him into going to the brazilian girls show that night - we went w/ danny + alana and ended up partying w/ the band in a south minneapolis basement until almost four a.m. w/ one of our party waking up on the tour bus in chicago. pussy pussy pussy! ... took me a couple days to recover and i thought i'd had my fill until i heard about the big doomtree blowout (incl. p.o.s. !) at 1st ave last saturday night. it was so obviously the big deal of the season that i bought 4 tickets from fifth element before i even know who i was going to take. sold out show w/ a fully hyped b-boy/girl break @ intermission was the perfect final send-off for tom-a-hawk (plus it allowed kim + me to redeem our 1st ave experience - fragrance free!) ... but that didn't stop me from running through the hot party crowds on frigid 1st avenue after the show for a few final drinks w/ kung as he finished up his shift @ sawatdee (where they were just zipping up a takeout order for g'n'r ! rock'n'roll !!!), then to an art department dance after hours in the warehouse district that would have been quite lame if it hadn't been for the drunk skinny gay boy dancing around in his jockstrap ... i know i should be finished but i can't let go until i also mention that i heard solid gold again, live on the current's sunday night local show, the night before we left ... like i said, i work well w/ a deadline.]