IN: Pocket people (waiting for the Stephen Malkmus platinum edition)
OUT: CPR dummies (creepy)

This post was intended for Monday, but I took a little trip out to Seattle, and I finally found internet.

I came across some free tickets to see Travis at the Fillmore in NYC on Sunday night and couldn't refuse them. After all, it's only been about ten years since I was a superfan. I remember it like it was last month - calling the Philly radio station and winning one of a few seats at a 7am in-studio performance. Sneaking out of the sequestered guest area and hanging out with Frannie and Dougie. Not understanding much of the conversation due to their thick Scottish dialect. Swooning when Frannie gingerly poked me in the shoulder at my mention of both of our "Baby One More Time" cover attempts.

After the superfan in-studio, the band graciously got me into a show in Chicago...my first live Travis concert. To my chagrin, the dense quantities of drunk Brits yelling along with the lyrics prevented me from hearing the band much at all. And last Sunday night began quite the same, standing at the back of the Fillmore with a belligerently drunk soccer hoolie screaming something laced with the word "bloody." But once we moved forward towards a more civilised (and attractive) group of audience members, the experience got far better.

I realize I am not hitting any sort of mark here with my commentary. Perhaps it is the fact that my first night in Seattle was spent in a restaurant with beer, on a park bench with whiskey and Diet Coke Plus, and in a flat with more whiskey, now sans Diet Coke Plus. Waking up to construction noise at 7am in bed next to two equally-hungover people. No no, no no...where is *your* mind?

I digress. Travis is aging, and they work hard to maintain the expected levels of charisma from a decade ago. Frannie's hair is getting a bit long for his pattern, but he remains one of the most adorable Scotsmen that ever was. The highlight of the show was when The Daily Show's Demetri Martin did a live performance bit for the band onstage. It's exactly like in this video (complete with cookie stunt):

Labels: concert, demetri martin, fran, the daily show, travis