cybergeisha

Comparative Weather Studies

In which the author discusses the weather in San Francisco vs. Seattle

I grew up, as many of my readers know, in Seattle, WA. I lived there for 25 years, until I moved to San Francisco, CA. When I mention that I am a native of Seattle, without fail, the first thing about which most people inquire is the rain. The common misconception is that Seattle is the target of a constant deluge of near-biblical proportions. Not so. It is overcast, cloudy, and rains quite a bit, but you generally can get by without an umbrella, as long as your coat or sweatshirt has a hood.

Seattle has nothing on the weather we’ve had here in the Bay Area today. When I woke up, the wind was howling and it was raining so hard I couldn’t see across the street. The patio furniture we had on our roof was, somewhat amusingly, mangled and twisted all over the sidewalk outside our front door - four stories below the roof. I’ve never seen rain like that before. It was pouring down huge, heavy droplets and felt like I was in a cold, wet, uncomfortable shower wearing all my clothes and carrying bags.

Travel, Rain and Irony

Or, a funny thing happened on the way to the airport…

Ironically, I was out in the weather because I am on my way to Seattle for the weekend. When I got off the subway in downtown San Francisco to take the rent money to my roommate, there was a cascade of water pouring down the steps as I walked up to the street level. As I waited to cross Market street, someone drove by and sloshed what seemed like a tidal wave onto me, soaking me from the waist down. Fantastic.

Rent paid, I went back down to the subway to catch the BART to Oakland International Airport. MUNI service, I found out, had been stopped through downtown because of the weather. The BART line I was going to take directly to the airport was also stopped. Thankfully, they were letting through a different line, so I took that one and transferred in downtown Oakland to a line that WOULD get me to the airport.

Waiting for the Flight To Come

Live from Oakland, it’s Friday Night!

While waiting at the airport in Oakland, my friend Ian text-messaged me and asked me if I was alright - apparently the news is covering the storm down here and saying there have been hurricane force winds! I’d believe it. The weather is off the frickin’ hook, that’s for sure. The weather in Oakland seems to be tamer than the weather in San Francisco - it’s a little rainy but the airport seemed to be functioning as usual.

Ian told me that there is a mandatory evacuation order in place for Orange County and that wind speeds are topping 75 miles per hour - incredible that I have to rely on a friend in Seattle for information on what’s happening RIGHT OUTSIDE MY WINDOW. I can’t get over how funny that is, actually - we really are living in an information age! I saw a sliver of the blue sky out over the bay, though, so I was pretty sure my flight would be able to leave.

I was standing by for a flight at 4:40 and ticketed for the flight at 5:30. It actually sort of surprised me - they let me right through security, no questions asked and no problems given. This is a bit surprising because I have a lot of electronics parts, metal, glass and other stuff in my hair extensions right now. Tele-destruction hair!

Hometown Advantage

For once, the weather sucks less in Seattle than in San Francisco!

For a moment, I wondered if I’d make it out of California. However, I got on the earlier flight and even though the flight took off half an hour late, I arrived in Seattle at 19:30 - earlier than the flight I’d been scheduled for. Erik was there a few minutes later, but holy crap, the weather here is great! Far better than the weather in San Francisco - clear and a little windy, but not raining at all - not even coat-wearing weather.

Tomorrow, I get to chill out and possibly meet up with my friend Lindsey (who is offering to teach me to knit), hang out at Dragonfire Imports (my family’s antique shop, where Erik is the shop manager) and make last minute preparations for the Information society show on Sunday night. Many of Erik’s siblings and both of his parents are considering going to the show - and my mom wants to come, too. Incredible! I don’t know how I feel about my mom going to a electronic music show - but it’s sure a trip thinking that my suburbanite, lexus-driving, shops-at-nordstrom mom wants to go see InSoc. I hope she likes the show!

More information about the concert is available on the Information Society website or by clicking the image above, which also has information about the Philadelphia, San Francisco and Austin performances. The show is at at 8PM on Sunday, 6 January 2008 at El Corazon in downtown Seattle. Tickets are available at TicketsWest.

Oh, wow, what an awesome weekend!

I’d never had any particular desire to go to New Orleans, really. But that was pretty awesome. It was a little last minute but it worked out well - I hopped on a plane in Seattle and jetted to Houston, got lost in the labrynthine and confusing airport - it may have just been the sweltering heat, that was confusing me, though. Finally, I found the gate (on the other side of the damn airport!) where I was to board my connecting flight and almost walked right into Jim Cassidy.

HEY! YOU’RE IN THAT BAND! - Houston, TX - New Orleans, LA

I was glad to not be the last or first person to arrive, so I called out “HEY OH MY GOD YOU’RE IN THAT BAND!!!” And then busted up laughing as Jim recognized me - who else could possibly be 5′1″ tall, all in black and sporting blood red spiky hair with orange bangs?! - and looked somewhat less disturbed. Paul was waiting at the gate and was extremely relieved to see us arrive, and urged us to get on the plane.

Kurt finally arrived - his flight from San Francisco had taken longer than expected and he made it right before they closed the doors - and we flew to New Orleans. I sat in front of Mr. KAZMEYER and he kicked the back of my seat until I told him I’d come back there and turn the plane around. Kurt gave me peanut M&Ms. I drew in my sketchbook and listened to Apoptygma Berzerk. 40 minutes after taking off from Houston, we arrived in New Orleans, gathered the gear and took the smallest limo ever to the hotel.

ENDS WITH A T, BEGINS WITH A K

W were staying at the W, which was wicked swanky. immediately I took notice of a sign on the concierge desk that read, simply “WHATEVER.” Kurt saw it too and we both coveted it. However, the sign was soon forgotten when it came time to get something to eat, and we headed out into the bright, humid Louisiana afternoon.

Kurt took me on a walking tour of the French Quarter, we had an early dinner at a wonderful little restaurant with an intriguing menu. I had salad, an amazing, tasty salad with this creamy, wonderful cheese and steaming hot, delicious crusty bread. But the best thing was the heavenly brown sugar cheesecake. Oh, my, god. Yum. We ate and talked about people and music and art and philosophy and Beavis & Butthead.

KRISTIN LEARNS BEING A ROCKSTAR IS HARD - air conditioning + naptime = win!

However, the grass began to make me itchy, so we walked back to the hotel, went up to Paul’s hotel room (stopping to photograph a copy of USA TODAY with a funny, poorly constructed headline) and I got handed the task of removing the plastic wrap from about two dozen 12″ vinyl records, so that Kurt, Paul and Jim could autograph them, after which I could add them to the InSoc site.

They discussed the setlist for the show, listened to some music, made fun of each other’s signatures a little, and Kurt got room service and shared his french fries with me, which were very, very tasty. However, sitting on the floor of Paul’s room in the nice cool air conditioning after having been out in the sticky, hot weather made me want nothing more than a shower and a nap.

Being a rock star must be hard work, because I started to feel much more sleepy. Or maybe it was the heat. I’d prefer to think it’s because I was working hard at being a jet-setting rockstar. All those important rockstar things to do… and stuff. Okay, it’s because of the heat. Anyhow, I took a shower, and then I curled up and took a nap before it was time for the show.

HERE IS AMBER (and Kazmeyer)

I was still napping when my phone woke me up, but I didn’t answer it. Amber, a friend from LJ and Myspace, had driven from Florida to New Orleans to meet up with me (and the band!) and hang out and go to the show, though when she’d text-messaged me upon arrival in New Orleans I didn’t wake up, she caught up with Jim and got the official Kazmeyer-style tour of New Orleans. I’m not sure what that entails, but I’m sure it’s wacky. She mentioned bread pudding.

After throwing a cute outfit together, putting on some eyeliner and fluffing up my hair to be cute and spikey, making sure my camera was charged and stuffing my phone in my bag, I met up with everyone else in the lobby of the hotel. Kurt told me Amber was there and had gone to bring her car around, and when she pulled up I said hello and inwardly squealed because she has my stickers on her car. Jim and Paul and the gear went in one car, Kurt and I went in Amber’s car, and we were all off to the club.

WORST. VENUE. EVER.

It was loud, confusing, smoky, dark, and the people who ran the place were jerks.

The show? It sucked.

The club sucked, the crowd sucked, it was smoky and too loud, we suffered, and finally it was time for the band to go on… It was impossible to find somewhere from which to film so I chose a decent spot and hoped nobody would get in my way, since I’m tiny. The first song was unusable for the video, because they DIDN’T BRING THE LIGHTS UP, DIDN’T TURN ON THE STAGE MONITORS, and the sound was TERRIBLE. And, I kept getting bumped and jostled by UNRULY HOOLIGANS! God, the crowd was inebiated and obnoxious, and there was almost a threatening vibe in the air.

Finally, the lights and sound situation got sorted out as Peace & Love, Inc ended… But when “Back in the Day” began, so did the rest of the onslaught of idiocy that plagued the performance. The show was initially interrupted, at this point, by a security guard walking around ON STAGE (?!).

EVERYBODY CHEESE IT, IT’S THE FUZZ! - Bad Boys, Bad Boys…

What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) was the next song, and for a moment it was as though the show would normalize - fat chance! By the time the first chorus was over, in came the next onslaught - about eight people and THE COPS (THE POLICE - REAL, UNIFORMED POLICE OFFICERS!) came running up on stage and through the door into the “green room” offstage area. Then, the police and their posse swarmed back out of the back room, once again crossing the stage, and finally left the show to continue.

Would the show end in peace? Nope. Due to the commotion with the police, Kurt became stuck backstage at the beginning of “Running.” And then, little ways into “Running,” the last song in the set, an EXTREMELY drunk girl decided to get up on the stage and begin attempting to bother, molest, and dance with James and Kurt - with security (strangely!) nowhere to be found, despite their on-stage meandering no less than 10 minutes previous!

THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT ….bitches.

The show could NOT have ended soon enough and Kurt, Amber and I bailed as soon as the show was over.

We realized however that we did not have directions back to the hotel, but between my recollection of the streetnames and Kurt NAVIGATING USING THE MOON, we found our way back. If that doesn’t make us look like total badasses, I don’t know what will, short of fighting an entire pack of werewolves with our bare hands, or something. As to not being able to read (or fold) a map, those rumors and allegations cannot be confirmed nor denied.

I was kind of irritated after the show and low bloodsugar-y but after a bit I came around and the night ended well - I ended up going back to the hotel, and getting room service, and hanging out with Kurt and Amber. It was a ton of fun, Amber is so sweet, I’m glad I got to finally meet her! Eventually, it was bedtime and I passed out like a rock.

COAT CHECK - Amber Stays a Step Ahead

Thank god, we didn’t have to leave stupid early in the morning. I woke up late, around 11, took a quick shower, packed my things… thought about going back to bed but didn’t.

Amber was waiting downstairs, because as it turns out, Kurt had left his coat in her car the night before on the way back from the club. So there she was, with Jim and Paul, in the lobby, waiting to give it to him! It was cool that I got to say goodbye to her, too - and she had a bewildered stranger take a picture of all five of us looking ridiculous and goofy.

On the way to the airport, the guys told me stories about how boring going on tour can be, and when we got to the airport, we all had some lunch - I had pecan pie and coffee, and it was GOOD.

HOLDING… HOLDING….. - New Orleans, LA - Houston, TX Lake Johnson, LA

The flight from New Orleans to Houston was insane. I was sitting next to a woman whose 4 year old son was HYSTERICAL throughout the entire flight… which normally would have been about 40 minutes. Well, the plane took off and flew the 40 minutes from NOLA to Houston, but had to go into a holding pattern over Houston. Then repeat. And repeat. Finally, we’d circled for long enough that we ran short on fuel had to land at Lake Johnson, LA.

Get this - the airport was FRICKIN’ CLOSED. TSA had gone home for the day so they informed us that unfortunately whoever got off the plane wouldn’t be able to get back on - but that didn’t phase the lady next to me, who took her hysterical, shrieking offspring and left the aircraft to find other transportation. This left me a row to myself, but I invited Kurt to come hang out with me because we had no clue how long it’d be and I needed someone to talk to, because I was starting to get really bored.

DEPARTURE TAKE TWO - Lake Johnson, LA - Houston, TX

The Captain (who sounded like a total choad, all “Uh, hi, this is the captain… we’ll be leaving hopefully soon… yeah.”) came on a few times and made some retarded announcements nobody paid attention to. Kurt and I started making up reasons that we hadn’t taken off - goats wandering onto the runway, Jim-bob wasn’t in the Air Traffic Control tower because he was busy wrestling gators down by the bayou, maybe the runway didn’t really exist…. But then we somehow got clearance to take off, and thus, we did.

Almost an hour later we took off, and an hour and 20 minutes after that, we were finally in Houston.

Even though the trip from New Orleans to Houston had taken us 3 hours more than usual, somehow Jim was able to catch his connection to Portland, and then Paul headed off to catch his connecting flight to Los Angeles. After talking for a while, Kurt went to catch his flight to San Francisco, and I was all by myself in a strange, frontier airport (okay, it was just like any other airport…) and I was starting to want some food…

FAKING MOTHERHOOD FOR FUN AND BETTER SEATS - Houston, TX - Seattle, WA

I was actually really hungry, so luckily there was a Panda Express (mmm, chow mein!) at the airport… So I ate chow mein, read a book and waited for my flight to Seattle. Finally, when it was time to board, I had my ticket scanned and it gave that *bzzz* sound nobody wants to hear. They had to reassign my seat - after some doing the hokey pokey, and starting to feel really dizzy and sick, I was given a seat.

Unfortunately, it was in the back of the plane, next to some idiot woman who was a total bitch when I asked if I could trade and sit on the aisle, since I was feeling sick. When she made a big deal about it, I was going to give her the seat back, but she continued to be a bitch about it. So when she demanded to know why I was being so selfish, I told her (since she’d been bitchy) “I’m pregnant!!! How can you be so MEAN?!” *sob sob*

The look on her face was PRICELESS. I didn’t feel bad for lying.

And I was still giggling, on the inside, when we landed in Seattle, where Erik picked me up and took me home.

If you want, you can see my video and photos from the show on the Official Information Society Website.

I had so much fun in New York with Information Society.

The show was pretty awesome, thanks to the surprising fanbase that showed up, it wasn’t just a bunch of confused club kids like “wtf who are these d0rks?”

I actually ended up on the same flight as Kurt on the way to NYC, and that was fun and interesting. We talked about Christian theology, he pointed out some interesting scenery (including a whole butt-load of wind farms and some strange grid-like compound that we couldn’t figure out) and then we watched “Music and Lyrics” without listening to the audio, and made up our own storyline. I think we were actually pretty accurate.

After getting to the hotel we walked around New York and went to an awesome Italian cafe with a FUCKING HOT waitress, met up with Paul Robb at the hotel lounge, prodded Jim Cassidy into finally showing up, and went to the show.

I videotaped the performance, was spotted by someone who knew me from online, couldn’t find Jim and Paul to say “bye” and went back to the hotel with Kurt since we both had to catch early flights…

And here’s where it starts to sound like some weird “and then I woke up” moment:

I was in my pajamas, talking about philosophy with Kurt, when Paul called up at 2:30AM and said “COME OUT AND GET FOOD!” So, of course, we did. And at 3:00AM I’m at a late-night diner called the A7, in my pajamas, with Information Society, ordering waffles. I was tired and started to doze off waiting for my food, but Caz began drumming on the table saying “WAKEUPWAKEUPWAKEUP!” and I did.

When relating this story to a friend he said “Okay, and then you realized you were at school and you were naked? Best story ever!”

Rad. Totally, totally rad.

It was great to finally get to meet Jim and Paul after working with Paul on The Website for months, and talking with Jim on MySpace and e-mail.

The show. The SHOW. THE show. Oh my god, what can I say about the SHOW?!

Yesterday, Erik and I drove down to Portland from Seattle with our friends Amber and Erika to see Information Society live in concert at the Crystal Ballroom. The show was amazing. Absolutely amazing. We were able to procure a spot directly at the front and center of the stage, and throughout the long, enjoyable, highly energetic show, we were mere feet from the band.

At first people trickled in, and hung around in groups. A lot of the attendees seemed to know each other, and amplified by the fact that it was held in a large ballroom (complete with chandeliers and wooden floor), at first it felt a little like a high school dance. People were sticking specifically with who they came in with and not talking to anyone else, but after a while the crowd loosened up. I went outside during the “warm-up” band EchoNoEcho - their style wasn’t really my thing - but came back in for the opening band, Son of Rust, who were absolutely worth watching!

It also made it easy to secure a spot directly in front of the stage, in the front row, for Information Society. I swear, it was sparsely populated in the ballroom during Son of Rust’s last song… but as soon as they went offstage, it was packed in there and we had the best place - talk about AWESOME.

InSoc 2.0 - thoughts on the new lineup

You could literally feel the anticipation in the air like electricity as Information Society took the stage one at a time. First the drummer, then Paul, then James, then Sonya, and finally… Chris Anton. The new lead singer. The crowd seemed a little lukewarm to him at first - because, really, when you think of “Information Society” you generally think of their eccentric, charismatic former lead singer, Kurt Harland. The “voice” of InSoc on all the albums. So it’s understandable to be a little doubtful.

And then, silence, and the sampled voice of Kurt Harland saying “I’m not exactly in the mood for Mozart, and all THAT kind of goings-on.” and the familiar intro to Peace and Love, Inc. I thought it was a good touch to leave the original sample in the song. But, I admit, as Anton began to sing, even I found the first verse of the song jarring - not because Christopher Anton sounded bad or screwed up, but because I’m used to hearing Kurt Harland. Chris Anton isn’t Kurt Harland.

Duh.

Anyhow, nobody could replace Kurt, and frankly I’m glad Christopher Anton isn’t trying to. Very much his own person, he is a very charismatic, entertaining frontman with the confidence and talent to carry even the original InSoc material (Think, What’s On Your Mind, Walking Away, Repetition, etc) on his own merit without trying to imitate Kurt, while still retaining a sound and style in keeping with the original.

Need “Pure Energy?” InSoc Delivers!

They played a ton of old material as well as a ton of stuff from their new album. Christopher Anton had a few slip ups on the words (but who doesn’t once in a while at a live show? especially when you’re the NEW frontman!) but I really admired his sense of humour and ability to keep from getting flustered when he did something like knock over his mic stand or start the chorus too early. The group has really great chemistry together.

Chris oozed charisma and seemed to be enjoying himself, but James seemed to be having a the time of his life and it was infectious - everyone there seemed to be having a great time. His interaction with the band, the crowd, his props and instruments, brought the show to a whole new level. Sonya is the most adorable ball of energy EVER, I don’t think she ever stopped dancing and jumping around - she’s a great backup singer. All the while, Paul Robb looked VERY sharp in a jacket and tie with (what else?) very appropriate mirror shades and he made sure to show that his skills on the synth haven’t grown dull.

I had such a great time at the concert - I laughed, I cried during the song “Repetition,” I sang along to everything, I cheered, I danced. I occasionally hugged Erik, Amber or Erika out of sheer giddiness. My throat hurts and I’m tired and I’m still in shock that I just saw INFORMATION SOCIETY - for real. Live.

We had hoped we’d get to meet the band and give our regards and congratulations, as well as welcome Mr. Anton to the peanut gallery, so to speak, but we had to bail a soon as their encore was over because the drive back to Seattle from Portland is a long one and it was already around 1:00 AM.

Fashion Update!

My Outfit (click to enlarge)

I usually don’t post frivolous fluff about what I wore to what event or whatever… but I really, really loved the outfit I wore to the concert last night. My hair, makeup, clothes, and shopping karma all worked perfectly to bring together a totally phenomenal outfit that was understated but still unique and attention-getting. Kind of a rivet-new wave-mad scientist outfit with a long coat and a collared shirt and very InSoc-inspired hair, smoky eye makeup and shimmery neutral lipstick.

Believe it or not, I styled my hair in the car in a just a few minutes, but ended up with a sexy, very J-rock/anime angular, semi-spikey style. For makeup, I simply layered on purple-black eyeshadow until i got a smoky intensity of colour, and then lined my eyes along the lashline with black liquid liner, winged at the corners, and smudged, smoky black pencil liner underneath, set with a little of the same purple-black eyeshadow. My outfit consisted of semi-fitted army green pants, rolled up above my ankles, a white button up worn under a tight black tank reading “THIS IS MY STYLE,” and a black, calf-length fitted-through-the-waist cassock-style skirted lightweight coat. It’s very similar to the coat Kurt Harland wears in the “Peace and Love, Inc” music video. And I’ve been wanting that coat for so long I’ve considered having someone custom design and create one for me.

I actually bought the coat an hour or two before the concert, right down the street from the venue. It was adorable, fit like it was made for me, and I’d been looking for a similar coat for a long time. And it was only twelve dollars - marked down to ten! So really, not only did I get to see INFORMATION SOCIETY, I got a really, really awesome new coat. I still might have someone recreate Kurt’s coat for me, though…

More later, I suppose, I am understandably exhausted after the awesomest concert I’ve been to recently. I really LOVED the opening band Son of Rust, but didn’t hear much of the first band. And damn, some of the people at the show were dumb. Especially the girl who decided to try and hump James’ leg and then stagedive…