Honeymoon :):) (to the show we go) (back from the show)

Good Evening, my Angel,

I love your post! Since we just got married, where should we go for our honeymoon? Since it's gonna be during Christmas, I say we find a little town in England for a Classic Dickensian Christmas. Or maybe a German or Czech village with a similar setting. A place that feels as if it were invented just for Christmas. You can scout the perfect location while you are travelling after finals are over, and I will join you there. :):)

I am home for a short break after picking Pearl up from Golden Agers. Tonight I am going to see Opeth at the Hollywood Palladium, a legendary venue but not one of my favorites because it turns into one big mosh pit at heavy metal shows. I haven't actually been there in close to 30 years, but the last time I was there, was for the infamous Slayer riot, which I think was in 1986. You can Google it to see what that was. Just Google "Slayer" + riot + Hollywood Palladium, or something like that, and you'll see why I don't like the place. But, it's 30 years later, and I think Opeth will draw a slighty more civilised crowd than Slayer did back then. At any rate, I'll just stand in the back, just to be sure. And, I can't wait, cause it's Opeth, and they are always great, and the last two times I saw them, last year, were among the best hard rock shows I've seen in quite a while, so tonight should be no exception.

I will write when I get back to Pearl's, which will probably be between Midnight and 12:30am. And, I will also check in when I get to Pearl's in a little while, at 4:30pm. It's a beautiful day today, about 80 degrees. I think I'll go for half my walk now, just so I get at least some of my miles in.

See you in just a bit...........wife.  :)

I Love You, my Sweet, Sweet Baby!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)


4:55pm : Happy Late Night, my Darling. I am at Pearl's, doing the Feeding Thing: first the Kobester, then Black Kitty, then finally Pearl & me. Before dinner, I always enjoy a cup of tea, which I am sipping right now. Soon I will leave for the Opeth show, via the Metro Red Line subway, as always. Didja Google the Slayer riot? It should be noted that, though I was there, I was one of the people running away from, and not participating in, said rioting. Although I'm sure that goes without saying! You know, I love hard rock and metal, but I was never much of a Slayer fan. Just the one album, really, "Reign In Blood". That one's a classic, but other than that, they don't do much for me. I was more of a Metallica guy.......

Wow, Sweet Baby, I am missing my hikes! Haven't been on one in........what? Three weeks? A month? Everything's kinda been up in the air for a while, and we had Thanksgiving, and then rain. But I will get back out there before the end of the year, guaranteed! Of course, major hiking season, for me, is in the warmer weather. But I am missing it already, and I wanna take some pictures asap. :)

Well, I will get back to the Feeding now. When I get back from the concert I will write more. You will be there with me in spirit. Sweet Dreams as we go..........

I Love You, Elizabeth!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

12:45am : I am home, my Baby. I actually got home a half hour ago, but had to make some rice first cause I was hungry. :) It was a short set by Opeth, only 75 minutes, and I should have thought that would be the case, because it is a co-headlining tour. The only thing is that I've never heard of In Flames, the other co-headliner, and so I just thought, well, In Flames will get an hour and Opeth will get 90 minutes. There was a third band, too, somebody called Red Fang, but again, I've not heard of them, and they probably played the requisite 30 minutes given to the opening time slot. Opeth also played no encore, and I think I've only seen that happen once or twice in all my 40 years of concertgoing. I am trying to Google a setlist, but so far nobody has posted one yet. I think they played 8 songs.

Now, don't get me wrong - it was a power-packed 75 minutes, starting with two new songs that sounded incredible live. The songs that followed were mostly taken from the older death metal material that Mikael has sworn off for the future of the band, but of course the audience wants to hear those songs live, and Opeth delivers.

I mean, do they ever! Grimsley remarked last year that, between Frederick the lead guitarist, and Mikael (an incredible guitarist himself), they have the best live guitar sound of any current band. I agree. For this kind of music, the dynamics are extraordinary. By contrast, a band like In Flames, while tight and highly professional as all big touring bands are nowdays, lack dynamics entirely, rendering their sound one big metal mush. Too many bands sound like that, most in fact, and so Opeth stands out. They are precise to a fault, dynamic when playing at full blast, and they can switch gears in mid-song to include, and play clearly, the folky and jazzy elements Mikael incorporates in his compositions. They are just an awesome live band, although more like the Pink Floyd of heavy metal, rather than performers like Judas Priest. They don't do much on stage, but they have a pretty good light show, and Mikael is a comedian between songs.

The Hollywood Palladium wasn't too bad as a venue. It was packed, and there was a mosh pit in the middle of the floor, but there is also a balcony, so I just went up there and stood against the railing, and I could see perfectly the whole stage, from just a little off to the side.

Before going in to the show, I walked down Sunset Boulevard to Amoeba Records, because I had two hours to kill and didn't wanna see the opening bands. It's a huge used records store, one of the last in all of Los Angeles, but they have tons of stuff and it's fun to browse.

All in all, a good concert and a good night, and an easy trip on the subway.

Have a great day, Sweet Baby, and I will see you in the morning!

I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)