Category Archives: Miscellaneous Diversions

I’m always looking for ways to distract myself from finishing projects.  Nothing beats some good rocking as a distraction.  So Tuesday night was Wilco night here in St. Louis.  Actually Tuesday night was a lot of things in St. Louis — Obama’s visit, a Cardinals play-off game and some kind of event at the History Museum (that we got stuck in traffic at trying to avoid the Obama traffic).

My office is right downtown and on opposite corners from the Renaissance Grand where Obama was visiting.   Just about quittin’ time, the street started to go on lock down for the President.

That’s a view out my window from my desk.  It is really interesting all the security measures they put in place for the President’s visit.  I escaped to the MetroLink and met up with JT in Forest Park to avoid the hub-bub.

This night though I was more interested in someone else’s visit — Jeff Tweedy and co!  First up was opener Nick Lowe. 

Great picture right?  I know.  When Nick Lowe came back out to play with Wilco during the encore , Tweedy joked that they were now called Wick Lowe.    We came in while the lights were down so we didn’t get much of a chance to take in the scenery.  The Peabody Opera House just reopened a few days prior to the Wilco concert and it was pretty obvious — a large group of seemingly regular concert attenders without any idea of where to go or how to get there.  Everyone kind of just milled around.  When the lights came back up, here was the results of all the renovation:

I had never been in it when it was the Kiel Opera House so I don’t know if they stayed true to the original.  The one thing I didn’t care for?  The carpet.

Not only were the colors kind of blah, it has stylized musical notes on it.  Not a fan.  And this is coming from a person who has used alphabet carpeting in a children’s library.   Sometimes that works.  Here I was hoping for something a little less theme-y and casino-esque and more sophisticated.  But I digress.

Finally, what we came for.  Wilco!  Maybe all I need is a shot in the arm . . .

When I hopped onto YouTube, I found some actual Peabody Wilco footage here.  Not sure how legal that is, but it shows how great the stage looked and Oh! the music. 

Have a great weekend!

I’ll never understand how the weekends come and go so quickly.  Due to last weekend being a celebration of my 31st birthday and impending adulthood, JT and my family took me out for a good time.  I don’t know if I’ve fully regained my hearing after going to see 4 bands in the span of 3 days.    It was a great whirlwind though!

Friday we had “80s Night” at the Pageant, seeing Tom Tom Club and Psychadelic Furs.  Both groups were high energy and still have it 30 years later. 

But first JT had taken me to dinner at Winslow’s Home on Delmar. 
Not only was the food yummy and you could order wine from their wine room, it’s also a “New American General Store”.  I’m not 100% sure what that means except that I like it . . .   I had to really crop down the picture on the right as Mr. T doesn’t necessarily want to star on the blog, but look at all the fun things on the shelves behind that handsome man in flannel.  I didn’t make it out of there without treating myself to a few items.

Saturday and Sunday was the Taste of St. Louis.  I had never been before so I wrongly assumed that it was a poorly attended event (because if I wasn’t there, then probably nobody was there, right?).  Whoa was it crowded.   I saw Fitz and the Tantrums on Saturday and The English Beat on Sunday.
(Have I mentioned before that my photography is horendous?  Plus there was a 7 foot tall man in front of me at the Fitz show.)
The Peabody Opera House is about to reopen and was hosting a preview night.  Somehow my sister and her boyfriend pilfered tickets on Saturday night and instead of being down in the crowd looking up at the Peabody balcony, we ended up on the balcony, looking down on our subjects below.
It was a pretty awesome weekend!

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. . .