2002-03-18 - 2:04

You affect me, you infect me

This weekend was fairly busy, partly because Saturday marked the end of my concert blitz. Seeing Bad Religion in Toronto was my fifth concert in March and it was the third weekend in a row that I travelled for a show. Oddly enough, though, the concert wasn't the only story, a fact that I suppose I implied in my last entry.

Yes, so uh. Smitten. Well, I am. So, how am I supposed to write this entry, anyway, knowing that the subject of the conversation will be reading? Well, I suppose that it's not so complicated. Friday night, I followed through on a party invitation, so I could meet a girl who I've been talking with lately. And she's pretty damned great. So there!

By now, you're all thinking that me being the social dynamo that I am, I must have been totally in my element with a house full of strangers and one girl who I knew somewhat but who had the potential to fluster me more than everyone else put together. Actually, it was a fun night; and everyone was cool.

Predictably, I did leave a little unsure of what to think of it all. Of course, this is the ideal state to be in when you have a five hour solitary bus ride the next day. No harm can come of that.

It was cool to hit Toronto again, mainly because hooking up with Richard is always good for a lot of laughs. I didn't have a lot of extra time in the city before the show, but I enjoyed just hanging out.

The show itself was very good. Despite the unfortunate name change, I have to admit that the Kool Haus is much improved since its days as the Warehouse. (My last stop in that club was two summers ago.)

The club's redesign really shows how massive the crowd is and they turned out to be very active, as well. A very high portion of the crowd was moving for Less Than Jake. I think that I even saw Parag somewhere in the distance, which seems plausible, since I think that he's still going to Waterloo.

Although I hopped and bopped a bit for Less Than Jake, I was feeling a bit lazier than I was at this month's other concerts. I took advantage of the break between bands to move up to the front; and I spent the first half of Bad Religion's set with only one person between me and the stage.

Of course, that area is nothing but a crush-fest. It's cool to be able to see the band so well, but there's no opportunity to do much. Half the time, I couldn't even get an arm over my head to shield myself from the crowd surfers. I quickly realized that I should pay attention to the bouncers' reactions, to know when to duck.

Even though I was feeling less energetic than usual, when "Recipe For Hate" started, I had to back off so I could get in the mosh. That was a lot of fun. I got into it a bit with a couple of guys, mainly because one of them kept jabbing a fist in my back. Of course, that only added to the fun.

I stayed in the mix for the rest of the night, enjoying the conclusion to a fantastic set. These concerts are definitely solid work-outs. I'm not sure how much I lost in sweat on Saturday; but my pants were feeling looser by the end of the night. I should be glad that my concert pace is dipping now; I really don't need to be any skinnier.

Today was the long bus ride back, and a night of staying in and taking care of a few things around the house. I now have two concert reviews to write, which I will do one of these days.

There you go. I finally saw Bad Religion, so Jen should be happy. And life is interesting overall.

J.