Sigh. If it weren't for airfare prices, and our usual lame coordination, I would be in Philly right now hanging out with my brother Bulletproof Vest. He and his wife Clarissa (can't think of any snappy nickname right now) are I think debating whether to return to Manila or whether Clarissa takes that postdoc. If they do go to Manila, it means I won't see my brother for a long time. =(
Bulletproof Vest, coincidentally, lives a block away from the park where the lone US venue for Live 8 is going to be held. That was the plan -- hang out, go to Live 8, then catch the train to NYC the next day to try to squeeze in a showing of Spamalot, but alas...
I would have loved to see Jay-Z and Stevie Wonder live (for free!), but the rest of the Philly lineup I'm not too sure about. I did see Sarah McLachlan during her unimpeachable Fumbling towards Ecstasy days, but her recent output, with the exception of a couple of songs, has been fairly negligible. The rest of the people playing, at least as announced a month ago, seemed dire: P. Diddy, Rob Thomas, 50 Cent, Bon Jovi, the Dave Matthews Band, and yes, MF5. (Though my brother called me up when surprise performer Kanye West was singing "Jesus Walks!")
But I guess if I went I wouldn't have been able to have lunch with see Howl's Moving Castle and Batman Begins with La Poeta (and raid Amoeba and Rasputin as usual), or have coffee with 12 Mile, or go for a midday drink with Special K, or have drinks again with 12 Mile and Jean Jacket and the Mean Girls Gang at Molotov's, or go to Sausalito with the Iz, or sing along to Spandau Ballet and Kate Bush with my cousin Rousseau and Erica (sorry, can't think of a snappy nickname for her either) before they move to Portland, or get a crash course in J-rock from J-Lu, or Korean goat stew with the Big J... What a week. And just this afternoon at a cafe this woman walks up to me as she's leaving and gives me a big charcoal sketch of a guy with glasses sitting with his legs crossed -- it's me! Like when was the last time that happened to you?
In any case, if my brother will still be there in the fall, a Thanksgiving visit to the East Coast will be in order.