John Scholvin

John Scholvin

still can’t fit a half-stack in the trunk

28 Oct 2022

weekly five

The horrifying wave of anti-Semitic garbage that is cresting reached an appalling new apex recently with Kanye’s “contribution.” Let me be unequivocal: this kind of hate is despicable and unacceptable. I condemn this bigotry in the strongest possible terms, and I stand in support of my Jewish friends and Jewish people eveywhere. (I saw a lot of people posting this in various formats and places earlier this week, and I regret not getting it out there sooner.)

⚠️ danger: radical change in tone ahead ⚠️

This is an official ranking of months in the Chicago area from best to worst. I will not be taking questions at this time:

  1. June
  2. September
  3. July
  4. August
  5. May
  6. October
  7. April
  8. November
  9. December
  10. January, February (tie)
  11. March

I was feeling pretty depressed about this long-COVID situation that’s keeping me from running. It may be improving slightly, in that I can get up the stairs now without taking a break. I was able to walk 18 holes of golf, too, since that has a lot of built-in standing around and waiting between walks that are never too long (I don’t hit it that far). I hit upon the idea of getting back to strength training a little bit, just to keep this old meatbag moving. I’m just taking it easy, going light, and making sure I never get my heart rate too high. Doesn’t seem likely I’ll get swole this way, but moving matters, and it has brightened me up after just a few days. So. We’ll see.

Last Friday, coincidentally the same day that Midnights dropped, tickets for a Dawes show at Thalia Hall next March went on sale. I love me some Dawes, and I think their most recent album, Misadventures of Doomscroller, is close to a masterpiece. But they’re a bit of a niche product, so I figured there wasn’t a reason to worry about rushing to get tickets for a show almost six months out. Tactical mistake! When I checked back early this week, general admission was sold out, and all that was left is something called the “VIP Experience.” It’s not super clear what that actually means, but I think at a minimum it means you get in early for sound check, and (I would hope) a meet-n-greet. They’re super friendly guys and are generally available after shows anyway, so, you know. The tickets weren’t cheap, but YOLO. Spend on experiences, not things, right?

Tonight is one of my favorite nights of the year, the Exquisite Corpse Ball at Beat Kitchen. A bunch of bands, mostly friends of mine, get together and perform mini-sets of covers by our heroes. I’m playing twice tonight, first on bass as Bruce Thomas (of the Attractions, as in Elvis Costello &), and then closing the evening with my partners of nearly 30 years, The Good, as AC/DC. I’ve got the full Angus Young getup, including a borrowed SG. There are costumes, there are props, there is outstanding rock and roll, there may be simulated cannonfire. I know this is super late notice, but tickets are still available and it’s a terrific time every year if you’re looking for something to do tonight. Doors at 8, music at 9, tickets here, proceeds to benefit Intonation.


awesomeness

I usually start with a pic, but that felt wrong, given the first item.