Road Trip

I can count the number of bands I would drive hours to see on one hand. Semisonic is one of 'em. I took a road trip from Mad City to the Twin Towns just to see them at the Aquatennial block party. I like road trips. Cranking tunes from Semisonic, Mike Doughty, the Dixie Chicks and John Mayer to keep me company, I hopped in the car. (Oh, yeah, I had to take Friday off work to do it.)

The trip is pretty rural. Corn fields. Hawks. The Dells. Roadside wildflowers. Relatively billboardless. Signs to towns like Baraboo, Osseo, Elk Mound, Chippewa Falls, Menomonie. Past the big orange fiberglass moose. Past the buffalo farm. To the Minnesota state line. A quick stop in Falcon Heights and then on to Hennepin and 3rd.

Three stages. Fried food vendors who crawl from state fair to the Aquatennial, making the place smell like grease. Free 2-minute chair massages. Time to pass before they play.

I've often wondered if we choose music or if it chooses us. All music goes into your ears, but some goes farther down, hooks the soul and gives a little tug. Semisonic does that for me. I like DW's playful, willing-to-be-vulnerable songwriting style.

The show was GREAT from beginning to end. Well worth the drive. I was happily very near the front so go to snap some pix, which are in Pics at www.myspace.com/cheryllucia

From Jake's "Better than Toast" shirt to the beach ball sailing overhead, it was really fun. The music is still fresh and playfully sexy and sweet. By the end we were a sea of people whipped into a happy puppy dog frenzy singalong of Closing Time and Singing in My Sleep. Absolute magic.

Glad the new Tim O'Reagan came today. Looking forward to giving it a listen. Met with Engineers without Borders folks working on water projects in Rwanda. The quiet cafe we chose (so we could talk) had loud music and a belly dancer, which was a little distracting for the Ugandan priest.