I is for in-store

So, bethje and I went to the Borders in Bryn Mawr for an in-store performance by They Might Be Giants. Along the way, we stopped at the Amish market for some tasty cheese-filled pretzels. We got to the store around an hour early, and the place was already fairly crowded. There were quite a few parents and kids, which technically makes sense for a show promoting a children's album, but, like I overheard some guy near me say, when TMBG does these children's projects, you kind of don't expect actual kids to get into them. I guess a fair number of parents are fans, and, as is typical when parents share their music with their children, the kids either grow up to be fans themselves, or to totally despise the band. Anyway, most of the audience was in the space designated for the concert, but some people were also watching from the stairs, and from behind glass upstairs. John Flansburgh referred to the latter as the "quarantine section."

( S is for setlist )

After the show, we waited in line to get some stuff signed, which we did. They kind of hurried us through, though, and I don't think Linnell spoke to us at all. So now I hate TMBG. No, seriously, I understand that they had a lot of people to see and autographs to sign, but it was a little disappointing, since this was my first face-to-face encounter with the Johns. Oh, well.

Before leaving the store, we talked to onib for a little while. Then we went to get some food at McDonald's, and returned to our respective homes. Once I got here, I found two of the mix CDs from the Frank Black Forum swap waiting for me, so I'm in the process of listening to those now.

Death for the dead

Well, bethje and I managed to get Tori Amos tickets. The show is supposed to be just her with a piano, which should be cool. At the shows I've attended, the parts where she played solo were generally my favorites. The band is keeping her down! {g}

Speaking of Tori, I had a dream the night before last that Beth and I met her at some kind of signing. At first we were too scared to say anything to her, but I eventually said something (I forget what), and we had some kind of conversation. It worked out better than my encounter with the real-life Johns of They Might Be Giants, but then, it WAS just a dream.

I've listened to Beth's copy of The Beekeeper once all the way through, but haven't had a chance to really let it sink in. I'll probably have more to say on it after I had.

In other news, I won Final Fantasy II last night. The battle with the final boss, Emperor Palamecia in his final form as Lord of Hell, didn't really have any trick to it. I just had to keep hitting him with big spells, and healing after he attacked. The ending itself was fairly anti-climactic, but for one twist. There's apparently a sort of a Second Quest, called Soul of Rebirth, where you play two characters who died during the game itself. So far, it's been really hard, with the monsters constantly kicking the dead guys' asses. I wonder if I should go back and try to win Mario and Luigi before concentrating on Soul of Rebirth. I also wonder how long the latter is.