Stratovania

I saw Jenny Lewis live for the second time last night. The first was back in 2006, when she was on tour with the Watson Twins for her first solo album, Rabbit Fur Coat. That was at the TLA, while this was at the Trocadero, which I actually like better, even though I'm pretty sure it's smaller. It's more conveniently located, and has more seats on the balcony. The show attracted a small crowd, which isn't to say that there weren't a lot of people, but that a lot of the individual people were small. I kind of felt like a giant while in line. But anyway, the openers were Farmer Dave and Deer Tick, neither of whom were particularly memorable. About all I really noticed was that the lead singer for Deer Tick had a really gruff singing voice. Two openers are too many, really, but at least I didn't have to stand up for them (which most people did; I was lucky enough to get a spot on the balcony before it filled up). Jenny came out in a T-shirt and jeans, and she was as cute as ever. (That sounds kind of cheesy, doesn't it? True, though.) The songs that I can remember her playing were:

See Fernando
The Charging Sky
You Are What You Love - I've had this song stuck in my head quite a bit recently, so I'm glad she played it.
Pretty Bird - She dedicated this to the inflatable duck given to her by Deer Tick.
Just Like Zeus - A new song, which she introduced as being about getting the clap from Lindsay Lohan, and then apologized for being mean. {g} There was another new song in the set as well, but I don't know what it was called.
Carpetbaggers - I like this song, even if the tune for the verses sounds a bit unoriginal.
Jack Killed Mom - One of the songs on which Jenny played keyboard instead of guitar
Rise Up with Fists
Happy
Handle with Care
Silver Lining - She did this with just the two percussionists for accompaniment, and sang the bass solo.
Born Secular
The Next Messiah - Why is this song so long? Oh, well.
Bad Man's World

Despite being near the bar, I didn't have anything to drink during the show, and my throat was parched by the time I got out. I tried to get a drink at the Wawa across the street from the venue, only to find it way too crowded. So I got an orange soda out of the vending machine at the parking garage instead. I wish it were easier to find diet orange soda, both because I'm trying to cut down on sugar, and because it's not as sickeningly sweet but still has the flavor. I'll also drink Sprite Zero, but it doesn't really have as much flavor as regular Sprite. Actually, I think it kind of tastes like 7-Up, while Diet 7-Up tastes like ick. Well, at least it did the one time I tried it. But I'm getting off topic here, so I might as well end this now.

I feel I would be remiss in my continuing quest to acknowledge obscure holidays if I didn't mention the Bacchanalia, a feast of drunkenness and orgies celebrated by the Romans on the sixteenth through seventeenth of March. Actually, there were apparently Bacchanalia celebrated throughout the year, but that appears to have been the main time for the festival. The celebrations were banned by the Senate in 186 BC, although there was a stipulation that the Senate could approve Bacchanalia if they deem them necessary. I can only imagine the paperwork that was necessary to petition for one.

As you probably know, Bacchus was the Roman equivalent of the Greek Dionysus. As the god of wine, Dionysus was associated with drunken revelry, and was said to be attended by wild women known as Maenads. But he was also the subject of a mystery cult, and followers claimed to feel his presence inside of them. According to some scholars, his essence was said to enter the wine that believers drank, so that they were symbolically drinking the god himself. Sound familiar? He was also a resurrected deity, although not quite in the same manner as Jesus. After his mortal mother Semele died from seeing Zeus's true form, the King of Olympus had the fetus stitched into his own thigh. An alternate myth says that the infant Dionysus was torn apart by Titans, but Zeus resurrected him from his heart. When listing parallels between Dionysus and Jesus, there's also the latter's transformation of water to wine at the wedding in Cana. The importance of wine in the Gospels makes me wonder how some branches of Christianity are teetotal. There are plenty of good reasons to abstain from alcohol, but I don't think Jesus is one of them. The Son of God seemed to be in favor of alcohol, at least on special occasions. But I digress.

We've already discussed how the Romans imported the Greek gods, but didn't always view them in the same way the Greeks did. In this case, I get the impression that the Romans had less respect for Bacchus than the Greeks did for Dionysus. While the Dionysian mystery religion did spread into Rome, the general Roman conception of the god seemed to be more akin to the lovable town drunk type that we see in Fantasia.



If all goes according to plan, I'll be getting into the Easter spirit next week by looking at a god who sacrificed himself on a tree. Yes, none other than Odin, leader of the Norse pantheon.