My Blog

Minor housekeeping

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For those keeping track:

I broke up the now non-existent category Austin at night (and day) into two more specific, not very cleverly named ones: Keep Austin Weird and Austin nights. I think I might do some more breaking up in order to keep things more on-topic. I’ll sleep on it.

Also, I’ve added a new link to the sidebar: La Parolis. I’m not sure whose it is but from the looks of it, it must be one of the split personalities of an otherwise normal girl (or maybe it’s a guy?!). She uses proper punctuation and receives way more comments than The MKX® does. It’s in Spanish.

And I removed a bunch of blogs that are not being updated anymore. Shame on the authors. You’ve been un-Experienced®. Boom!

Music

The Smashing Pumpkins – Austin

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Some observations on last Tuesday’s concert:

  • The Backyard is cool, but it’s FAR. They can’t expect people fro Austin to drive through rush hour to get there.
  • And their parking sucks. Almost an hour to park and almost an hour to leave is unforgivable. What are they thinking? Thankfully we had a soccer ball and plenty of people to get a game going in the parking lot while the exits cleared up. Seriously.
  • Really good concert, but I’m afraid Soda is a tough act to follow.
  • The encore with The Frogs member Jimmy Flemion was weird.
  • It’s nice to have n one to supoprt other than myself, so I can go to lots of concerts.

Music

Soda Stereo Monterrey

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“Tarda en llegar. Y al final, al final hay recompensa”

Last Friday, I went to what was the best concert I’ve ever been to.

Thirty two thousand music lovers met at the Estadio Universitario to see legendary (and by far personal favorite) Argentine Rock en Español band Soda Stereo after a 10 year absence as part of their reunion tour Me Verás Volver. And I was only there, right in the center and only a few meters away from the stage.

Jaramillo, Cetrulo, and Correa made the trip from Austin to Monterrey to see the band as well. Locals Julia, Moishele, Lucía, Nathán, Bernardo, and many other friends went too. It was a big event after all.

To see some photos we took go to The MKX® Photo Central or you can check out the official website’s photos (1, 2).

The concert’s set, as best as my friends and I could recall (feel free to point out the mistakes) was very similar but not quite the same as in Argentina. (Spoiler warning: Do not read on if you still have to go to one of the concerts):

  1. Juego de Seducción
  2. Telekinesis
  3. Imágenes Retro
  4. Texturas
  5. Hombre al Agua
  6. En Camino
  7. En la Ciudad de la Furia
  8. Signos
  9. Picnic en el 4B
  10. Zoom
  11. Cuando Pase el Temblor
  12. Final Caja Negra
  13. Trátame Suavemente
  14. Sobredosis de TV
  15. Danza Rota
  16. Persiana Americana
  17. Fue
  18. En Remolinos
  19. Primavera 0
  20. No Existes
  21. Sueles Dejarme Solo
  22. (En) El Séptimo Día
  23. Un Millón de Años Luz
  24. De Música Ligera
  25. Disco Eterno
  26. Cae el Sol
  27. Prófugos
  28. Nada Personal
  29. Te Hacen Falta Vitaminas
Around the world

Vivaaerobus brings tears of joy to my eyes

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Yesterday they finally approved low cost airline Vivaaerobus to fly out of a new  no-frills terminal in the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

This means direct flights from Austin to Cancún, Guadalajara, León, Monterrey, Puebla, and Queretaro. And they will be cheap too: supposedly starting at $9.99 before taxes.

Since a quick trip to Monterrey includes:

  • Car permit: about $40
  • Car insurance in Mexico: about $80 for 4 days
  • Three or four tanks of gas: $90
  • Tolls for the border, Colombia road and Monterrey-Laredo highway: $40
  • Sitting on your ass six to eight hours each way: Priceless.

you can see how I intend to take advantage of the new flights. Let’s hope that the prices do actually remain low and the schedules are good. Sadly flights start in March of 2008. More info here.

Update 1/30/2008: Rejoice my friends. After two false promises, Vivaaerobus started selling tickets for their Austin-Monterrey and Austin-Cancun flights yesterday. They begin in May 1st, 2008 and go for $9.99 one-way (yes, 10 bucks). After taxes, it’s around $120-$140. Still a good deal!.

Music

Los Amigos Invisibles – Austin

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Last Thursday I was finally able to catch Venezulean band Los Amigos Invisibles in concert. They have been eluding me for years: a couple of years ago in Carlos & Charlie’s here by the lake, they played in ACL last year, they played in Havana in Monterrey while I was there. And for one reason or another I couldn’t go.

Right before the concert I headed to a  nearby bar for a few beers. Over there, I met with a few friends and some people from Mexico and from Venezuela that I’d never met before. I pointed out that the concert could start any minute now but those guys seemed very confident about the schedule and very calmly stated that there was still time. A few minutes later they got up and left, saying they had to go to work. Very nice guys. Happened to be in the band. One of those strange connections: sister of a friend of a sister of a friend is married to the band’s bassist (see at 00:45 for explanation).

The concert was at Antone’s. Los Amigos played for about two hours straight. The coolest part is that they play non-stop: no gaps between songs at all, they just finish one and smoothly move on to the next song. Great concert. Highly recommended.

  

 On Friday I was supposed to go to see Smashing Pumpkins, but it got postponed. So no more preparation before The Big One.

No ugly people were harmed making this blog.