it is 10pm @ the spin cycle on milwaukee & wabansia. i am seeking refuge here in these air conditioned quarters from the sauna that is now my attic apartment 3 blocks away. i am waiting for my dryer load to stop spinning. been listening to damien jurado's i break chairs while reading douglas coupland's life after god. interesting combo of pacific northwest emotive outpourings. these guys make me want to laugh and cry simultaneously and alternately.

i love the laundromat. especially tonite when i really needed to cool off somewhere besides my own four walls. the spin cycle is an interesting place. it's kind of like a village well i suppose. you get all kinds of people here. at this hour on a wednesday night, it's pretty empty and quiet except for the constant sound of mechanical spinning from the washers and dryers. it's quite relaxing, really.

it's been a busy week. saw neil halstead twice, and had the serendipitous pleasure of discovering the music of andrew bird, who opened up for neil. i can't describe andrew's music except that it's absolutely gorgeous. i was really blown away. his songs sounded like the sirens song from o brother where art thou--the feel & echo of the music. and he can whistle like a god! i think one of the most beautiful sounds EVER is of really good whistling.

he & his group bowl of fire will be playing @ the hideout the first weekend in may. i am totally there. and i would totally recommend everyone in the chicago area to come out and see this show. i bet it's really cheap. stuff at the hideout is usually free or cheap. always a good thing. another singer/songwriter named sid hillman also opened up. he's been touring w/ neil and sand with him on hi-low and inbetween. all in all, 3 quality acts at the abbey.



i really had a good time by myself at the abbey. it was nice to be able to roam around & take photos as i pleased without having to keep track of other people. i usually get lost in taking my photos anyway, and then i always feel rude if i'm with other people. sometimes it was hard to take photos though when i would get lost in neil's voice. i never tire of hearing that voice...it reminds me so of nick drake.


tonite as i was driving home from the hospital, i saw up ahead of me hanging over the loop a gigantic fluffy cloud--it looked like the pillsbury doughboy's family reunion. i just wanted to float out of my car right there and then and fly to that cloud & plunge myself into it, and i was sure it would taste like the inside of a freshly roasted marshmallow. instead, i pulled into the costco parking lot and walked up to my bridge, the one over the chicago river on damen just south of diversey, that bridge i love crossing so much.

the sun had subsided far enough for the temperature to have cooled to a pleasant summer night air. as the natural light faded to just a whisper, the manmade fluorescent bulbs turned up their volume. there's something about the smooth red steel semiparabolic arches that is so beautiful against a gradually darkening sky. i don't know why i'm so fond of that bridge. i probably won't be able to stand the sight of it a year from now.