Try Pleasing With Stealth

I finished out the rest of the week with one run. Just a sneaky 5.5 miler with Martin Fagan who was in town for the Interpol show and on a much less important note, to run Beach to Beacon 10k. We did the Blue Hills loop in what was the most humid conditions I've experienced this summer. Brutal. Not to sound like a broken record but knee was sore and swollen. Same result, but a great run with a great friend in anticipation of a great gig keeps the negative energy far away.

My third Interpol gig this Summer was as good as Rochester and better than New Haven. A lot of people (me included) are very negative about the House Of Blues. PBR cans for $6? Please. The attitude of the staff, the fact that you need an ID to get a bracelet and then you still need to show ID every time you order a drink. Whats the point in getting a wrist band if thats the case. Bollox. However, corporate music venue bullshit side, the sound is excellent. The stage is nice and high, and the floor has ample room. I haven't experienced a bad gig in HOB and I've been to 5 this year. All great and all sounded better than any of the other gigs I've been to. Myself and Fagan got a good spot on the floor about 10 rows back from the stage. Cool people around us sang the songs and smiled all the time. A complete d'bag came in late with his girlfriend and started chatting. I lost the plot and got very angry with him. He left and I got high fives from 3 or 4 people who stood around him with the same frustration as I had but lacking confidence to tell him to shut up. Paul sounded excellent and was genuinely surprised at the response from the crowd saying it was the best crowd they played in front so far on the tour. Personally I thought the atmosphere in Rochester was much better but then again there were about 500 people at that gig and about 2000 people at HOB. Small, intimate crowds always seem louder but I'm sure looking down at 2,000 people with their hands in the air gives the band a little more energy. Set list was very similar again with Heinrich Maneuver played in place of Mammoth. Not Even Jail ended the main set and the encore had Hands Away, C'Mere, and Obstacle 1. Absolutely smashing.

I took Friday completely off all exercise and had Tommy McArdle in town for the evening. Always great to see Tom. We headed out for a few scoops to some of my favorite P-Town spots, Garden Grill and The Avery. On Saturday morning we met up with Coxy for a 48 mile ride. I promised to take it easy since Tom has not been riding much more than an hour and Lee is only getting back into shape. We had a lovely ride on one of the nicer mornings this Summer. Tommy got the knock after about 40 miles and after an opportune puncture he decided that since his tire was wrecked he would lay in the grass and have Coxy pick him up since we were only 2 miles from Coxys house. I continued on riding hard all the way home. We did a lot of attacking in the second half which is what buried Tom. It all started out as a bit of a laugh but it still hurts. We kept the attacks going for about 10 miles so ultimately it was a great workout. Took it easy down at Mark Brissettes house for the rest of the day having a few scoops and playing some Bocce Ball. Lovely day.

This morning my plan was 4 hours over hills to proper bury myself. I got about 5 miles in and punctured. I went to get my spare tube but forgot that I gave it to Tom the day before. Lovely. I had my hand pump and was able to get air in to free wheel down hill. The puncture was tiny and releasing air very slowly. I had to walk the last 3 miles but it was no stress. My knee was sore on the first climb so maybe its a good thing. Kicking around some ideas for what to do next week starting with scheduling an appointment with Dr. McKeon to see what my options are.

There are no good videos from the Interpol show in Boston. I'm sure some will surface. I did go back to watching some Wolf Parade from Portland, ME and found a great sounding "Kissing The Beehive" that will bring a massive smile to any face.

Love Kel