Mid-Week Holidays Rule!

It's Tuesday and I don't have to go to work tomorrow. Neither do you. Awesome.

I've been pondering a new post for the past few days, and there's just so much going on in the world to talk about that I haven't been able to decide, so I'll hit on the highlights, and then go on for a bit about a band I saw...

1) Dick Cheney, otherwise known as the man you'd least like to leave in charge of your children (let alone your country) declaring himself no longer of the executive branch of government. Civics students across the nation try to keep their brains from melting out of their ears into puddles of goo on the floor. Next stop, Justice Cheney will use his powers to dissolve the Congress and the Executive and then start selling shares of America, Inc. to Dubai... wait... I think we already do that...

2) Using race as a basis of integration in schools is no longer allowed. See: "Stupid decisions made by white people and black people who think they're white people about how racism no longer exists because they have a black upper-middle-class friend". A major setback for America.

3) Congress blows its wad on immigration. Good job Congress. I think we should send every anti-immigration, send-em-backer to a destitute Mexican village without electricity and plumbing for 10 days and then see if they'd want their children growing up like that.

4) The Polyphonic Spree, i.e. an overwhelming display of narcissism and chamber rock in a tiny Polish club in Greenpoint. A.K.A. The Hipster Revival Meeting.

The Spree, brainchild of Tim DeLaughter, is a sight and sound to behold. A 20-something piece band that has a harp, an 8-lady choir, a string section, a brass section, and a flautist. Imagine it. In a room not-so-vaguely reminiscent of your middle school auditorium. There was nowhere for the sound to go but deep, deep into your bones. And with lyrics like " Follow the day and reach for the SUN!" and "Hey, it's the sun and it makes me shine. Hey now it's the sun and it makes me smile," you kind of feel like you're deep inside some Electric Company acid trip. DeLaughter holds himself like the Hipster King, standing in front of his ensemble conducting, and sometimes turning around and conducting the audience.

The band began the show in black military garb, "The Fragile Army" of their new album, and with gusto whipped the crowd into such a frenzy that for a full five minutes they sang something about "raising our voices" while the band did a costume change into their more-typical white choir robes, making the sweaty DeLaughter seem even more like a Messiah seeking the adulation of his disciples. And the crowd gave him what he wanted as the band weaved through the audience from the back of the auditorium up to the stage to open the encore, which lasted almost as long as the show featuring a cover of Nirvana's "Lithium" that actually made me bounce.

If I seem cynical, I kind of was. Hipster King really got under my skin sometimes. I think it's got something to do with some of my ex-boyfriends. But then again, even a 24-piece band couldn't outshine DeLaughter's electric need for your adoration, and somehow, you wouldn't want that to happen.

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