Memory Foam-Soled Slippers

Just got these. Possibly the best invention in human foot-ware in the last decade.

On to Sintra

After a night started with a cook your own meat on a hot rock (see pic below), we went out to the bars/clubs, ending with some delicious hamburgers stuffed with corn, carrots, and french fries - followed by more insanity in the apartment.

We somehow managed to make it out to a gem of a Portuguese town called Sintra which has a reputation for being a bit of a mythic place. It was shrouded in clouds as we checked out the National Palace, and then went on a maze of odd Midsummer's Night Dream-esque ruins/caves in the Quinta Regleiro, which was mad fun. We spent the whole day, and again find ourselves getting ready for another dinner, perhaps Fado tonight.

Landed In Portugal

We landed in Lisbon, Portugal yesterday after getting SIP out of the way early. After braving some torrential downpours while napping the day away for trans-continental flight recovery in our downtown apartment, we made it to a Portuguese dinner, and then off to bars for drinking and dancing. We came to around noon today, got a quick lunch, took the tram to the top of Lisbon, and made it to the Castle of San Jorge.

We finished a tough day of sight-seeing with liters of beer and a snack in downtown Lisbon. On to dinner tonight and more bars.

The Rolling Sloans @ Tommy Doyle's

On Thurs Oct 1, The Rolling Sloans played the first show of the 2009-2010 academic year at Tommy Doyle's in Harvard Square. Apparently, Tommy Doyle's used to be the original House of Blues, so we were playing in good company. The show was held as a fundraiser for Sloan Entrepreneurs for International Development (SEID), to help Sloanies get out to the developing world to help out entrepreneurs there. The show was great, and both turnout and funds raised exceeded expectations.
The band on stage. I'm rocking the bass.

The crowd seems to be getting into it.

I hand off the bass and get on the vox for a bit.

I also managed to learn to play bass and sing at the same time.

The band post-show.

No Pain No Gain

Last night was the first Rolling Sloans concert of the school year. We've been practicing a lot for it, and my fingers haven't yet gotten used to the amount of abuse a bass dishes out when you finger pick.

I threw back some advil for the show (which I'll post about when I get some pics), but a few songs in, felt something flapping around... only to discover that I'd ripped the nascent callus right off my middle finger. Ouch!

I think it's a rite of passage for a bassist though, and my middle finger's skin will grow back nice and strong for the next show. Flea used to pour super glue into the holes of his fingers when the Chili Peppers first started out.