Chris Cornell...but mostly Rodizio

Saturday was one of the funnest nights I've had in a long time. Brian, Natalie, Josh, Beth, Bobby, and myself went out to Rodizio and then the Chris Cornell concert. We met up at Trolley Square and since Bob had to go home because they accidentally forgot the tickets, we knew we were in for a freaking long delicious meat fest. That sounded gay, but I'm not changing it. I rarely get out to Rodizio when it's not the traditional Christmas eve trip, but I was feeling pretty good about things. I had eaten only one Clif Bar during the day which in hindsight could have really crippled me, but my stomach was at perfect capacity. Everything was good. Sometimes at Rodizio or Braza, you go on an off night. The meat is just a little over cooked, they bring around three garlic steaks for every one top sirloin, etc. But conditions were perfect. Brian, Josh, Bob, and I just ate like there was no tomorrow. I was reminded of the many times that Anderson was so full he was sick, but somehow his mouth was still watering for more. Our scrap plate of sub-par meat could have passed as Thanksgiving dinner. That's the crazy thing about Rodizio that Josh pointed out...the stuff you would never pass on in everyday life sometimes just gets thrown to the wayside. If you saw something like that marinated chicken in your fridge at 1am, there's no WAY you aren't going to town on it. But after you get a taste for the tri tip or that pork, you really have to rethink the value of your stomach space. I ate till it was hard to hold my head up.

We headed to the Avalon from there. Yes, the Avalon. Home of Vandermede the hypnotist. Why did he perform there for so many years? Oh that's right, because it's a piece of crap venue with a terrible sound system. It was really fun hanging out and waiting for the show to start, and I was pleasantly surprised that Timbaland went on by himself and did a set. First of all, that guy is freaking huge. I didn't realize it, I kind of thought he was just a fat guy before. He could really rip your head off. The thing I liked most was that he had an all black band that played instruments, not just a DJ. I don't know what it is about the novelty of a black band, but two things make me wish I could be black. The first, obviously, is so that I could start a band with my black friends, kind of like Bad Brains or something. And then the second, I'd love to grow a black guy beard like Ricky Williams or Freeway and wear one of those crazy hats. But he did some Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado songs and it was really pretty cool.

Three minutes into Chris Cornell's set, it became clear that the whole thing would just sound like noise. You couldn't hear anything but bass, including the vocals (the only reason he's so great to see live anyway). Brian, Danny, and I left maybe 4 songs in. It just sounded really bad. It was disappointing mostly because Megan and I had gone to his show at the Depot last year and it was one of the best live shows I'd ever seen. He did his solo stuff, Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple of the Dog, and it sounded great. I also found out the next day that Megan and Heidi also got to meet the band and hang out on the tour bus and watch videos! Where were those groupie moves last year when I wanted to meet the band?! I was a little jealous because the guitar players are both really pretty amazing. But either way, it was a really fun night!