Homer's Travels: Decorations - Bath - Rain - Aimee Mann - The Outback

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Decorations - Bath - Rain - Aimee Mann - The Outback

Time to provide an update of the weekend that was:

The halls have finally been decked. The artificial tree looks marvelous as it always does. No presents under it yet. That should change as soon as I wrap the wife's presents.

Saturday morning Homer had his bath and he is now fluffy and smells delightful. He received a Happy Holidays kerchief and a new toy (Sally the squeaking salamander) as parting gifts.


On Saturday night we headed down to Hollywood to see Aimee Mann. The drive was crazy. Traffic was LA terrible and, to top it off, it was raining. We need the rain though so I won't complain about it too much but I hate driving in the rain. A one hour drive turned into a two hour drive. Fortunately we left early and made it to the Avalon Hollywood with time to spare. The Avalon is a small, intimate venue. All the tickets were general admission and we nailed a pair of seats in row six. The seats were hard plastic seats and we had numb butts by the end o f the evening. The show started fashionably late and started with a new song by Aimee Mann called "Calling on Mary." This was followed by a so-called comedian Paul F. Tompkins. I say so-called because his was not very funny. A lot of his jokes were religion related and seemed a little inappropriate for a Christmas show. The crowds enthusiasm waned each time he came on stage. Fortunately Aimee Mann's singing, and that of her other special guests Grant Lee Phillips and John C. Reilly, made up for the lame humor. I had never heard of Grant Lee Phillips before and I was impressed - he really rocked. John C. Reilly, an actor with a good singing voice and a mop full of crazy hair (he looked like he just got out of bed), sang a couple of songs with Aimee Mann including "Your a Mean One, Mr. Grinch." The Christmas songs of the night included:
  • Christmastime (from the Peanuts special)
  • I'll be Home for Christmas
  • You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
  • God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
  • Calling on Mary (an Aimee Mann original Christmas song)
Other, non-Christmas songs were scattered in with the Christmas fare. I have to say that Aimee sounded more at home with her own music then with the classics. The concert was a full 2 1/2 hours of eclectic fun and enjoyed by all. It was definitely not your parent's Christmas Special. It was a fun time, in spite of the crummy comedian.

We were going to see a movie on Sunday but opted for stuffing ourselves at the Outback instead. We'll save the movie for next weekend.

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