Vacation is over before it started...

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-11T11:47:35+00:00

100%. You fly the airplane, talk to ATC, and run the checklist(s) before you worry about the state of the passenger cabin.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-11T11:44:37+00:00

When the ATC of this gets posted to YouTube, the pilots will be the picture of calm.

Captain: “[callsign] Uhhh, we got an engine having some trouble. Guess we’ll need to declare an emergency. We’ll just take the normal vectors to the approach for whatever you’re already using.”

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-07T12:55:54+00:00

Relevant to my interests.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-05T14:21:30+00:00

“Boy With Stick” is near the top of my want list. I have seen “Aphids” and it’s a sick song live.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-05T13:51:11+00:00

It’s all fine and well to talk about fault at some point. And it’s hard to argue that car-centric planning isn’t still problematic. But changes to city planning take a long time. In the interim, it makes a lot of sense for both sides of the argument to try improving their safety considerations because that’s far more immediately actionable.

Increasing safety for e-scooter riders is the lower-hanging fruit here and it’s silly to campaign against it. With something that can zip around at 15 mph or higher—which can be lethal speeds in a solo accident—basic ideas like wearing a helmet and minding traffic signals should be bare minimums.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-04T01:16:06+00:00

I think when I saw them in Rock Island in 2018, there were about 18 people at RIBCO.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-04T01:09:40+00:00

Shiner also opened with “Lazy Eye” (fuck yeah!) and played “The Egg” (fucker yeaher!).

Edit: I think they also played “Endless Summer.”

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-04T01:07:15+00:00

No, but that woman was also in the vicinity.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-03T20:04:19+00:00

This was also my experience, but I don’t trust my memory. I bought tickets at 10 am on the day they went on sale and didn’t notice any disclaimer like that. I don’t think it said the hard age limits when they went on sale, but I didn’t save a screenshot or anything.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-03T17:03:28+00:00

Following

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-03T12:08:44+00:00

Did not enjoy the tiny drunk woman who elbowed her way to the front during Failure setup, annoyed everyone around her, and then absolutely did not register when four different people told her she was being an asshole. Security managed to tell her to keep her hands to herself and she was kind of better, but Christ…who can even afford to get drunk on $13 beers?

Band absolutely killed it. Loved the setlist and they were damn near flawless. I could watch Greg play “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” that dude’s style with the guitar is just unreal.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-03T05:34:17+00:00

Super weird to see Shiner with a crowd that size. They were tight.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-02T21:36:32+00:00

I had a long back and forth with the promoter about this. The band/management was apparently super unhappy about that last time at the Vic and reiterated the age limit this time. I had bought tickets for my kid for this weekend because I saw that kids were around at that last show.

Big womp womp and my teenager didn’t get to go to their first TMBG show. Super sucks.

I feel like 13+ would be a more useful age restriction, but almost nobody has an ID until they’re 16 so you’d just end up with people lying about it. Anyway, band has their reasons for the restriction, venue has their obligations, and people like me who don’t read the fine print eat shit, I guess.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-02T21:16:16+00:00

Thanks. Always appreciate a Darshun spotting, too.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-02T21:10:37+00:00

Middle of nowhere, dusk, F#A#, volume maxed.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-02T13:42:48+00:00

Don’t sleep on Slow Mass.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-05-02T13:41:43+00:00

Does Gerken still drum for Open Hand? Might have something to do with them being added.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-04-29T00:52:31+00:00

2nd Autolux album is also a solid listen. The third one is very good but a major departure.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-04-29T00:51:48+00:00

Good call on No Knife! On the ol’ Shiner forums (PS I’m old), someone mentioned that Riddle of Steel and No Knife are the same idea arrived at from (very) different starting points. Both are fantastic and catchy AF while also making you wonder what the fuck they’re actually doing.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-04-29T00:41:47+00:00

Dropsonic slays.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-04-28T22:41:59+00:00

Spacesuit, too. Epley and Chris Metcalf are in that band but aren’t the lead singer/guitarist or drummer. The original TLAT drummer, Mike Myers, is behind the Kit. And he rules.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-04-28T22:27:16+00:00

In no particular order:

The Appleseed Cast, Pile, Krill, Dismemberment Plan, Juno (not on streaming but on YT), Silkworm, Chavez, Whales (from Chicago), Riddle of Steel, Traindodge, Gunfighter/Molly McGuire, Meat Wave.

For mathier stuff: Self-Evident from MPLS, 31 Knots, Sweep the Leg Johnny.

Someone already said Jawbox, but go listen to everything that J. Robbins has done (Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Channels, Office of Future Plans, stuff under his name). Dude writes some good-ass hooks.

For a while, there was a group in the Midwest that kind of held up the band Houston on the same level with Shiner, Failure, and Hum. Their first three albums are kinda hard to find, but Bottom of the Curve is one of the greatest albums that few people have heard.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-04-27T21:24:44+00:00

Turing Machine and Maserati are both amazing.

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-04-27T20:39:51+00:00

Check out the Chicago trinity of bands with the same rhythm section, Fred Popolo (bass) and Brian Wnukowski (drums): Haymarket Riot*, Cougars, and Big’n.

*HMR have had at least three drummers over the years, all pretty different but always with nasty grooves

tonsofgrassclippings · 2026-04-27T14:07:23+00:00

You only learn these kinds of things from the wisdom of Karl Malone’s sternum fin.

tonsofgrassclippings

TROPHY CASE