I was very disappointed to hear the done-dealness of the A’s to Fremont plan this morning. While I agree that economically, Oakland is probably in pretty much the same place without the A’s, it’s hard to let go of my childhood memories. Also there’s the part about greedy owners blah blah blah. This just didn’t need to happen and it didn’t need to happen now.

I’m not going to call this short-sighted or stupid, but let’s just remark that calling them the “Fremont A’s” would be quite the mistake, and if you look at the map, I have no idea how anyone’s getting from BART to the new stadium in an efficient, timely, non-hair-ripping-out fashion.

Just finished filling out my absentee ballot and my god it was long (and reliably included measures that were short-sighted, evil, or impractical). It took forever to complete. I’ll admit that where my gut instincts failed me or the depth of issues was too great for me to obtain more than a glib understanding from a quick read of the proposed law or the candidate’s qualifications, I relied on endorsements of three different organizations. I picked three I could find myself agreeing with, but wouldn’t mind disagreeing with. I’d like to think I took a pragmatic approach that balanced my self-interest with the public interest.

I’ll be dropping it off at my polling place before work. 

Now I’m watching Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to cleanse the frustration and disgust.

Opening Act: Lavender Diamond

8:00 PM

I had not actually heard of The Decemberists until six days earlier, but my sister needed to review a rock concert for her History of Rock’n'Roll class, and given that I had the faintest impression that I had heard the band’s name somewhere, maybe Live 105, and the Warfield is aces for me as a venue (all about the seats), so this show was perfect on its face.

The opening act, Lavender Diamond was . . . interesting. Actually my first gut impression was that they were very L.A. The lead singer was a little loopy, with a high pitched speaking voice that made her very childlike. The songs weren’t too bad, but suffered from that classic young band ailment of skills (vocal and intrumental) that are not matched by the quality of the songwriting.

The Decemberists were quite the revelation. There was a certain old-world-esque charm. It was a bit like being a kid at a circus with the sheer variety of instruments that graced the stage - electroacoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, mandolin, maracas, violin, xylophone, accordion, upright bass, cello, Hammond organ, clarinet, tambourine, banjo, and a few others I couldn’t identify. Their songs were catchy but different. The variety in the songs themselves was impressive too - from melancholy to romantic to sinister, hitting resignation, longing, and bouncy optimism along the way.

I listed to their albums after the show and was surprised that I recognized so many songs, especially given that I’d not heard a single song of theirs before the show. Some favorites include O Valencia! (not just because it’s set in San Francisco), Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) (not just because I love history), and the very long The Island. I’m definitely now a fan, and was glad that I happened into finding them, even if there were over $20 in Ticketmaster fees involved.