Well I did make it to the Mustache Massacre, and it was great. The show was held at Chaser’s Music Venue at Hayden and Roosevelt, and Chaser’s has always been one of my favorite places to see a show. It’s something about the checkerboard ceiling and the shape of the place… not to mention Shaun, who is the best bar tender ever.
Hardwire is still such a great show. They had a hard time doing all their favorite things, since the ceiling is so low. Ikonoklast was also good, but their hearts weren’t in it and I don’t blame them. Keegan, who I have blogged about as being an amazing artists, died last week. He was a friend of the band and many of the fans (and me!), so there were subdued moments in the crowd whenever it came up in conversation. Well, it was a good time even with the clouds hanging over us. And speaking of us, here we are:
Now, on to other things:
I have a few things on my to-do list. I hope to make it to the last weekend of The Renaissance Festival. I haven’t been able to entice my old friends from the faire to come out for any shows, so I’ll have to go see them the last weekend in March.
I still want to go to the Ostrich Ranch between here and Tucson. I used to live by an ostrich farm and I have always got a kick out of them. When I was a kid I wanted one to use for transportation. They can run really last and they can hold an adult human on their back. It was only later I found out they aren’t really bright and training one would take more patience than I had. But I still want to see the Ostrich Farm.
I’m also still trying to get out to Kartchner Caverns. It’s hard because you have to have a reservation, and I have a tough time committing to being somewhere far away on a day that’s a month away. I’ll get there eventually.
Another great destination is Rocky Point, Mexico. Some of you made have heard that Mexicans don’t want us in their country since we’ve been “fighting a war on immigration” and we’ve “tried to restrict trade.” Some of you made have even heard that drug cartels are kidnapping people. I want to dispel all these rumors in the case of Rocky Point.
You see, the road there has recently been re-paved. It’s smooth and beautiful from the moment you cross into Mexico all the way to the beach. This cost the government a huge amount of money, and it was done to encourage more tourists to come to the beach. Hotels have been built, and condos. Many people have invested their entire lives works and savings into Rocky Point. And then the rest of Mexico got a little offended and people stopped coming out of fear. When I went recently, every single person I saw was bending over backwards to help me. They are always polite people, but lately they are thrilled to see tourists and desperate for you to tell your friends.
The violence throughout Mexico is not something you see on the drive from the boarder to Rocky Point. There are not drug cartels, and there is only a police station because they were told tourists would feel more comfortable if they could “call the cops” when they felt cheated. The cops do not other tourists; they are only there to help. They aren’t the Federalis with their huge guns either, these are Rocky Point cops with tasers.
So if you’ve been missing the beach, don’t forget that there is a beach only a few hours drive from Phoenix. And if you go, get tacos at the giant sombrero because they’re the bomb.
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