Pomplamoose!

The day tickets went on sale for the Pomplamoose First Ever Tour, Pomplamoose tweeted about it. It pays to follow your favorite bands. The tour happened to be of New England. The first location happened to be in Boston. On the day of Ian and I's fourth propose-aversary/engagement-versary (June 21). So I bought tickets.

After work, I swapped business casual for my Pomplamoose tee (courtesy Ian way back when), and we headed downtown. Before the show, we enjoyed a nice romantic dinner at B Good over a shared a mint chocolate chip shake. Then we walked to Cafe 939.

I was slightly worried we'd get stuck in the back, but a 7:15 p.m. arrival put us near the beginning of the line, which by 8 p.m. resulted in a front row square of floor next to Jack Conte's keyboard, right between a nice Japanese Berklee student (name pronounced you-skay, no idea how to spell it) and two little girls. Pomplamoose has a very diverse following.

The show was everything we hoped it would be. Lauren O'Connell opened with an excellent acoustic set — she's a very talented and honest songwriter. After a few stage modifications, Jack and Nataly walked out with Carlos (drummer) and Ryan (bassist for Ben Folds' latest tour). They are as funny, quirky and talented as they look/sound on YouTube.

Jack is energetic and an entertainer — he joked about how he was talking between every song. Nataly is his perfect balance — calm, with the ability to deadpan one-liners in response. When someone hollered a request for one of Jack's songs, he said, "This isn't a Jack Conte show, it's a Pomplamoose show!" to which Nataly replied, "There's a difference?"

They played through a good chunk of their repertoire. Nataly dubbed us, the audience, the best backup vocalists for "If You Think You Need Some Lovin'" and for "September", their "last song" they divided us into three sections and assigned backup parts. After much cheering, they returned for two more songs and finaled by rocking out "Centrifuge." As cliche as it sounds, I couldn't believe it was over. How was that two hours already? It was in that moment I realized Pomplamoose is not just one of my favorite bands, but my favorite band period.

After the show, we stuck around to buy "The Album You Bought at Our Show (thanks for that)." and meet Lauren, Jack and Nataly. I clammed up and kept repeating, "You're amazing!" but managed to wow them with my shirt — one of the original batch of v-necks promoed on their "If You Think You Need Some Lovin'" video (2:31), and the fact I've been a fan for almost three years.

photo taken and twittered by @pomplamoose

We also signed their poster. I like thinking our handwriting and some of Ian's sharpie ink is hanging on a wall in their recording studio.

Click here to see the rest of our Pomplamoose photos on Flickr.

the day Ian saw the Stanley Cup

After driving my family to the airport at 5 in the morning, Ian and I went home and crashed. But we set the alarm for 10 a.m. so we could head downtown for the Bruins Championship Parade. Ian, avid sports fan, wanted to see the Stanley Cup in person.

We arrived at the D line a little after 11 a.m. and watched three trains pass while one drunk Bruins fan stripped to his boxers. Then we checked with a nearby MBTA official — all trains between our stop and the end of the line were full. Plan B — the C line didn't end in a suburban commuter parking lot, so hopefully it wouldn't be as busy. We headed towards Beacon Street, turning down a ride from the group of drunk Bruins fans containing the formerly almost-naked guy.

Our hunch about the C line was right and we hopped on the next train. The conductor informed us over the loudspeakers that Copley and Park Street station were closed (to more evenly distribute the crowd), but we were planning on Arlington anyway. The Public Garden would provide more room to move and a good view of the parade route.




We relaxed under some trees in the Public Garden until an increased number of helicopters alerted us to the Bruins' approach.





After watching the last boat drive down Boylston Street, we headed out in search of hydration and a usable T stop. Two hours and three beverages (water, iced coffee, and a coconut frappuccino) later, we completed a loop around downtown and got on the green line at Park Street — two blocks away from where we started.

When we finally got home, Ian decided to continue our hockey theme with the first documentary in ESPN's 30 for 30 (birthday present thanks to Dane and Micki). King's Ransom follows the trade of Wayne Gretzky, "The Great One," from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. As upset as the Oilers fans were, it's amazing to think how one trade led to huge growth for the NHL and it's American fan base.

I'm still not a hockey fan, but I have a new appreciation for the game.

they're not in Kansas (again): the finale

Friday morning, I dusted off my Camelbak, Ian packed a picnic, and we met my family at Kupel's Bakery for breakfast. We've heard rave reviews since we moved to Boston, and it's a pretty sweet bagel joint. In addition to tasty bagels + cream cheese, we also picked up, for our picnic, a bag of their rolls — they turned out to be ideal sandwich buns. And I'm excited to try items from the sweeter end of the counter. A nearby pocket park served as our breakfast spot and allowed us to experience the exact moment it started sprinkling. We lamented not sending the family to the Harbor Islands the day before and saving the MFA for the rainy forecast.

Since it wasn't pouring, we decided to risk it and hopped on the train inbound. By the time we popped out at Government Center we needed our umbrellas. Ever the optimist, Ian realized this was the perfect time to check out the new Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion with its rain-capture roof.

Our 21 Flickr photos of the pavilion are just the highlights of a much larger group of photos I found on my camera when Ian handed it back.

By 11 a.m. things were dry enough for us to put the Harbor Islands back on the schedule. We took the noon ferry to Spectacle for a picnic and sea-glass hunting. The ranger's theme of the day was red glass. I found one and took a photo before adding it to the rangers' collection.

We then headed on to Georges Island, home of civil war fortress Fort Warren.

After a relaxing (and dry!) afternoon in the Harbor, we headed back and meandered through the Quincy Market area — Mom got to celebrate the Bruins win with famous Celtics coach Red Auerbach.

And what would a family trip to Boston be without an authentic Filipino dinner at JnJ Turo Turo? Filipino food doesn't get a lot of attention, but thanks to the archipelago's colorful colonial history, it's arguably the original fusion cuisine.

And just like that, their vacation was over. Early Saturday morning, we drove them to the airport. Mom was a little disappointed they couldn't see the Bruins Stanley Cup parade before they left.

Thanks to Mom, Dad and Nathan for spending their vacation in Boston with us (and for treating us to dinners at our favorite restaurants) — we loved every minute.

See the rest of the week's photos here.

they're not in Kansas (again): the birthday boy

Last Thursday was Ian's birthday. (Happy 25 years + 1 week to the guy who loves me more than I deserve. Sorry I was lame and didn't write you a birthday post ON your birthday. I'll make it up to you.)



To celebrate, we went to Ian's restaurant of choice: The Dumpling Cafe. It's hard to resist juicy pork buns (a.k.a. soup dumplings, a.k.a. xiaolongbao, a.k.a. C11).



Mom, even more exuberant at Asian restaurants, told our waitress, who didn't speak a lot of English, that it was Ian's birthday and jokingly asked her if they could sing to him. The waitress pointed to the owner. Five minutes later, the owner came to our table. With her soft-spoken accent, the distance across our table, and the noise level at our neighboring tables, we weren't entirely sure what she was saying. But her gestures seemed to indicate she would be bringing some sort of birthday hat for Ian.

We returned to our sesame chicken, pepper beef, and pork buns. Then Ian noticed behind the counter they were searching YouTube. A few minutes later, the Chinese version of "Happy Birthday" played over their sound system. Other patrons smiled and glanced our way, singing and gesturing along. Ian insisted his face was only red because of the pepper beef.

After the song ended, they moved on to the English version of "Happy Birthday" performed by a Chinese group, which repeated approximately six times as the owner beamed at our table. We laughed and thanked her.



After dinner we contemplated a Mike's Pastry run for some sort of sweet birthday treat. Then decided we were too full. Instead, we strolled to the nearby theater to catch Super 8.



Our whole family loved it. I don't know what else to say but J.J. Abrams is a genius behind the camera, and this one is an instant classic.

Thanks to my family and Mr. Abrams for making Ian's birthday one to remember. And thanks to Ian for wanting to celebrate your birthdays with me. I love you.

Stay tuned for the family's vacation finale!

See the rest of the week's photos here.

they're not in Kansas (again): Bruins fever

Monday evening, while Ian was stuck at the office thanks to an impending deadline, I left early to meet up with the family. We wandered around the Public Garden, where all of the statues seemed excited about the upcoming Bruins game.





And Nathan was excited about impersonating another Boston animal statue.



We ended up at The Last Hurrah, a (cheaper-than-the-restaurant) bar at the Omni-Parker House (hotel — Mom didn't realize this until the waitress asked if we wanted to charge the bill to our room), for incredible chowder and the original Boston Cream Pie. The Oyster House may have the atmosphere, but the Parker House has the flavor.

Tuesday contained their last-minute day trip to NYC via the Chinatown bus, departing at 6 a.m. and arriving back in Boston at 2 a.m. Much to my dissapointment, they didn't make it onto Cash Cab.

After walking and riding all over Manhattan, riding on buses for eight hours, and taking a, shall we say challenging, cab ride back to the hotel, Mom, Dad, and Nathan were tired. So we decided to take it easy Wednesday. They came over to our apartment for dinner and Ian rolled out a batch of homemade spaghetti. Then we headed back to their hotel for free cable to watch the game (seven, Stanley Cup). Within minutes of turning on the tv, Mom was cheering loudly for the Bruins. We'll have to get her some gear for Christmas. We stayed long enough to watch several Bruins players make laps around the rink with the Stanley Cup, and watch several Canucks fans toss their jerseys into a bonfire.



Ian and I headed home and fell asleep to the sound of firecrackers, car horns, and yells in the distance.

Stay tuned for Ian's birthday celebration.

See the rest of the week's photos here.