We did quite a few things today in Branson, MO. If you know anything about Branson, you're probably horrified that we're here. However, it was important to me to show Kerri what it was about - if she's going to live in the midwest, it's a good idea for her to experience the WHOLE GODDAM thing. Branson is an integral part of midwestern life. Any kid who grew up around here (like I did, 'til I was 13) got dragged here at least once.

So, we came down for a day and two nights (I have three day weekends now for work, and it's only a five hour drive). The idea was that if we were miserable, we at least wouldn't be here long.

For better or for worse, our timetable, and everything else, turned out perfectly. Rather than opting for one of the hackneyed ex-superstar theater shows, or one of the hokey-beyond-belief redneck musical shows we decided on a) The Sons of the Pioneers and b) a magic show (I picked the former, she the latter).

We also made time in our one day to fit in a trip to the Hollywood Wax Museum (I'd never been to a wax museum -- which turned out to be funny as I forgot about my irrational fear of life-size figures, which I managed to overcome enough to have a lot of fun). The wax musem was excellent, and even more exciting than I thought it would be (getting my picture taken with Leatherface rocked serious ass).

Our hotel has been excellent (it's actually attached to one of the theaters in town, not to mention a *Bucks, which works out nicely). It's also got an indoor pool, which we've made judicious use of. Given the time of year, with most kids back in school, it's actually been nice to be able to use the hotel pool in relative peace. The free breakfast was excellent (I love the waffle machine). Branson has somehow managed to be charming on occasion, when it's not being gaudy enough to make you puke (or, perhaps I'm just getting *that* old).

The shows we saw today/tonight have been the thing that has made the trip perfect. Turns out the Sons of the Pioneers (ask your grandpa, or wikipedia) are still as amazing as they were when Roy Rogers founded them. It was weird being the only two people in the audience under 70 and over 18, but aside from that it was phenomenal. If you're shaking your head right now, clucking about "country music", then you need to learn the difference between country music and cowboy music. I was stoked to hear the lead of the group mention this fact as well. They performed for two hours, and the supplied dinner of barbecued chicken and brisket beforehand turned out to be awesome, if a dire threat to our cardiovascular health. I definitely shed a few tears during the two-man guitar-and-fiddle version of "Wichita Lineman", not to even mention the stunning rendition of "Streets of Laredo" by their amazing specialist tenor singer. The harmonies were as gut-wrenchingly-beautiful as any fan of their work would expect, and the musicianship was second to no act I've ever seen. There's nothing like seeing true professionals playing great music. Their big finish of "Happy Trails" was perfectly fitting, and beautifully executed. I'm still humming it (along with "Tumbling Tumbleweeds", of course).

Upon the conclusion of the show, about 5 minutes to 7, we ran for the car to make it back to our hotel room for a map check and then run on to the 8 o' clock show of "Kirby VanBurch", the "Prince of Magicians" (yeah, the name's a worry). If you think seeing a magician sounds in any way corny, then don't go see one. If you still have enough of a sense of childlike wonder to stare in awe at a magician for two hours, then I highly recommend doing so. He also performed for two hours, including a few short intervals from two other performers who, as well as acting as assistants to Kirby during a few illusions, performed their own act which included the female of the pair climbing one of those double ribbon things (hello, Cirque du Soleil?) and his talents as a crossbow shot, which included shooting an apple off his own head using a series of six or seven crossbows (he threw the apple to yours truly after the trick was done -- there'll be a picture posted online by Kerri shortly I'm sure). The highlight of the show, besides the illusion involving a full-sized helicopter, was Kirby's collection of big cats -- which is what we went for in the first place. For a few dollars extra, we even got to take the backstage tour after the show and visit the cat compound, which turned out to be kind of a like a horse stable for cats (we have it on good authority that when it's not showtime, they have much more room to move around).

Long story short, it's been a HUGE and massively fun day. We managed to take Branson with a sense of humor, and wound up having a much better time than we even thought we might. Kerri even raided one of the local year-round xmas stores and went ornament crazy, which is always a good day for her.

So, yes, Branson is still rather a nightmare. I won't miss driving around everywhere at 20mph, behind navigationally-challenged septugenarians. I won't miss ALL THE GODDAM NEON. I would, however, come back and see the Sons again anytime. Tomorrow, back to STL.  Sorry I didn't get more pictures while we were here. I'll update here with any more I find.

[kml_flashembed movie="http://brad.globeproductions.com.au/wordpress/music/xspf_player.swf?playlist_url=http://brad.globeproductions.com.au/wordpress/music/filelist.php?dirname=fwtgfu" width="400" height="170"/] Ok, so there's pretty equal shares of "funked up", "break shit" and "wtf" in here.. but hey.. get your own list if you don't like it :P Happy weekend :)

Just something to keep Monday evening moving. Think of it as a distraction to help make it through what's left of Monday. All of these are songs I played at least once today, and they just happen to all be chick songs. There's an interesting mix here, I think. Some new, some old, some I've been playing for years, and some I've only recently discovered (like the track by Dania, Nabil's sister, which really gets me, or the one by Pink which I discovered by accident whilst helping Susan with a school assignment last week). I'm not sure if there's a common theme in the music, but they're all very cool songs. So, enjoy, and happy Monday.. or.. something.

Stable>> Sharon Jones So, after spending the weekend sanding ANOTHER fucking ceiling in the house (1 more to go.. I should blog some pics of that HELL) I've spent most of the day catching up on online crap. Over at [url=http://popcandy.usatoday.com]pop candy[/url] Whitney has lately become my favorite source for pop culture fodder. I like her taste, which seems almost as recklessly eclectic as mine, although so far I've yet to see any house/trance stuff show up on her site (doesn't anyone in the states listen to dance music??). Anyway, among the absolute FIRE HOSE of stuff on her 'blog, I came across Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. These guys, along with the Detroit Cobras, are keeping the spirit of classic R&B and Funk alive, thank goodness. In true classic Motown-like style, the Dap-Kings are the "house band" for the Daptone label, and Sharon is the main act in the stable. They have a new album -- "Naturally" -- out, but in keeping with my normal ethos of trying to really get to know an artist rather than just grabbing on to the new material, I've downloaded their first album. So far I'm pretty knocked over. The "hit" off the album is probably the Cadbury-Chocolate-Endorsing "Thing On My Mind", and it's OK, but true-to-form I'm latching on to the lesser-known tracks on the album. Gold star to them, by the way, for including a cover of a Janet Jackson song. Anyhow.. If you dig Booker-T and the MG's, Otis, or anything else funky from the sixties, this is definitely worth checking out.