Decemberists show = amazing. They played the entirety of The Tain AND The Mariner's Revenge, complete with a Chinese dragon-esque whale model with red light-up eyes and moving jaws which was paraded around the stage. The audience was also asked to provide the sound effects of a crew being crushed and swallowed by whale, after a thorough lesson about what it actually sounds like (as Colin's "been there.") Driving there, rain was pelting our windshield, and I really wished I'd brought the umbrella. But I tend to have the mindset that if I don't want it to rain and cause misery, it will not. Luckily in Eugene it was a light sprinkle, and as Matt and I drove by the theater we saw only about 15 people with plenty of lobby/overhang area to stand under. By the time we found a place to park and walked back, there were about 25 or 30 people in front of us. The majority of time was spent reading in Eye of the Albatross; I got next week's reading chunk completed. I learned about sablefish fishing off Alaska's coast, with talk of whales and ginormous waves, and seabirds, most appropriately. Northern Fulmars, which are described by the author as the bird version of uncouth Charles Dickens characters, are particularly aggressive and would be the first thing to peck out a crew member's eyes if they were to become stranded in the sea. Good to know.

My Brightest Diamond was the opening band and they were really amazing. They shifted into "Tainted Love" towards the end of one of their songs, and it worked surprisingly well. I liked their presentation too, er, stage presence I suppose...they were all in white, the lead singer's outfit accented by clear sparkly (yet subtle) jewelry. Nifty. Of course, The Decemberists were amazing. I wanted to hear "Eli the Barrow Boy" or more of their older stuff, but oh well. They're very big on audience participation and interaction - I totally touched Colin's shoulder (and shoe as he crowd surfed). After, I saw fellow Hood Riverites Caitlyn (who managed to catch a guitar pick) and Miranda. It was a good time.

This weekend is mom's weekend, and I thought it wouldn't make sense for mum to come down two weekends in a row (as she's going to come down next weekend for my internship orientation), so I hung out with Matt and his mom. But first I experienced a delectable brunch with quiche and fresh fruit and chocolate covered strawberries and helped clean up because I felt kinda weird being one of two people in the house to go with no mom. Matt, Julie, and I went to observe and pet dogs at the pet day event, and I was overwhelmed with canine cuteness. I got to pet an awesome black german shepherd, a bearded collie, a 180 lb. St. Bernard, and a basset! We'd walked through the whole area without seeing a basset, but as we walked to the working dog demonstration, I finally spotted one! Its name was....Priscilla..yeah, not exactly the most appropriate name for a hound, but she was adorable, and from a rescue group. She was clad in an American flag snood, most ridiculously. Oh my goodness bassets are adorable.