Kelly and I had a good time last night taking out two old friends for their birthdays to see Garfunkel and Oates in Tampa. I'm only familiar with the duo's songs, so it was refreshing that only maybe a third of the show consisted of music. The rest was stand up comedy, storytelling, audience interaction, and a weird extended commercial for their sponsor Monster Energy Drink, tall boys of which were being handed out for free, because that's just what my heart needs at ten o'clock at night.

They didn't play my favorite "Sex with Ducks," but they did play most of their popular songs including "Pregnant Women are Smug" and "Go Kart Racing," and debuted some incomplete songs in progress. The wit of their lyrics is one of their biggest strengths, but unfortunately, it was lost somewhat in the harmonizing that made it difficult to understand maybe a third of the words. I wish they'd take turns singing verses instead of harmonizing, or just play some songs from Kate Micucci's solo album. But what I did understand, I really enjoyed; I haven't laughed this much at a comedy show in a while now. The opening act, coincidentally a friend of our friends, was pretty funny too.

As a man (and a large one), I can only imagine what it's like for women traveling in unfamiliar cities at night, especially Internet-famous ones who are, let's face it, judged for their looks. During the show, some guy in the audience kept calling out things like "marry me, RIki" and "I drove all the way from Miami to see you," which the women were able to play off for humor at first, but got pretty creepy after four or five times. In the theater lobby afterward, we noticed a guy with a custom-printed "I ♥ Garfunkel and Oates" shirt practically bounding out of his wheelchair with excitement for a chance to meet the stars that might or might not happen. Much later, after nearly everyone else was gone, we were having drinks at a nearby sidewalk café when we saw Garfunkel and Oates leave and walk briskly away from the building, surrounded by what looked like theater staff as a protective bubble. Thanks for being so hospitable to them, Florida.


Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

Dignity

Headline: Bush wishes Hussein execution was 'more dignified' Somewhere in an alternate universe: It's an election year, the Democratic candidate has just said exactly the same thing, and the Republican Party is ripping him a new asshole the size of Mars. Go »

Neighborhood Botch

I've heard that riding in the front seat of an Uber signals that you want to chat with the driver, and riding in the back seat means that you prefer silence. I always sit in the back. But when I went to catch a ride from my house the other night, there was stuff in the van's back seat, so the front was the only option. Go »

WLW: Here's What You Do

No kooky doctor stories this week, as I've been left to my own care, or should I say, the care of everyone around me. I don't want to sound ungrateful, because I'm sincerely glad that people care about me enough to offer advice. It's just, there's a LOT of advice, from all directions, at the drop of a hat, and much of it conflicts with other advice. Go »

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Ah, Newsweek. You deliver a comprehensive cover story about the current state of evolutionary theory, barely slipping in a quick nod to the cultural debate, in an article that sticks wisely to the science. What do you follow up with as the B story in this week's science section? Go »

Is That a George Lucas Character?

Matthew Preston: "If making up words for directions is wrong, I don't want to be fludoo." Go »

In Love, in Tampa

Last night we took in a special show by Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman for Valentines Day. Kelly is a huge fan of both and I was happy to take her to see them. I did not start the evening as a Palmer fan, but I was one by the time it ended. Go »