Many sources confirm this was the best summer. For me, Summer begins when Amy gets back home from school, and it ends when Summer leaves for school. Using those dates, I went to 43 shows in total this Summer. I think almost every single one except for the first three were with Summer. I decided to take a break from my Sony A7II and shoot with some older digicams. Pretty early in the Summer I found a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-f717 at the Salvation Army off of Clybourne.

It’s a fantastic camera. I have some other older cameras, and they have a fun look to their images, but the quality is too low to feel good about them. The DSC-f717 has a 5MP sensor, and the lens is sharper than I’d expect. It feels more like a professional camera to me as well, it has a full manual mode and a hot shoe for an external flash. The lens also swivels up and down which is always a fun gimmick.

I bought this camera right before Nitro-a-go-go, to shoot Nitro-a-go-go. Depending on the day I was there with Eli A., Will, Geri, and Amy, but Summer and I were there for every show. We had an amazing time every day, but I think very little can rival nights three and four. Night three I ended up discovering one of my new favorite bands: Touch Girl Apple Blossom. The night before, I brought my main telescope to the show. It was in Pilsen off of this river by a datacenter.

I had bought the telescope a month or so prior. Every Wednesday I hop on estatesales.net (never go on estatesales.org it’s bad) in order to check what sales are coming up for the weekend. Early in the Summer I found a sale that listed a 12 inch Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain. I was planning on getting an 10 inch by the end of the Summer, but this was bigger AND it was for a small fraction of the cost. I texted the guy selling it at 11:00PM. Luckily he got back to me in the morning and we negotiated for it. I picked it up that day and used it every clear night I could.

At a Lowdown show, Cole asked me to bring a telescope to the final night of Nitro-a-go-go. It was perfect timing because I had just bought the LX200. Friday ended up being the only night with a clear forecast. I brought it to that Pilsen show and had it pointed at the moon all night. I met a bunch of people, and one of them was Olivia of Touch Girl Apple Blossom. We were chatting and she brought up that she was playing the next night. I remember seeing their name on the list and being curious about their music. It ended up being probably my favorite performance of the weekend. I genuinely can’t stop listening to them.

For the final night of Nitro-a-go-go I went with Amy and Summer. It was at Montrose Point, so mid-show we all got into the water for a swim. I hoped for a quick relaxing dip; it was not a quick relaxing dip. Ask Amy about it… Parking stole the show that night. Their set ended with an encore of fireworks. I tried taking some photos and videos, but I was too busy dancing to get anything good. We also got a performance of the Nitro-a-go-go theme song from Jason Shapiro, and I brought my small Edmund Astroscan telescope for fun.

I ended up seeing Kitship play more than anyone else this Summer, with a total of seven shows. One that stood out to me was on a two show day. It was on 7/11, so of course Summer, Geri, and I had to stop for a free Slurpee before the show. The first show was at the Foghouse. Kitship and Lundsurk played, among others. It was a beautiful day out. The Slurpees made us happy. We went to a show at the Color Club after, where Eleanor Witt Wardlaw and TV Buddha were playing for what I think was Laurie Duo’s record release show.

Early on in the Summer I went to a Nitroglycerine show at the Schoolhouse. The lineup was Adelaide, Autofill, and Dead Nettle. Adelaide ended up tying with Current Union for the second most shows I went to (four shows). We saw them once at Whiskey Girl Tavern. Sofi came with us, it was her first show since early Spring. Summer’s friend Liv was visiting from out of town so she tagged along too! I’ve probably been listening to Adelaide’s music as much as I’ve been listening to Touch Girl Apple Blossom’s. They also introduced me to Folk in Andersonville. It’s a cute little antique store/cafe. They’ve got some really interesting drink options, but my go-to has been their Yemeni Coffee.

Charlotte and I also started doing movie nights for the last few weeks of Summer! I really don’t end up watching movies or shows on my own, so it’s always nice when I’m spending time with someone who wants to. In order, we watched The Birdcage, with Nathan Lane and Robin Williams; Kiki’s Delivery Service (I haven’t watched many Ghibli movies but I’ve been dying to see more so this was fun); Howl’s Moving Castle, which I watched last fall with Ella in Massachusetts; and I Saw the TV Glow… so good. I think other than those I didn’t watch much this Summer?

I saw The Odyssey; I woke up one day randomly and was like, “oh I’ll go watch The Odyssey today”, so I got the last seat in the entire theatre by my house. I went back again with my family two weeks later. I saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day with Lenny, which was super fun. We also went to see Supergirl. I had a fun time watching it but I was so confused why Jason Momoa kept showing up as Lobo. I didn’t hate the movie but Jason’s inclusion definitely made it a lot worse. I did enjoy my time in the theatre enough that it made me go out to buy the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic. It completely blew me away. It honestly is probably my favorite comic of all time. I lent it out to Lauren

I did some reading this Summer too. I read some Boal and Brecht, of course. Dramatic Theory with Kristin Idaszak made me want to read more theory. I really enjoyed Brecht’s Galileo. At Nitro-a-go-go I bought a book on Surrealism from Owen. Old art books are always fun to read. The way they used to print the images separately and paste them on blank pages makes it more interactive, in a way. It’s a very tactile experience. I’m currently reading The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald, which I think I’ve talked about before. I also bought a book about the Moscow Art Theatre. It was written in 1925 and it talks a lot about their management and the organization, which, as a theatre management major, I love hearing about.

I’ve listened to a lot of music this Summer… of course. This isn’t in any particular order, but these are a few albums I’ve really been on this Summer.

Graceful – Touch Girl Apple Blossom
Talulah’s Tape – Good Flying Birds
Historian – Lucy Dacus
am i a rock? – Kitship
Mass Teen Fainting – Plumtree
Getz/Gilberto – Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto (there’s no bandcamp but there’s a wikipedia…)
Holding – Adelaide
Sports – Modern Baseball
PORTRAiTS – Parking
Stranger in the Alps – Phoebe Bridgers

uhhhh… I’m trying to think what else to talk about.

I got to see Phoebe Bridgers with my sister and mom, and then with Amy, Ella, and Summer. That was amazing. It was a phone free show, so I don’t have pictures of course. But we were so close it was insane. I can’t believe it was a six year wait from the last album.

I was at Lollapalooza. That was super cool.

Oh and Amy and I saw Lucy Dacus at the Pritzger Pavilion with the Chicago Philharmonic.

I got really into bringing around a deck of cards and playing cards at bars with friends. We went to Rose’s Lounge a bunch after shows to hang out and play. In August we started spending a night a week at the Bourgeois Pig and playing board games. It was almost always Eli, Summer, and I. Madison came once and Rosie came once.

I’m writing this at Sofi’s right now. We’re having a movie night and I just saw Coraline for the first time. Amazing. Now we’re just sitting around reminiscing about things and such. It’s Sofi, Parker, Madison, Dylan, Cecil, Kyle, Erick, and I. I love being with my friends. We’re going to Apple Fest next weekend I think. I’m so excited. I think I’ve fully switched into DePaul mode now. It took a second, I think we’re coming up on week four of class, but Summer being here kept me in Deerfield friend mode. She just flew back to Seattle today.

Our final show was the Kitship, Horsegirl, Cate Le Bon show at Bohemian National Cemetery. It was such a perfect ending to the Summer. I just got a new camera: The Sony A7IV. Testing it out was a blast. So many people were there. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was such a massive show. The stage was like a full on festival stage, I didn’t realize until I ended up walking over to the line how huge it was. I met up with Gavin and friends. Summer didn’t arrive till the end of the Kitship Set. I’ll talk more about the show when I post the photos, but it was very full circle for me. One of the very first shows I ever went to in Chicago was a Horsegirl show at Color Club. Ending off what I think was the best Summer ever, after meeting and making friends with so many people and finding more community in Chicago, with the same band that really started it all off for me, felt really beautiful. I went to that first Horsegirl show on a whim with a friend. I’d never heard of them before. I’m so happy I did.

Mozelle and I spent the day in Hyde Park last Tuesday. They’d never been to Powell’s bookstore so we decided to hang around the area. We spent about an hour or so in Powell’s. It’s probably my favorite book store in the city. I get out to Myopic more often since it’s so close to DePaul, but Powell’s, with their Loeb Classical collection, better curated books, and a focus on non-fiction/academic writing, gives them what they need to push ahead. I ended up buying The Surrealist Revolution in France by Herbert S. Gershman, and Some Aesthetic Decisions by Bonnie Clearwater. I’m taking some time to focus on art history, and right now my reading has taken me to the Surrealists. Some Aesthetic Decisions will probably draw me into Dada.

After buying our books we went for a bite at Saucy Porka, an Asian Latin fusion restaurant right by UChicago. It was a cute little place. We walked in and saw Guy Fieri’s face on a poster, so we knew it was gonna be good. I ended up ordering their Ropa Vieja rice bowl and a Lychee drink. The beef and the sauce were delicious. I could’ve gone for a little more kimchi on it, but what I had was great. I did feel like the bowl was missing something, but I wasn’t too sure what. I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in Hyde Park (which I promise you will be very soon). We decided to head to UChicago to check out their library and wander the campus. Neither of us had been and we’d heard it was beautiful. I’ve seen pictures, but I never realized just how perfect it was until I saw it in person.

If you haven’t been to UChicago and you’re about to apply for grad school, don’t visit UChicago. I can tell you now, whatever your plans were before, you’re going to want to go to UChicago. We visited to read, so to the library we went. There was a security desk that had an ID scanner at the front of the library. There was a security guard inside and we worried they wouldn’t let us in. Luckily, they offer a free visitor pass valid for a day. In the hallway to their library dome there was a sign that said “gallery opening soon” (or something along those lines). They have what seems to be a rotating exhibition of rare books in their collection? I didn’t know universities did this, but now I need to go to the one that does.

We made our way to the library dome and sat down to read. It could easily seat over a hundred people, and was completely open to the sun. I’ve never used DePaul’s quiet floor. Our library hasn’t ever provided me with an enjoyable atmosphere to study in. The air gets more stale as you go up each floor I think (they designed it this way on purpose). I went up there once. Freshman year had just begun and I had a hefty reading, Aeschylus’ Agamemnon for William O’Connor’s History of Dramatic Literature class, I had to finish in two days. I could barely make it through the first ode before I needed to leave. This was different.

We parked on the street opposite to the dome. From the outside it reminded me of the Louvre Pyramid. I could see my car from where we sat. It was their quiet area, so I was as careful as I could be when I pulled my chair out. Even the chair gliding softly on the floor disturbed the quiet. We sat down to read, but I spent just as much time people watching. After forty minutes I mouthed to Mozelle that we should grab a coffee (our second of the day), and wander the campus.

From the library we made our way to the quad. Another mistake. We passed through the main gate into an expanse of grass and trees, surrounded on all sides by the gothic architecture of their academic buildings, and made our way to the one that housed Hallowed Grounds, one of their on campus cafes. Walking through the quad was like walking through a private garden. I’ve never been a hammock person but I would be if I went to UChicago. Hallowed Grounds was unreal. It’s in a super tall room filled with with massive painted portraits across the walls. The cafe itself was closed, so we found a different one. We ended up going to the Plein Air Cafe nearby. It was a pretty standard cafe, but far beyond what I’m used to at DePaul. I ended up with a Cortado, which I enjoyed. I recently returned here with Lauren, where I had a fantastic al pastor bowl and an iced chai. Mozelle and I spent some time looking through their fridge as well. I was surprised to see they had wines for sale, and they were nice wines too. Throughout our trip I kept being reminded that it’s primarily a graduate school. Most people we saw around were thirty or older. I think the wine solidified that idea in my head. We spent more time there reading before we finally went back to the car.

So now I’m stressed again. I’m planning on going to law school as soon as I graduate. I took the LSAT in June and got a score I was very happy with after a moderate amount of studying. I was going to take it again in October and then apply early decision to Northwestern, see if I get in, and if not I’d apply to Loyola and some other schools. UChicago wasn’t ever on my radar because of the distance, but this visit shot it to my number one spot.

Just from a brief walkthrough of the library I could tell how many resources they had for researchers. I was looking at some stats and apparently they can deliver a book to you within three minutes of requesting it. I’ve been interested in theatrical law for a while, and I’d love to do some writing on theatre law history and some case studies, but I’d never considered that to be something I could do while in school. I think going to UChicago would let me treat the JD program as both a professional program and as a research degree. I would love to spend more time focusing on theatre law with the resources that only UChicago could offer me. It’s such an esteemed research school, I’d do anything for an education there.

I’m really focusing in on the LSAT this time around. I think it’s a lot different for me now that I am so committed to getting as high a score as I can. Just from a few days of studying my LSAT mistakes I’ve upped my average practice test score by six points. I’ll be studying for around an hour every day when I’m not taking a practice test. On practice test days I’ll be spending a little over two hours. My next LSAT is October so we’ll see where it takes me. I’m stressed but I’m excited. I haven’t felt this way about a school since I first discovered The Theatre School at DePaul. It ended up being the perfect school for me. I’m trusting this feeling again.

Letting it Change

Honestly I’ve been stressing about making another post. I think I’m hung up on this idea that it’ll create an image in my head on what this blog should be, and I don’t want this to need to be anything. I tend to put myself in a box with a lot of my projects. I like things planned out and consistent. I’ve used the same pen in my car books for three years now because I don’t want to see the line weight or color change. Even getting the first car book started took me three months longer than I wanted because I hadn’t found the “right” notebook yet.

I think I worry way too much about having everything perfect from the get-go. I’ve been paralyzed by the idea that this needs to be good and consistent for as long as it exists. In the past I would have waited to make my first post until the website was designed completely. Right now it’s just some random WordPress theme. I’m teaching myself HTML right now, so as time goes on I’ll be able to change this site to better reflect who I am. I don’t think I’d have been okay with the slow evolution of this site in the past but I’m trying to get better at letting things be what they will be. I’m sure by the end of Fall Quarter this website will be unrecognizable.

Now here are some things that I like and have been thinking about.

Tahoe No.84 Poker Cards

I found these cards right at the beginning of the Summer. I was at the Salvation Army off of Devon and they were wrapped in packing tape along with three other decks. I’d been looking for a nice deck for a while and these looked perfect. The other packs are irrelevant. The one problem the Tahoes had was their clumpy-ness. It was impossible to fan them out. Even while looking through the cards you had in your hand they’d stick together in groups of 2-3. The cards were made somewhere in the late 70s/early 80s, and I’m sure they hadn’t seen use in years.

It took until mid-summer for me to bring these out for us to play with. I was worried their stickiness would stop us from enjoying them. Eventually I was out with Summer and Eli (I think at Rose’s Lounge) and we wanted to play cards. Luckily a few days prior I’d thrown them in my bag. After that I started bringing them with me everywhere and playing as much as I could. Summer, Eli, and I end up playing the same two games every time we go out: President, and Golf. Summer taught us a new game at the pig the other night. I had a lot of fun because it’s a longer form game, but I can barely remember how to play (there was a lot going on)

They also have a paper-ish feel that I like a lot more than plastic coated cards, even if they are a bit harder to play with. The backs aren’t too exciting but I think they look a lot better than Bicycle backs or the Bee decks I’ve seen around. The faces don’t have much going on either. What I really love about this deck is the box. The colors, the “Tahoe” font, and the Spade with the gold trim in the center make it really stand out for me.

I have another box of these somewhere. I went back the next day because they were only $1.99 for a tape-wrapped pack of four cards. I haven’t been able to find it recently, it must’ve disappeared into my car somewhere.

Pokémon Red for the Gameboy Color
(RIP Gameboy color..)

We had a GameStop five minutes away from our house growing up, so you wouldn’t be surprised to learn I was there more often than not. I went with my friend Luke one day. He was coming over and we probably went there looking for a game to play on my Xbox. While we looked around an older lady walked in with a small paper bag. She had some games to sell, so of course we peeked over to see what she was getting rid of, and of course we lost our minds when we saw her selling a Teal Gameboy Color along with 20 or so games.

Somehow we were brave enough to ask her to sell them to us instead. She let us search through her games and decide between ourselves what we wanted to buy. Among other things, I ended up with Super Mario Land, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, and Harvest Moon. But of the games, my biggest prize was Pokémon Red. Luke already had a Gameboy at this time so he let me buy it off of her. I think in total the games and the Gameboy were sold to me for $35.

When we got to my house we looked through all our games. Luke ended up getting a Pokémon game as well (whether it was blue or red I cannot remember). When we opened up the save on his cartridge we found a completed Pokédex with a max level team. We lost our minds for the second time that day. Sadly, due to circumstances outside of my control, in 2018 my Gameboy Color fell off my nightstand while I was at school and shattered into a thousand pieces.

Luckily I found a Gameboy Advance SP at Half Price Books in high school.

No More Things

I was writing a section about my Greek Antiquities, but it went on long enough to warrant its own post. I enjoyed having a space to write about little things. This was a bit like when you’re too scared to “mess up” a new journal by writing in it. I just had to write down SOMETHING and then it becomes okay for me to keep posting.

I’ve spent most of my time this Summer going to shows around Chicago. Eli and Summer tag along more than anyone else. We’ll end up seeing two a week. Maybe three if we push it. I’ll sometimes bring other friends too, but it was at a point where sending individual texts about a show to everyone that was interested became excessive, so I started emailing. Every week or so I send out a list of the shows I may go to. At the time of writing this, I send my emails to 15 people. As the weeks went by I realized how much fun I was having with it.

I was already hesitant to start the newsletter. I didn’t think my friends would be too into it, but I was getting a really nice response! I’ve started throwing in some music that I’ve been listening to along with the show dates. I can’t remember when I decided to start a blog, but I think my friend Lilly mentioned the idea last week at Lunch. I remember we were talking about the newsletter. She thought I should add more about what I’ve been reading and listening to. I’ll definitely do that too, but a blog’ll let me post about whatever, whenever.

This’ll just end up being a space to put down my thoughts on whatever I’ve been interested in. I’ll definitely put in some of my photo projects as I work on them. Maybe a few reviews on cameras or telescopes I own. It was between a blog and another Instagram account, and more time on that app is the last thing I need.

I’m not a trained writer, so I’m hoping this helps me improve. I also have very little web design experience. WordPress has a lot to play around with so I’ll be changing the site and adding to it as time goes on. I think this’ll be a fun journey! I hope it’s as enjoyable for you as it is for me.

Matthew Eshaya