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After many weeks of doing nothing but going to work, watching TV, working out, shopping, and going to see movies, I started to get out and enjoy Portland again this week. A lot of the events that I bought tickets for weeks or months in advance are starting take place now.

On Wednesday I went to a Foster the People concert. FTP is my favorite new band over the past year or so. Their first album is one that I can listen to all the way through without skipping any songs. The concert was outside and the weather was perfect. There was lots of skin on display, and I love seeing lots of skin. A singer named Kimbra opened up. She was good. The next performer was Mayer Hawthorne, who I liked a lot better. He has more of a soul kind of sound. After a while the songs started to sound alike, but I definitely want to give him another listen. FTP was last, of course, and they were SO GOOD!!! They played most, if not all, of their first album and some songs I didn’t recognize. They left the stage without playing “Pumped Up Kicks”, so everybody knew there would be an encore. When they did play “Pumped Up Kicks”, they changed the ending to make it sound like a techno song. Great concert!

On Thursday night I went to see Aziz Ansari perform. He plays Tom on Parks and Recreation. A comedienne name Chelsea Peretti opened up. She was pretty good, but I was eager for Aziz to get on stage. His act was very funny! My favorite part was when he talked about meeting President Obama.

On Friday night, I went to see the 80s Room. I learned about this event from Brian. Basically, a PSU student started collecting 80s TV commercials. He categorized them and showed some of them that night. I actually recognized some and the jingles from a few others. It was a really fun snapshot of the 80s.

On Saturday night, I went to see Patton Oswalt. This was at the same place I saw Marc Meron. I think I went online and bought tickets the moment the show was announced. I was close for the Meron show, but this time I was right in front of the stage. It was great. Both the opening act (I can’t remember his name) and Patton Oswalt spoke to me during the show. I kept noticing them looking at me. Before the show when I had to sign my name saying that I received my tickets, I saw the names Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, and Corin Tucker at the bottom of the list. Google them if you don’t know who they are. I didn’t get to look for them, but I overheard someone say they saw Fred Armisen. Awesome show!

I was so exhausted last night. I must really be getting old. I want to stay home every night for the next week, but I think I have stuff on my calendar.