Jonathan Coulton

Dan Fogelberg died yesterday and it makes me very sad. I’m not just being goofy when I say that I listened to him a lot as a kid. And it may not be the coolest music in the world for a supposed rock star like me to be into, but he’s always been a big influence. The man wrote a lot of great, singable, heartbreaking songs – he will be missed. Thanks Dan.

As I mentioned in my last post, I was invited to give a Master’s Tea at my old school (a college in New Haven) this week. It went very well I think, or at least I enjoyed myself (click that link if you want to see the new “what the heck is going on this is kwazy!” facial expression I have just invented). I had forgotten how smart and fun and just generally delightful college kids can be. Grownups suck. Thanks to The Yale Record, the ever charming Master G of Pierson College, and most of all the people who took a break from all the important studying to hear some songs about monkeys.

This was another first time city for me, it was Sunday night, and there was freezing rain. I’m amazed anyone at all came out, let alone the large, warm and wonderful audience we were lucky enough to have. My traditional end-of-tour cold kicked in about 2 hours before show time, so I spent the first few songs of the set floating somewhere above my body trying to make it sing and play the guitar. I think we got there eventually. Another request for “Soft Rocked” and guess who got right back on that horse, rode it hard, and hung it up wet? Me, that’s who. Chuck Berry will be using the same green room and stage at Blueberry Hill in a couple of days, which is kind of weird.

I’m back in NYC now, though I go to New Haven tonight to give a Master’s Tea at dear old Yale. After that it’s just the long slow unwind of December, during which I expect to finally break 1,000,000 in Geometry Wars. I will also take a nap.

The audience at Blueberry Hill was far too wide for my poor little Treo lens, so I had to take two pictures:

RIGHT:

LEFT:

Thanks everyone for a great trip, and another incredible year. It still hits me from time to time, especially when I’m in a strange city playing for a great crowd: this is actually my job now, and I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I’ll be back on the road (somewhere) in Jan and Feb, so stay tuned…

UPDATE: Emily’s performance has been posted to YouTube, and so now the internet will eat itself and explode:

The vibe is always great at Schuba’s, but it was especially nice this time with a very full house at the early show, and a very punchy house at the late. The early show folks enjoyed an extra special treat when Emily (of YouTube Code Monkey dance fame) came up on stage to do the dance during the song. It was an important moment for the internet – seriously, think how amazing that is. I really felt like I was meeting a famous person, and in fact I was. What I’m trying to say is that it ruled. And both shows got to enjoy a special robot voice effect applied to the “Message redacted” part of Chiron Beta Prime by our able soundman Fab. All in all, another triumph. Thank you Chicago, both of you.

Another fantastic show with a fantastic audience. This was my second time in Madison, different venue, bigger crowd. The Majestic Theater is pretty cool looking inside, all these balconies that go way the hell up, and it sounded great from where I was standing. Which was a complete surprise because we got stuck in some nasty traffic and arrived five minutes before the doors were supposed to open – sorry we made you all wait outside in the cold. There was also a request for “Famous Blue Raincoat,” which I usually avoid playing live because it’s such a downer, but it felt like a good idea this time. And thanks especially to the highly excitable Alyssa (sp?) for the most animated Chiron Beta Prime contribution yet seen.

Here is what you looked like to me:

We’re on our way to Chicago today for two shows at Schuba’s, 7:30 and 10:30. Last I heard, the early show is nearly sold out, but the later one still has about 70 tickets left…