Fools in the rain and if the sun gets through . . .

This weekend I saw a very good movie, The Kids Are All Right, starring Julianne Moore (my favorite actress), Annette Bening, and Mark Ruffalo. This film is a very realistic, funny, and at times sad portrayal of a family. Moore and Bening play a couple whose two teenage kids decide to seek out their sperm donor father. The acting in this film is extraordinary, and I think that both actresses (and maybe Ruffalo, who is also great) will be nominated. But the script is just a very real, very surprising, very funny slice of American life--strange American life. I highly recommend The Kids are All Right.

On Sunday, after spending the afternoon watching the World Cup match with one of my best friends from high school, I met up with some other friends for a street fest to watch the Gin Blossoms play. Though I was never a huge Gin Blossoms fan, I have always liked their hit songs, and "Hey Jealousy" is one of the catchiest songs from the 90s.

So we got to the street fair about 30 minutes before the show, knowing that a rain storm was imminent. But we did not care--it had been a hot day, it was a hot evening, and a little rain never hurt anyone (except maybe William Henry Harrison). So we got a few beers and waited for the show. The Gin Blossoms took the stage right on time, and after a few songs, the rain started falling. And then the rain started falling harder. Well apparently the band was afraid of "electrocution" because the stage was "flooding" and they were holding "electric guitars" and they have "families." So they said some nonsense about "We love Chicago but the stage is unsafe. We'll be back on if we can."

So we waited, and after 10 minutes of pretty steady rain, the storm stopped, and within 10 more minutes the band was back on stage. But more rain was on the way.

I am not one to begrudge a band for wanting to play new songs. People have to hear the new stuff--fine. But after your band takes the stage again and you know more rain is on the way, shut up with the new songs and play "Hey Jealousy" already. But no, it had to be new songs. And these songs were fine, but you know . . .

The rain started coming down harder than before. We were absolutely soaked to the skin, but I was still having fun. The band played most of their hit songs: "Found Out About You," "Follow You Down," and "Allison Road." They sounded good, and the lead singer's voice was strong. But then they stopped again--they were once again afraid of dying. But this time we knew the storm was not going to let up, so we left, dripping wet and deprived of "Hey Jealousy."