How Do You Pronounce the Capitol of Kentucky?

Ahahahaha…it’s Frankfort, not Louisville!  Yes, my dad still tries to tell that joke as if he made it up.

So, taking a rest from the Conchords (I think we all agree we need a little time apart. It’s not you, guys, it’s me), I trekked to Louisville on June 19 to see another pair of funnymen, Joel McHale and Chris Hardwick, at the Palace Theatre. Being a complete dork, I made a day of it and soaked up some Louisville history beforehand.

It was probably about 104 degrees (F) when I reached Louisville at 1:00 pm. Or at least it felt like it. First stop was Locust Grove, a home owned at one time by Lucy Clark-Croghan (and her hubby), sister of war hero George Rogers Clark and William Clark of Lewis and Clark fame. Must’ve sucked trying to live up to those siblings. The Croghan family also owned Mammoth Cave and Stephen Bishop, the slave who mapped out much of the cave in the 1800s. An interesting and unexpected connection to my April trip to Mammoth Cave!

The Grand Canyon Trumps Las Vegas

My final Conchordcation of 2009 was to Las Vegas, with a day trip to the Grand Canyon.

What can I say about Vegas? I think everyone should see it once. There was always something going on. I had a terrific time. But, I’m not much of a partier, I’m a pretty conservative dresser, so this really wasn’t my scene.

At least I got to fly for this little excursion. While I love a good road trip, I about killed myself trying not to fall asleep on the way home from Hannibal, MO. It was nice to leave the flying/driving to others this time.

Viva Las Conchords

I finished up my westward following of Flight of the Conchords in Las Vegas. They played at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, and Jemaine took many opportunities to point out how rock ‘n’ roll the memorabilia throughout the hotel was. “Jewel’s tank top is hanging out there.” “I saw Bon Jovi’s jeans.” There may have been mention of some rocker’s girdle, but I can’t be sure.

Arj Barker was the opening act, and he was my favorite of the openers I saw (I was lucky enough to catch all three–Kristen Schaal and Eugene Mirman were the others). I’ve seen Arj live several times now, with and without the Conchords, and although some of the jokes were old hat, he had some new material and has perfect comedic delivery, so I never tire of his routine. Plus, he’s hot!

The crowd was a bit different at this venue. I got the feeling that many of the people there weren’t particularly fans, and may not even have known who the guys were. I was in the sixth row, and there were quite a few empty seats in the first five. Disturbingly, the couple in front of me found the show to be a perfect make-out opportunity. I swear, they didn’t come up for air once during “Albi” (totally a make-out song!). Why bother coming to the show (and blocking my view)??