destroyer. they'll be another just.like.you

The many colors of my record collection. #vinyl #record #color...

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:35:19 -0400

The many colors of my record collection. #vinyl #record #color #records #colors #coheedandcambria #converge #deafheaven #teramelos #prizefighterinferno #ceremony #nofilter #nomakeup #selfie

Deafheaven - “Dream House” “I’m...

Sun, 05 May 2013 13:05:00 -0400

Deafheaven - “Dream House”

“I’m dying.”
“Is it blissful?”
“It’s like a dream.”
“I want to dream.”

Those lyrics…this makes me feel feelings I didn’t think I had. I cannot wait for this album.

Hey #totinos! I’m looking for a sponsorship from you guys....

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 13:22:28 -0500

Hey #totinos! I’m looking for a sponsorship from you guys. Please RT/repost and get the word out! #totinospartypizza #totinospizzarolls

Watching Maria Bamford’s The Special Special Special. It...

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:58:12 -0500

Watching Maria Bamford’s The Special Special Special. It is fantastic. She performs standup in her living room for an audience that consists of just her parents. She is one of my favorite comedians and one of the most unique voices in comedy. It’s only $4.99 on Chill.com. Go buy it. #mariabamford #standupcomedy

57 years ago today, Doc Brown had a revelation, a vision, a...

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 02:24:36 -0500

57 years ago today, Doc Brown had a revelation, a vision, a picture in is head…the flux capacitor. This is what makes time travel possible. #november51955 #backtothefuture #fluxcapacitor #docbrown #delorean #timetravel

Photo

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:41:42 -0400

Sunday morning solo shred session. #skateboarding #bank #sunday...

Sun, 07 Oct 2012 11:20:38 -0400

Sunday morning solo shred session. #skateboarding #bank #sunday #shred (Taken with Instagram)

My three most prized #skateboards. Left: Six Gun deck ridden by...

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 18:02:27 -0400

My three most prized #skateboards. Left: Six Gun deck ridden by and signed to me by Jason Adams. Middle: Zero deck ridden by Jamie Thomas @jamiethomas and signed by the Zero team (Jamie Thomas, John Rattray, John Allie, Lindsey Robertson, Ryan Bobier, Garret Hill). Right: Deck signed to me by RODNEY MULLEN, Tony Hawk, Mike Vallely, Kerry Getz, Alex Chalmers, and Jamie Thomas. #zero #jasonadams #rodneymullen #tonyhawk #skateboarding #skateboard (Taken with Instagram)

Hey look, I’m on a record! They turned out pretty nice. Oh...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:42:43 -0400

Hey look, I’m on a record! They turned out pretty nice. Oh Shit They’re Going To Kill Us - Combat Shock EP. #vinyl #record #seveninch #combatshock #ohshittheyregoingtokillus #armygreen #bass (Taken with Instagram)

New Bill Burr special “You People Are All The Same”...

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 21:37:54 -0400

New Bill Burr special “You People Are All The Same” now on Netflix. Watch it. So funny. (Taken with Instagram)

PITTSBURGH! I’ll be doing standup next Saturday (Sept. 1)...

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:31:27 -0400

PITTSBURGH! I’ll be doing standup next Saturday (Sept. 1) at Mr. Roboto Project! 7pm, $5. Also comedy from Matthew Flynn, poetry from William James, and music from In The Wake Of Giants! Come Laugh! #standup #comedy #pittsburgh #mrrobotoproject #inthewakeofgiants #matthewflynn #williamjames #ryanthompson (Taken with Instagram)

About 5 years ago, I was on tour and heard 2 albums over the...

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 14:03:32 -0400

About 5 years ago, I was on tour and heard 2 albums over the span of a few days that completely changed the way I look at music. The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity, and Tera Melos - Drugs To The Dear Youth. They are still 2 of my favorite albums today, and without them, I don’t think I would see or hear music the way I do now. Thank you, guys. @benweinman @nickreinhart @nathan_erik @sargenthouse @teramelos #dillingerescapeplan #calculatinginfinity #teramelos #drugstothedearyouth (Taken with Instagram)

Hey Short Street Auto, why the fuck are you weighing in on this?...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 12:06:13 -0400

Hey Short Street Auto, why the fuck are you weighing in on this? No one likes you, the people at Country Fair across the street probably don’t like you. Maybe if you spent less time pushing your ideas and a little more time on your deals, people would actually buy a car from you. Or are you just some sort of money laundering hate group? (Taken with Instagram)

What a great tagline! #paranormalactivity4 #tagline #imdb...

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 12:02:34 -0400

What a great tagline! #paranormalactivity4 #tagline #imdb #paranormalinactivity (Taken with Instagram)

flamelikeme: “Tragedy + time = comedy. But I don’t have the...

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 19:12:54 -0400

flamelikeme:

“Tragedy + time = comedy. But I don’t have the benefit of time. So I’m just going to tell you the tragedy and know that everything is going to be okay.”

So began Tig Notaro’s set last night at her show “Tig and friends” at the Largo.

Actually, that wasn’t the beginning of her set. It began when Ed Helms welcomed her to the stage and she crossed over, took the microphone, and said “Thank you, thank you, I have cancer, thank you, I have cancer, really, thank you.”

Applause gave way to reticent laughter as she explained how she had planned a set about bees flying alongside her car on the 405, but that she couldn’t possibly do her “silly jokes” when all this was going on. And that’s when she told us that 3 days ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, in both breasts.

But she didn’t just have cancer. She went on to explain that in some manic twist of fate, while her career is at an all-time high — she is moving to New York to work on Amy Schumer’s new television show, she was on This American Life — concurrently, all these terrible circumstances have befallen her over the past 3 months: pneumonia made way for a debilitating bacterial infection in her digestive tract for which she was hospitalized and lost 30 pounds off of her already small frame, days after being released from the hospital, her young mother died suddenly and tragically (fell, hit her head, died), then she and her girlfriend broke up, and then, now, cancer. In both breasts. (“You have a lump.” “No, doctor, that’s my breast.” — one of her most renowned bits is about someone remarking upon her small breasts)

For the first half of her set, even though she was telling the story in perfect grace and humor, I couldn’t laugh. For the second half, for the first time in my life, as far as I can recall, I genuinely laughed and cried at the exact same time, bewildered at the tragedy and the remarkably calm, clever prism through which she assessed her terrible set of circumstances.

While telling us anecdotes from these personal tragedies, all along the way, she assured the audience “it’s okay, I’m going to be okay.” At one part, when she reached a dark place wherein most of the audience could not find the will to laugh, she said “maybe I’ll just go back to telling jokes about bees. Should I do that?” there were several “NOs” and one insistent loud male voice who cried out

“NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. THIS IS FUCKING INCREDIBLE.”

She looked genuinely taken aback, and relieved. She’d managed to make the tragic not only palatable but overwhelmingly engaging. She’d done it.

Tig’s been one of my favorite comedians for a couple of years now. I told her how much I loved her work after a set at UCB one night, and she received my words so kindly that she came towards me and gave me a hug. I’ve gone downtown to bars by myself and sat for hours alone, just waiting to see her headlining set.

At the end of her routine last night, everyone in the audience gave her a standing ovation, for me her wowed, grateful, happy face blurry with my own salty eyes. She’d released her horrific story into the hearts of her fans. I’m sure we all felt like I did; we were made witness to a truly historical moment in comedy, by one of the industry of comedy’s absolute greatest.

Bill Burr followed her set, inexplicably able to make the whole audience uproarious with laughter by the end. Bill Burr then brought on Louis C.K., the surprise guest of the night, which was a shock - it was my first time ever seeing him live - but it was very difficult to give him my enrapt attention after Tig’s on-stage confessions.

My head is still swimming around what happened last night. We all saw the ultimate embodiment of what comedy is supposed to do: deeply personal tragedies somehow transformed, with the enormous, necessary power of an open-hearted audience, into brilliantly-written truths that we’ll all take home with us and keep with us as long as we’ll have a sound-enough mind to remember that show. If schadenfreude is pleasure derived from the misfortune of others, we all shuffled into another corner last night, schadenfreude’s cousin; we’re not laughing at you, we’re crying with you but trying very hard to accept this avalanche of misfortune through the more edible prism of humor.

I’m so grateful I could bear witness to what happened last night, and more than that I’m grateful to comedy and to Tig Notaro for being not only courageous enough and not only spirited enough but for being so endlessly, achingly HONEST with all of us, the stunned, mouth-breathing strangers in the dark.

Holy shit, me and my favorite comic, @peteholmez. I don’t...

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:41:56 -0400

Holy shit, me and my favorite comic, @peteholmez. I don’t even know what to say. (Taken with Instagram)

This Friday I’ll be performing standup comedy in Meadville...

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 23:51:39 -0400

This Friday I’ll be performing standup comedy in Meadville with Seth Brewster and Morgan Hartman performing music! Come have fun! #standup #comedy #meadville #indienightsonmarket (Taken with Instagram)

The light setup for my standup set last night was rad. I felt...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 16:07:29 -0400

The light setup for my standup set last night was rad. I felt like I was in Tool or something. (Taken with Instagram)

Go get @dantelfer’s new album “Tendrils Of...

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:49:50 -0400

Go get @dantelfer’s new album “Tendrils Of Ruin” is out NOW on AST Records. Go get it. You won’t regret it. Super funny. #dantelfer #tendrilsofruin #aspecialthing #astrecords #standup #comedy (Taken with Instagram)

Natural watersides in Ohiopyle State Park. #naturalwaterslide...

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 21:20:49 -0400

Natural watersides in Ohiopyle State Park. #naturalwaterslide #ohiopyle #statepark #pennsylvania (Taken with Instagram)