M and I went to see the new Central Works play, Shadow Crossing, in Berkeley last night, first stopping at Amoeba to trade in surplus cds for new, more desirable cds. I picked up the just released documentary on Townes Van Zandt, Be Here to Love Me, for Jen (for both of us, really) as well.

Shadow Crossing was excellent, with G behind the curtain providing the sound (songs by people like Calexico, Lila Downs, and Lhasa, which fit the mood and locale nicely). The play focuses in on the plight of illegal immigrants and reasons why people leave countries behind. Well written and skillfully performed, it managed to be hilarious and touching at the same time. Somewhere on the floor above there was a small water leak, so the audience was asked to ignore the small, plastic bucket placed center stage. The actors did a great job of not stepping in it too, and they are to be commended for this. The play can still be seen next Thursday through Sunday. Follow the link above for more precise information.

When we got back home, we all stayed up until 3 am watching the Townes Van Zandt documentary. Beautiful and tragic. He had most of his childhood erased from his mind when he underwent shock treatment. Hard to imagine living like that. Of course that's only a small part of the story. See the film.

I did a party today and got tipped twenty bucks, which will go to offset costs from yesterday's visit to Amoeba. I'd better go check on the girls now. They're potato printing in the other room with a couple of potato halves, one carved into a spider and the other carved into the crude likeness of a cat.