On Top of the World!

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic

The picture to the right shows Mr. Lacubrious Jonez playing "On Top of The World" with Carlito for the sound check at the Riverfront Cultural Society in New Haven Mo.

Javi took the stage at 8:00pm. This was an AMAZING show!!! The place was packed! We don't know the exact numbers, but we estimate 100 people in attendance. If you count the people outside dancing in the street, I am sure that it was more like 120!

Another highlight was meeting Trevor Snarr, a friend of Javi's from his Trekking for Kids trip a few years ago. It turns out that Trevor is a part time movie actor who was in the movie Napoleon Dynamite. He played the jock boyfriend of the cheerleader.



Javi and Carl really rocked the place.



The RCS is really a pretty good music venue. Until this show we had only seen it from the outside. We had heard both good and bad things about the place. It is a very "rustic" 80 to 100 year old building with a creaky floor, and no two tables or chairs the same. Although they didn't have a sound guy, Javi managed to figure out the board in no time and the sound through the really nice JBL speakers was incredible. The really cool thing about RCS is that they are a non-for-profit organization that is run strictly by volunteers. You can bring in what ever you want to eat or drink, you only have to pay the cover charge so that the bands, rent, and utilities get paid. The cover for Javi's show was only $7!



We had a lot of friends and family join us including uncle Ed, his friend Rick and Rick's son Josh from Connecticut. In total the Lacubrious Crew brought out eleven guests to the show.

After Party @ Ciceros

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic

Oh, and as if the Microfest wasn't enough.....Javi & Carl played a set at Cicero's. "The Gang" blewout of the Microfest at 6:30ish and headed on down to Cicero's restaurant for some dinner / drinks / discussion and managed to kill a couple of hours before heading into the venue.

We all agreed that this was one of the best Cicero's shows. The sound was not too loud, the crowd was into it, and it was a great vibe. A kind of clearing away of old, bad memories of the place for us! Right on!

After the show Javi & Oscar were headed back to watch the recorded Real Madrid Soccer Game.....MrLacubrious evily hinted at knowing the score which brought about bodily injury threats from Javi and Spanish profanity from Oscar....all in good fun!

Javi at the MicroFest

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic

If you look closely, you can see the photog taking the picture... I thought I was far enough to right that I would escape the reflection. WRONG!

Microfest 2007!

Microfest fun!

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic

Mark down another successful outing for the Lacubrious Crew! Although it was NOT the same without Kurtis, we made the best of it. MrsLacubriousJones hooked us up with the tickets to the St. Louis Microfest in Forest Park. Just so happens Javier Mendoza was playing in the afternoon, hmmm, how is that for planning?

It was also an opportunity for LacubriousToo to get in some camera time with his GIANT rental lens. He’s been yearning for an IS (image stabilized lens), they are pricey, but he found a great place that will “rent” you one via mail order. He got it this week! So this event was a prime opportunity to try it out.

Around 1:30 –ish we headed down to the event. We had a little trouble navigating due to the heavy construction in Forest Park. Yes, oh yes, MrLacubriousJones made at least one Q-turn! We finally found the upper Muny parking lot and headed to the registration booth to get signed in. We signed away our rights (waiver) and showed our ID’s, got our wrist bands and little sample glasses and we were off!

We tried “several” varieties of beer. Some we had tried before, others were new to us. Nothing really knocked our socks off (what socks?!) but I have to say that the Blackberry Wheat was pretty refreshing on a warm summer day. Once we were pickled, we headed off to find Javi and the gang. They were all chillin’ under the shade trees waiting to get into the small metal box, err I mean “stage”.

The gang this time around was Javi, Carl, Moises, and Bill. They were great, although there were some power and sound issues. Sometimes the quality of sound at these outdoor events leaves a lot to be desired. At one point the whole system cut out right in the middle of Blood in the Water….when it came back on, Javi just picked it up from where he left off!

The whole thing was over by 6pm, so we packed up our crew and headed down to Cicero’s for some dinner…….and to wait for Javi & Carl who were performing a 45 minute set that night. They were opening up for the Fundamental Elements. It sounded great, LacubriousToo got some great photos.

We ended the evening our usual way…..grabbing some coffee at Starbucks on the way home. Good times!!!

Javier at the MicroFest!

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic

Cinco de Mayo y Feliz Cumpleanos a mi Madre!

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic.

Well, it was a full day to say the least, what with Cinco de Mayo AND LacubriousOneMom's birthday! We treated Mom to dinner at Growlers, meeting LacubriousKurtis (can you say platanos? Oh no you didn't!), and a Javi concert at Finale! Good times!

We were graciously joined at the Javi concert by several extended "psycho fan" family and friends...Bill, Lisa, Darrell, Sherrie, David, Carrie, and Mary. A total of 12 in all at the 7:30 concert and 7 repeats at the 9:30 concert! WAY TO REPRESENT!

I should mention that we saw some new Javi-friends (Amy Harper) and some long-time-no-see Javi friends (Amy & Tom James). Also, we were recognized from the CD release party by some people at a neighboring table who happen to be coordinating entertainment at Creve Coeur Days, where Javi will be playing this month. We got a personal invite to check out the shows!

Good times never-ending, we headed out to a local bar after the concerts to meet up with Javi, a couple of band members, the Lacubrious crew, and Oscar, a friend of Javi's visiting from Barcelona. Good thing Mom caught a ride home with Darrell! Can you say Starbucks at 1am? WE CAN!

The Pageant.....but this weren't no Miss America.

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic.

Last minute invites to a catholic school fundraiser at The Pageant brought us out on a Sunday. Javi sent us an email at 1am saying he put our names on "the list". The Jonez's could not make it, but LacubriousToo's Bro, Dougins, rode down with us and got to enjoy the show! I tried to sneak him in on Kurtis's ticket, but nothin doin'! They were checking photo ID's! Javi saved us by adding a name to guest list at the box office!

Anyhow, it was great to see Javi and the guys (Dennis, Carl, and Logan) heat up the stage with all the new songs, plus Rococco! The people sitting next to us were duly impressed...all our braggin had to help!

It was also great to see Javi's Dad and Mom (Carlos & Ana) at the show.

Nosh Place: Penn Station Drink of the night: Amber Bock

Breaking the sound barrier!!!

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic.

I took a VERY exhilarating ride with my brother on his Goldwing 1800.

What do I MEAN by exhilarating you ask????

Well lets just say that I used my adrenaline reserves for the next six months!!!

At one point the speedometer read 125!!!!

All I can say is HOLY SHIT!!!!

Saturday afternoon at Blumenhof

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic.

Myself, Lacubriousone, and her mom spent a great afternoon sipping wine, eating cheese, and listening Steve.

The weather was perfect!

Quote of the Day...

This is a quote from a freelance writer whose blog I read and who happens to have a book coming out in a couple of weeks….I thought it was fitting for what some members of my family are going through.

“It is important to recognize that how you live your life and how you embrace your experiences, regardless of what those experiences might bring, is always a choice, and that no one has control over how you react to these experiences other than you. You can choose to get bogged down in misery or you can choose to find a way to crawl out of it.”

--Allison Winn Scotch

Javi - Rockin' out at Brandt's

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic.

Caught another Javi show at Brandt's. He was accompanied by Carl and Eric.

Brandt's Cafe

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic.

Another great night out at Brandt's Cafe. Plus we got to meet a new friend, Amy. She's a long time friend of Javi's bass player Eric and 5 years from retiring from school teaching. We're looking forward to seeing her again at Finale.

Erato Wine Bar - Date Night

Okay, so no one wanted to go out the night before Easter with us, so LacubriousToo and I headed down to the city on our own! We grabbed a bite at Qdoba then coffee from Starbucks (no-decaf, late night that it was to be) and drove down to the Erato Wine Bar on Grand Ave.

As usual, Javi was performing! Eric Grossman and Carl Glad joined him and it was a great show. We also got to see Javi's sis-in-law, Jane! She was in town from SF to see the family. Those of you who follow the blog will remember her as "Sweet Jane Jane" the keyboard player from Javi's alter-ego project Sun Motel. And as if that weren't enough, Javi's other sis-in-law was in town from England and recalled how we had met just last year at Brandt's Cafe. I apologize, I can't recall her name just now!

L-Too and I split a couple of bottles of Spanish wine (Codice) and a fab cheese plate (Machego, Chevre, St Andrews) over the course of the evening. Yum!

I think we headed home around 1:30am, grabbed a latte on the way! All in all, a very pleasant evening!

L-Too should be posting photos on flickr sometime soon!

Javier Mendoza - CD Release Show!

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic.

Good times! We got quite a few new fans to join us at Lucas School House for the concert.

The only complaint was that too many people in the crowd were talking (loudly) through the show! Hello, go downstairs if you want to gab, we're hear to see Javi!

Long-Time-No-See Friends

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic.

During our trip to Colorado, the not-so-die-hards took a day off from the slopes and drove and hour or so from Breck to see some old friends and former Unionites! Duke & Tami! They live in Salida and we haven't seen them in a couple of years. We met, did lunch, took a stroll around town, then grabbed a couple of beers and some talking-talking-talking before heading back in time to pick up the hardcore-skiers. It was great to see them and we really need to get together more often so we can swap travel stories!

Breckenridge, Colorado - More of The Year to Try New Things!

We came.
We learned.
We conquered the mountain.

...or at least that one green run

...and definitely not the lift (oh, how it vexed me!)

But a couple of bruises and one sprained ankle do not a wussy make!

Here's some photos to tie everyone over....thanks to Kurtis our videographer for the trip.

More verbiage to follow!

Cusco by night

Cusco by night
Originally uploaded by * Click-Clack-Kodak ! *.

After listening to Javi's new song "Night in Cusco", I wondered, what does Cusco Peru look like at night?

I did a Flickr search and found about 500 night shots!

Here is a picture to give you an idea what it looks like. If you click the picture it will take you to the respective Flickr stream of the photographer.

Thanks to my fellow Flickr members for making their images available!

International Day!!

Here are a few photos from this years ECC International Day "featuring" (IMHO) Javier Mendoza and friends.

ECC Art Gallery

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Originally uploaded by dehmystic.

Thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Lacubrious Jonez making all the right contacts, Javi and Carl were hired to play the ECC art gallery re-location event. The show was AMAZING!!!! My guess at total attendance would be at least one hundred.