Maybe I've just been spoiled by the proportion of great shows I've seen in the last year (literally almost all of them have been good, many have been great), but I found Big Thief a little "meh." I probably would have liked them more 10-15 years ago. And the Anthem is still too big of a venue for my tastes. I was actually up front but the painful buzzing in my ear,even with earplugs, made me retreat to the back, where it was fine.
I also managed to check out Churchkey beforehand. I had a full pour of a Fiden's hazy (awesome), and chased it will a taster of Suarez Kolsch (very good.) New York State in the house, as was Greg Engert.
The worst part was putting in eight hours of work (starting at 7:30), taking my dog to the vet for two hours, and going to a show (that only I had interest in), and getting attacked by my wife for "having fun" while she worked all night (with a break to go to the gym.)
And now she just walked in the door and yelled "Lay the fuck down, and get out of my way, you horrible fucking animal." To the dog, not me.
It's going to be a long day.
