This past weekend we celebrated a watershed event in my life: The final days of my twenties. And we celebrated this momentous weekend in the most appropriate way possible -- gathering all my friends in one place and pretending like we were rock stars. That's right, I'm talking about Rock Band.
I've been a fan of the Guitar Hero series of games for several years now, but I was skeptical about how well the concept would translate into a "full-band" approach. I had heard the reports and read the reviews, but I still wasn't sure how well it would work. We took a chance, though, and picked up the full set as my birthday present. It turns out that my fears were completely unfounded; Rock Band is a lot of fun, especially when you get a bunch of friends in on every instrument. Whaling away on the drums is at the same time challenging, fun, and exhausting. I completely understand why real drummers are always the sweatiest of the band at the end of a show.
So with the rock star simulator acquired and tested, January also took the risky step of organizing a 30th birthday party for me this past weekend. If you know me, and I'm guessing you do, you know that I don't really like to be anywhere near the center of attention, so a party thrown in my honor is a bold move. It went off without a hitch, as there were plenty of distractions to keep party-goers attention, including an array of mini-mexican treats, a custom-made tabletop beer taper courtesy of Josh Matko and of course rock band. Cameron and Jay were also, somehow, able to get their hands on a copy of Mario Kart Wii for us to try out, even though it wasn't being released until the day after the party. I was also honored by the attendance of Bhouse and Gavette, direct from Chicago. These guys took the six hour drive just to hang out for the evening, which was an awesome surprise and really made the evening great.
In keeping with the Rock and Roll theme, I put together a two-disc compilation of favorite songs from each year I've been alive. They went quick, so I thought I'd put a copy of the playlist up here for anyone who wasn't able to make it to the party or who missed out on the CD version. Enjoy!
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