I am 50% hip.

Well, the NCSU Management Academy was certainly snowed. (OK, so only Russell was snowed.) Thoroughbred Imaging Systems won an honorable mention prize, which apparently Russell created just because he had two business plans that “really stood out.” Jesus. I’m embarassed. We had completely horrible, and by horrible I mean incomplete and what was complete was poorly done, financial statements. It was so bad that I just couldn’t imagine we’d have a chance at winning anything, and now I’ve got a groovy beer mug. I hate to think what the others looked like, if we were good enough to reward. (The ones who won were an actual business that has been up for a few months, and has a few clients. I would never in a million years purchase something from the guy running it.)

Hit Go! Room 4 to see Remover with Traci and her friendster boys. (She’s a nerd-boy dating machine!)

Remover is Darren Jesse from Ben Folds Five playing guitar and singing, a bassist and keyboardist that I’d never heard of, and Mark Price (formerly Archers of Loaf) on drums. They played to a fairly empty house, opening for The Sleepies, which is pretty sad considering that those guys used to be hometown heroes. I guess the publicity machine just didn’t get going for them.

Darren’s not what I would call an accomplished singer– he seems to be straining a lot. But he’s written some keen material, some really sweet stuff that I would love to hear recorded well. A good number of songs that probably sound fantastic when played acoustically. It wasn’t thrilling, though. It just didn’t get me all hyped.

There were two songs that just rocked out hard… those were probably the only two that I got really excited about. It was just about perfect power pop.

I guess the problem was just that Darren seems older and worn. Nothing about the show seemed like it was all that fun. I guess that was my complaint about later Ben Folds five… they just seemed like somewhere along the line, they forgot why they’d become a band. Ben got all contemplative, Darren felt alienated, and Robert was just floating through. And it doesn’t seem like Remover has made music fun again for Darren. Maybe I’m wrong, because I don’t know the guy, and he may be having the time of his life, playing to 30 people in Chapel Hill. I just don’t think so.

Will I see them again? Sure, but not the next time they’re in town. Maybe give them a chance to see if things get happy again.