Non-gamers, avert your eyes - here be Warcraft discussion.

So, over the weekend, I happened to pick up a new robe for my mage: Vestments of the Shifting Sands. It drops of Kurinnaxx, the trivially easy earwig boss in the Ruins of Ahn’Qiraj. Given how easy it is to get and its decent stats, plenty of casters figure it’s a better bet than waiting for Robe of Volatile Power or their Tier 1 robe. However, there’s something you should know:

I’m the undead female on the right, and the guy on the left is a random human male I encountered in Silithus. We’re both wearing the same robe. There are a couple of things to note here (apart from the fact that the guy is also wearing Magister’s Crown and is thus a noob). First, the robe is almost exactly the shade of pink that I used to favor in hair dye. You might be fine with that, or you might object to looking like a pretty, pretty princess. Especially if you’re undead.

And then of course, if you’re a female of any race, you’re going to end up looking like a hooker. So there’s that. But for 32 damage to all schools without having to be a tailor, that’s fine with me.

So this morning I was listening to some Morrissey on my way to work, as is my wont, and I’m sad to say that I got so wrapped up in one particular song that I actually missed my stop - something I don’t even do when I’m asleep. However, as I got off at the next stop and waited for another train to take to take me back, I forgave Morrissey for distracting me to such an extent.

But now I hear that he and the other former members of The Smiths turned down an offer to reunite for a performance at Coachella. I like his solo stuff well enough, but I would have given my legs to see The Smiths live. Yes, both of them.

So that’s twice today you’ve screwed me over, Morrissey. I’m warning you - don’t make it three times.

The short version: an unqualified disappointment.

The long version: I did enough pre-show drinking with friends that I was able to tolerate the standard Webster Hall hurry-up-and-wait procedure without difficulty. We were even able to stand through the opening band ("The Warlocks") with relative patience and good humor. But when the Sisters finally took the stage, it was immediately apparent that something was very wrong. The bass was overpowering to the point of distortion while the vocals were almost completely inaudible - we’d catch the occasional word here or there, but otherwise nothing. On the whole, the sound was so inexcusably bad that we were a good three minutes into "Detonation Boulevard" before I even recognized it. Despite shouts of "Fix the sound!" and "Fire your roadies!" from the crowd, and the occasional sighting of guys in black clambering around the speakers with flashlights, nothing was accomplished and the entire performance was essentially ruined.

Add to that the fact that the show had the highest concentration of assholes I’ve seen in a long time (no fewer than four large, odorous men shoved their way in front of my friend Melissa at various points in the night) and it was kind of a struggle to maintain a good mood. At one point, a fight between two members of the cavalcade of jackasses broke out directly behind us, and we decided to call it a night.

I went home and listened to Floodland and forgave Andrew Eldritch all his sins, but it was still quite a waste of fifty bucks.