SHARING THE SHOWS
I don’t usually talk about dreams I’ve had, but I thought it appropriate to start off this post with one. Lately, I’ve been fixed on the song “True Faith” by New Order; it’s just a neat song. In this dream, I was in an 80s dance club, wearing a Devo-style hat, boogeying to that tune. So the serendipity of JJ inviting me to a dance party, replete with 80s dance music, got me stoked.
I spent 4/20 in downtown Bethesda two years ago to the Grateful Dead-fueled stylings of the Montgomery Warlocks. It was fun, and there were two similar shows within Metro distance from me: 1) On the Bus at Bethesda Boards; and 2) the Wharf Rats at Hank Dietle’s Tavern, near the North Bethesda stop. Had I not solidified Runaway Gin as my April show, I likely would have gone to On the Bus with Pete. So, in a way, I’m glad for this “one show a month” commitment, as it’s opening me up to other things. I did get to connect with Pete over dinner at Silver New American Brassiere, one of many restaurants on lively Woodmont Avenue. I had devoured half a Wegman’s pizza the night before and was feeling some “carbohydrate remorse.” So I ordered a half Cobb salad, which was quite huge. Pete and I talked music and shows and hiking and our mutual preference for public transportation. The history of Bethesda also came up; Pete lived here back when it was a bohemian paradise, before urban sprawl. He was mystified by all the office buildings, restaurants, and apartments that have been built in the last couple of decades. I’ve never known any other version of Bethesda, so it’s cool to know the history. It reminds me of the scene in Cobra Kai where Daniel LaRusso learns that village in Okinawa he visited in The Karate Kid Part II now has a Gap, a Red Lobster, and a Jersey Mike’s. I met JJ at the Barking Dog, and I was surprised to see an empty room; I expected to see a crowded dance floor filled with multicolored hair, spandex, and Devo-style hats. What I did get was a free dark chocolate bar, appetizers (including some neat BBQ shrimp skewers, pictured above), and a benefit from ForestPlanet to celebrate Earth Day. And the best part: good conversation. JJ’s friend Jason also keeps a spiral notebook to log songs; LOVE IT! I did the same thing. I’ll list a sample of the songs I heard and, in some cases, offer a story to go with each song: “Bette Davis Eyes” (Kim Carnes) – When I was sixteen, my family moved. When we got to our new house, I spotted a box filled with random ideas, including the Flashdance soundtrack. As a CD collector, I had to add it. While I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie, the soundtrack did bump. “Only the Lonely” (The Motels) “I’m Your Boogie Man” (KC and the Sunshine Band) “The Hustle” (Van McCoy) – I first heard the song on The Simpsons episode, “The Way We Was.” In that episode, Homer meets Marge and is smitten. Faking his way into her house to be tutored, he gets to know her, and at one point, they’re dancing to this song. Sadly, I couldn’t find this clip. “I Can Dream About You” (Dan Hartman) “You Sexy Thang” (Hot Chocolate) “Nobody Does It Better Than You” (Chaka Khan) “Night Fever” (The Bee Gees) – When I was a kid, my Mom would drag me shopping, and she had a cassette of their Greatest Hits. While I couldn’t stand having to try on clothes, I dug this album, which is forever embedded in my subconscious. “Bring on the Dancing Horses” (Echo and the Bunnymen) “Come Undone” (Duran Duran) “Boys Don’t Cry” (The Cure) “Dr & The Medics” (Spirit in the Sky) – Norman Greenbaum did a better job on this. “The Jean Genie” (David Bowie) “Radio Free Europe” (REM) – My first exposure to REM was the video for “Drive.” Upon loving this song, I bought a tape of Automatic For the People. The grunge-inspired Monster is still my favorite of theirs, and “Crush with Eyeliners” tops all other tunes on that album. “Gone Daddy Gone” (Violet Femmes) “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson) – Looking past Jackson’s proclivities for the younger generation, he is a great performer. That said, I don’t like this one. “One Night in Bangkok” (Murray Head) – I like this tune, but nothing beats Mike Tyson’s performance of it (reference: The Hangover Part 2). “La Vida Loca” (Ricky Martin) I mentioned the lack of dance fever on the floor, save for two women dancing for a couple of the songs. That said, I don’t mind a low-key, conversation-filled event. But after JJ and Jason dropped me off, I turned the livestream of Phish’s performance at the Sphere, and bopped to “Set Your Soul Free.” All in all, it was a fun night. Good food, great music, excellent people.
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Why is it that all the meetings seem to pile up at the end of the school year, right when my battery is at about 6%? Three committee meetings in two days; welcome to the world of tenure. I had also given my “How to be Single and Happy” presentation the night before and enjoyed a nice post-talk meal with my friends and fellow pro-single tribespeople Kristen and JJ afterwards (here’s a link to JJ’s YouTube channel). I hadn’t slept much the night before the presentation, and was still catching up on sleep all day Friday. Nonetheless, I was committed to this show for a while. Due to the adulting that comes with homebuying, I won’t be planning on traveling this summer for any Phish shows, so Runaway Gin would be my Phish phix. I had seen them at the Broadberry, located two hours south in Richmond, seven years earlier with Mark/Brodysseus and Drew/Brometheus, and enjoyed their act. I’d been out of town every time they hit the DC area, but now that I’d be in town, this would be my April show. I sipped on a Cherry Coke Zero during the Metro ride down and made it there at about 8:10 to a half-full venue and empty stage. Was this group attempting to follow Phish’s tradition of starting forty-five minutes late? Guys, you’re not Phish; you don’t have that draw! Nonetheless, 8:20 isn’t a bad start time, not quite the waiting time of Phish, or even worse, Madonna. They opened with “Chalkdust Torture,” a fitting tune for my meeting streak. As I type this, I do know this committee service has some type of long-term benefit, so I persist, hence why I need shows. Following this was “Sample in a Jar,” and the jam with that was the show’s highlight for me. I’ve never even heard the real Fab Four do that. After “The Wedge,” the singer welcomed us and said, “Feel free to request.” We got the usual “Play some Skynyrd” and someone demanded “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round.” If Drew had been there, I would’ve yelled, “Waiting for the Bus!” We did get “Horn,” “Squirming Coil,” and “Runaway Jim.” During the opening of it, another dude and I were trying to guess what song they were going to. He went with “Piper,” me “Sigma Oasis” and “Antelope.” 0 for 3 between the two of us, although I know my “Antelope” teases when I hear them. During the setbreak, I talked to a long-haired dude named John from Gaithersburg who sipped his water by the bar. When he’s not at shows, he’s a statistician for the Federal Government who studies wage increases (see? We have jobs! Take that, haters!). We talked about how wage growth does not match cost-of-living increases by a long shot, especially not for DC employees, but I do enjoy my work fervently, and the benefits are great (such as the fact that DC gives me an amount equal to 7% of my annual salary every year to my 401K). Set 2 kicked off with “Tweezer,” followed by “David Bowie” and “Divided Sky” in a Junta twofer, “Contact” (which always makes me think of that night my car got towed from Mark’s complex post-SCI,” and “Tweezer Reprise.” “You Enjoy Myself” and “Harry Hood” closed the show. Overall, I enjoyed the show, but the group do well to learn some new songs. Phish has updated their repertoire extensively since 1994, folks! But hey, I appreciate your tunes nonetheless. Some random notes: 1)The bathroom always offers some interesting anecdotes. One dude filmed the guy at the urinal next to him peeing. Hey, no judgments on my end. 2)Someone left a quartet of C batteries on a sink countertop. Judgment on my end. Put your garbage in a garbage can, people! Don’t just leave it by the sink! For context, click here. That said, perhaps someone was trying to make an artistic or political statement, so, oh well…Here’s the pic below. 1)The bassist’s Purple Rain shirt was neat, a tribute to Phish’s frequent renditions of that Prince tune in their 90s shows.
2)I loved that “Chilly Water” tease from the bassist, right before “YEM.” They should have played it! WSMFP! As the night went on and the music play, my dancing became way more physical, and I engaged in fist-bumps, high-fives, and hugs with random folks. Strangers stopping strangers indeed…that’s how it oughta be, even if they’re drunk and/or high. Once I got home, I laid my feet up on the couch and flipped to an episode of Loudermilk, that dramedy starring Ron Livingston as a curmudgeonly leader of a support group for alcoholics and addicts. The plan was to watch an ep and go to bed. But I was so wiped from dancing, not to mention life, that it took every ounce of my will just to migrate toward the bed. I’ve been cycling back on the shows, and once again, I’m finding they’re way more fun when I space them out. I’ve been seeing a wider variety of them too (VNV Nation last week, Nicholas Payton the week before, Silversun Pickups in May, James Taylor in September). But it was nice to go back to my roots. Here’s hoping the real Phish returns to DC someday. This fall, perhaps? And if people come in from out of town, assuming all goes well with the home, I’ll have a second bedroom in which they can sleep. Fingers crossed! In keeping with my motif of Simpsons-related introductions, I love this clip of Homer’s daydream about being a mafia don, being offered donuts.
As the founder of the Childfree Singles of the DMV Group (hikes up suspenders in a pretentious manner), I’ve had the chance to meet some very cool people and make new friends. But I never thought I’d get hook-ups to music. Beher gave me a USB drive filled with music, and I’ve gotten tickets to two concerts over the last four days. On this occasion, Rolf hooked me up with a free ticket to VNV Nation. I hadn’t heard of them, but on my listen, they reminded me of Depeche Mode. I was also psyched to hit up the Fillmore again; I’d only been once before to see Bad Religion. I met up with Rolf, his brother Jan, and his friend Nick at the Dog Haus pre-show. Their menu has all kinds of decorative hot dogs and hamburgers, but since I’d eaten a dinner of a turkey burger (no bun), broccoli, salad, along with a PayDay for dessert, I settled on a small cup of chili and a Coke Zero. We played a game called “100 Questions,” which prompt deep reflection. One question stood out: is there anyone you regret losing touch with? I have lost a close friend or two due to political differences, but we won’t go there. We got to the Fillmore at around 8:40, where the opener, Traitrs, had just finished. Nick likened them to The Cure; Berk, Tears for Fears. I was definitely willing to shout and let it out at this show. After all, that’s how we fulfill our desire to rule the world! Ba-dum-bum! Anyway, Rolf pointed out the show had a dress code, and none of us were in compliance. It consists of all black. I saw a lot of black lipstick, fishnet stockings, a hoodie that read “Don’t Fucking Touch Me,” and a KMFDM shirt. I think of their music video, “A Drug Against War,” which opens with the words, “Kill Everything,” which I only know thanks to these two laureates. I know I stood out in my sweater and Ivy League hat among all these goth/emo types. It reminded me of when Pete and his friend Steve went to Blackberry Smoke at this venue; their tie-dyes were big dots in a sea of MAGAheads. While I’ve never been part of the industrial scene, I did enjoy the show. I couldn’t tell you the names of any of their songs, but I did dance pretty intensely. At one point, the singer, Ronan Harris, told the audience, “Put away your fucking cameras and enjoy the show!” Mine had been pocketed, but their light show is quite photogenic. Harris is a good speaker as well and has good social messages, just like Bruce Dickinson. He encouraged the younger members of the audience to “when you’re done with that school thing, make your mark on the world.” He also mandated us to “reach out to others and be kind.” Both awesome messages. On the Metro ride home, I was greeted by a thread to establish a Singles Bill of Rights, which is, as defined by its originator, Tracy Houston, “a ‘corrective blueprint’ that seeks to establish equality for singles in five categories: 1) legal; 2) medical; 3) academia; 4) business; and 5) sociocultural.” I couldn’t resist responding to the thread, even after a show; that’s how much I care. That said, without these shows, I wouldn’t have the energy to be involved in that realm. And a happy early birthday to Rolf! This was supposed to be his birthday show last year before the band rescheduled. Glad I got to be a part of it, however belated. |
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April 2024
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