SHARING THE SHOWS
So after a long drive from New York to Virginia, a struggle with some allergies related to humidity for which I was not prepared, and a lot of writing, I was due for my first Hampton Roads show for the summer.
Maggie arrived at my place at 3, and we grinded through the usual HRBT traffic to get to the other side of the water. We stopped for a quick dinner at Doumar’s, a 50s-style place where you can get served your food while in your car. We opted to go in though, and I enjoyed their famed barbecue sandwich with a hot dog chaser. We got to the venue at a little bit before 5, where we were able to escape from the heat. Few others had that idea, though, as the building was pretty close to empty. Fortunately, our Gold Circle tickets gave us the ability to sit wherever we pleased. Over the loudspeakers came Bob Marley, James Taylor, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Jackson Browne, Simon Garfunkel, and the Byrds (a tidbit from Maggie: their song “Turn! Turn! Turn!” came from the Book of Ecclesiastes). Maggie overheard some of the conversations going on around us, one of them being a man on a date telling his potential significant other that he discovered his wife had cheated on him by looking through her diary. Hmmmm… Anywho, as G. Love entered the stage, I did my usual “Special Guest!” yell. I only know that song “Cold Beverage” from it playing through our fraternity’s loudspeakers in the 90s at our parties, as well as from this classic). G. Love played his guitar and blew his harp in what felt like a Delta Blues-inspired set. Of course, he played “Cold Beverage.” Some little kid was dancing on stage; I’m not a kid person per se, but I thought it was hilarious and cute. Gary, Mark, and Sheila showed up after G. Love ended, having grinded through the traffic, no doubt worse than when we encountered it, later than we. Blues Traveler played some songs I knew, like “Run Around,” “Hook” (the obvious ones), “Back in the Day,” “But Anyway,” and my personal fav, “Dropping Some NYC.” They also played one off their new album called “The Wolf is Bumpin’.” I had to do one of my impulse buys at setbreak and get that album, the paradoxically titled Hurry Up & Hang Around and moe’s The Conch. Also, another cool line from Maggie: “John Popper can do some great things with his mouth.” ;) Members of moe. and Blues Traveler collboarated on moe’s “Happy Hour Hero,” and I got my first skingasm of the night when they brought out the Rolling Stones’s “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.” When G. Love came on, Mark yelled “Special Guest!” “Look what I started,” I told Maggie. After the requisite drunk dude yelled “Freebird!” the band came on with the Beatles’s classic, “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” a tune to which you can’t help but sing. I thought, I gotta learn this one on my guitar and find an excuse to play for my students. The Grateful Dead’s “Sugaree” closed out the set. I recently opened an online T-shirt store, and Mark and I talked about designing a shirt that reads “Special Guest” that our whole crew can wear to a show. I tried to talk him into buying for Sheila so they could wear them when they go to shows. If they decide to bring Jared to a show, he could also wear one. In fact, I think I could market my shirt toward couples too, if they want to show their unity at a show. Not that I’m trying to promote my business, of course…yeahhhhhhh…. But anyway (hahahahah), I ran into Chelsea at setbreak and gave her a hug. moe. opened up their set with their rail against the capitalist machine, “Captain America.” I had really stopped listening to moe. after Wormwood (no reason in particular, it just happened organically), so the only other tunes with which I was familiar were “Head” and “Bring You Down,” off No Doy, an album Bruce used to play in the fraternity house (congrats, dude, you made my blog twice in a row). But I dug their new stuff, and I look forward to listening to The Conch. On the way home, I got a Coke Zero to caffeinate myself for the drive across the river. I like a cold beverage. And when I got home, I “stuck it in the fridge” (hahahahhahahaha…). I also, definitely did not keep singing “I like cold beverage” on the ride home, and Maggie can attest to that. Ummmmm…yeahhhhhhhhh…
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So I’m writing this from memory due to my pen breaking in what I like to call an “Uh-oh, Spaghetti-Os” moment during “Possum” (stolen from that Simpsons episode where Homer changes his name to Max Power, which he got from a hair dryer), so here goes:
I started the day by taking a 50-minute T ride to Quincy to get a Boston Kreme donut from the original Dunkin’ Donuts (they’re every 50 feet in Boston, but I had to get one from the original so I could say I did it). I expected it to be packed, but the only thing that distinguished it from every other DD I’ve been to was the font on the DD sign and the header that said “Original Dunkin’ Donuts – Established in 1950.” Otherwise, just like every other one I’ve been to. But now I can say I did the original. A message from Kelly informed me the band would be opening doors earlier due to the impending thunderstorm, so I downed a couple of slices of Boston’s version of NY pizza (edible, but not quite NY) before hopping the T over to Fenway. On the walk over from the train, I talked to a guy who teaches at a medical school in DC; we talked shows and shop before I give him my card. He educated me on the greatness of the Dead’s 10/1/94 show, which will now be in my queue. I met Kelly and her friend Todd from Houston in front of the House of Blues before we went in. Kelly and I had field tickets so we tried to get in, but security wasn’t letting anyone in, as the rain, thunder, and lightning had started to decorate the field. What followed was about two hours of suspense: will they delay? Will they cancel? The introvert in me pondered going home myself, but I knew I’d regret it afterwards. Which I would have. They let us on the field at about 8, and once I got onto the field, I felt connected with the greats of the Sox, who had played on that very field: Ted Williams, Carl Yastrezemski, Wade Boggs. And although Mark had said Phish probably put on a better show than the Sox this year, it was still cool to be on the same field as the “raining” (as Trey put it) champions. So, due to the delay, the band just played one long set, much like non-jam bands I’ve seen, like Rush, AC/DC, Metallica. My skingasms came from “Set Your Soul Free,” “Thread,” “Back on the Train,” a Trey tune I had never heard before entitled “About to Run,” and “Rise/Come Together.” Other random musings: “Simple” reminded me of Bruce McQuiston (if he’s reading, he should know why). The glowsticks kepta flying and the band played on. As for me, being on the road seeing shows is always fun, but I’m ready to head back to Virginia to my life, my work, and my crew. It can sometimes take a long trip to recognize just how great I have it. Note on the picture: that’s one of Kelly’s lobstah shoes. Whatever she does, she takes care of them.
So I had to ship up to Boston because I love that dirty water. Oh, and of course, Phish was playing. After frequenting the bookstores (only bought two books this trip) and independent coffee shops (great for writing), I took a nap, had some chowdah and lobstah and met Kelly at her 5-star hotel (a far cry from the grotty hostel I’m in). After the T ride, we made it to Fenway, and I had to spend some time gaping at the beauty of this landmark. I had seen the Sawx play with my friend Deb back in 08, and those Bahstan fans are passionate. I thought about wearing my T-shirt with the Steely logo intermingled with the Mets, but I might have not made it out alive. So I stuck with my generic Phish tour shirt. After walking through the fields of green inside Fenway, we made it to our spot. We got there at about 6, with plenty of time to spare pre-show. This band named Morphine played over the loudspeaker; I hadn’t here of them before Kelly educated me. Then came the Boston-bred Cars (“she’s my best friend’s girl”). During that time, she shared with me her tragic Curveball story; I’m not a festival guy, but I empathized with her and the thousands of others who went all the way to Watkins Glen, only to have that heartbreaking “d’oh” moment hit them. Set One started with a classic, “Free,” followed by a relatively new one, “Blaze On,” the lyrics of which speak to me (“you’ve got one life, blaze on”). It helps me remember that no matter what, I just keep moving forward in life. “555” was groovy, “Tube” brought me back to that first time hearing it in Rochester on 12/5/99, and “Brian and Robert” gave me an excuse to sit. “Halfway to the Moon” gave me my first skingasm of the night. “Ocelot” was next (historical tidbit: they debuted that song on 5/31/09 right at Fenway,” and “Everything’s Right” gave me Skingasm #2. “Runaway Jim” closed the set (I predicted they’d play some dog-themed songs to go with the “Fenway Frank”: “Runaway Jim,” “Harpua,” “McGrupp,” “Dog Log,” “the Dogs”. During setbreak, the contact buzz I got motivated me to buy the Fenway Frank: PSA to all, don’t do it. It had me stomach doing backflips, cartwheels, and some motions I’ve never even heard of. As Kelly put it, the Fenway Frank will have you “fend”ing away from the show. Despite all that, I managed to stay present in the moment to enjoy the second set. “Sand” opened the set, followed by “Axilla” (Kelly’s first), followed by a 20-minute “Mercury.” “Wading in the Velvet Sea” was next, followed by “Fuego.” I got my first “Say It to Me S.A.N.T.O.S.” from Kasvot Vaxt (10/31/18), which had me glowing. “Character Zero” doesn’t usually give me a skingasm, but hearing the crowd unified in singing “I ought to see the Man Mulcahey” did it. So did the “Bug” encore, as well as Page’s piano solo in “The Squirming Coil.” After a few wrong turns, Kelly and I made it to the T to get home. I got some Tums and ginger ale to settle my stomach, and when I woke up this morning, the stomach issue still lingered, but it evaporated. We had planned to see the Spafford aftershow, but Kelly was out of energy, and I decided on letting my stomach settle. All in all, the show alone was worth it, as it always is. |
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April 2024
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