SHARING THE SHOWS
So after JRAD, I decided it was essential for my well-being to get tickets for the Allman Others Band/Better Off Dead show. And after the first week of classes, followed by a day of navigating DMV traffic to shop for myself and Chester, I was even more psyched to get down! The Metro stop by me was closed due to the Tunnel Ventilation Project, so I got to take a free shuttle down to Dupont Circle (I’m trying to use the phrase “get to” instead of “have to” in order to practice gratitude for the things I have, in this case, the gift of living in a city with awesome public transportation). In an effort to get more riders onto Metro, it only costs $2 to go anywhere on weekends, which makes me happy, as opposed to that ridiculous $45 parking fee at the Waterfront’s garage. Another gift is the interesting things I see and experience. Tonight, an older black gentleman complimented my T-shirt and expressed regret that he missed out on seeing the Dead back in ’89. He and I talked about how a lot of kids wear band T-shirts (i.e,; Metallica, Pink Floyd) for fashion without actually knowing the bands. When I taught at Hampton, I saw a lot of that, but hey, fashion is fashion, and who knows? Maybe wearing the shirts will one day turn the kids onto that music. I did my preshow chow at Kirwan’s on the Wharf. I tried haddock chowder, which tasted like the New England kind, but it was just as awesome. I talked with Maggie on the phone as I enjoyed and gave her some tips on her upcoming trip to New York City. I wish I were in her shoes just so I could experience it through the eyes of a tourist for the first time. The main course was a chicken pot pie with mixed greens. The former had some nice chunks of chicken, celery, and carrots, so I felt like I actually ate healthily. After walking my meal off down the Waterfront, I showed my vaccination card to the bouncers and got inside at promptly 6:30, which is when the Allman Others Band started (as an introvert, I LOVE when shows start and end on time). There were three other people in the room, and of course, that made me ecstatic to have an abundance of dance space. The group was in the opening chords of “Don’t Want You No More” which melded into “It’s Not My Cross To Bear.” “Done Someday Wrong”, “Kind Hearted Woman,” “Dreams, and “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” (which the singer described as a protest song) followed. As I danced, I made a few stray observations: a mother brought her two kids, one of whom had his head in his heads the entire time and couldn’t have looked more bored, and the other who was just walking around in circles. Well…I give her points for trying to turn them onto the tunes; maybe when they become teenagers? Another older gentleman walked around with a cane that looked like a shillelagh, like I used to take hiking. More Brothers’s classics followed (“Blue Sky,” “Trouble No More,” “Stand Back,” “Jessica”, “Revival,” and “Midnight Rider”, the latter being two favs of mine). The guitarist then teased Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker” before launching into “One Way Out.” After the crowd’s demand of one more song, they encored with “Soulshine.” During setbreak, we got to hear 70s staples like “We Want the Funk” and “Bounce, Rock, Skate,” and Roll.”
My buddy John showed up just as Better Off Dead busted out a “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad” opener. The next song “Man Smart Woman Smarter” is one of my favorites because it’s based on science. The singer then commented “It’s been toasty, right?” I’m part of a FB group called I Hate Summer, because, well, I just don’t like this heat at all. Fall and spring are my jams, and I can tolerate winter because it gives me an excuse to read, write, and binge of Netflix. And I’ll brave the cold to go to shows. The band slowed the tempo with “Loser.” Outside the bathroom, I talked to a guy about last weekend JRAD’s shows and I mentioned having just moved to DC. Another man said, “Oh, so you’re here post-Gypsy Sally’s?” Yep. I would have LOVED to have seen a show there. But hey, plenty of other cool venues, so I move on… “Jack Straw” and “Stagger Lee,” two more favs, followed. While the latter played, a guy came up to me and said, “I’m afraid to touch people now because of all of these damn masks.” I wore mine, while he didn’t, which is where I now go into my opinion. DC’s recently placed an indoor mask mandate, which I support due to this new Delta variant. Most of the crowd ignored the mandate (there were maybe about ten of us wearing them out of fifty). The venue wasn’t enforcing it, because I’m guessing the bartenders don’t want to get into it with drunk concertgoers and they figured the vaccine requirement was enough, so I could’ve gotten away with not wearing one. That being said, this variant is affecting vaccinated people, and bands are already cancelling shows because of it (String Cheese Incident and Limp Bizkit, for example). I love being able to go to shows again, and I want to continue to do so, so I wear my mask to protect others. I wish others would do the same, but I’m only one person. I do think the bands could help by wearing them and encouraging their fans to do the same, but I guess that’s wishful thinking. Anyway, “Peggy-O” slowed things down, but we were perked back up by “Beat It On Down the Line” “Jack-a-Roe” and a “Hard to Handle” closer. During the setbreak, John and I talked about the shows and the possibility of jamming. I played a lot of guitar during the lockdown, but haven’t played as much recently, so playing with another person could be a great thing. At around 10:30, my energy was faded, and the Metro’s last trains were heading home, so I made my way back. Whenever I’m out, I need at least an hour or two of alone time vegging before I actually head to sleep. So I turned on an episode of this new Netflix miniseries called Clickbait while I munched out on potato chips and chocolate, thus cancelling out my “healthy” dinner. This morning, I’m definitely feeling the burn, but it’s worth it.
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Shows are essential to my well-being; that’s what I’ve been missing during the pandemic. Mark came up to me at around 4 p.m., and we took off. The last big show I was at ended with me totaling my last car, so I was apprehensive about driving up to Baltimore, but I decided to face my demons, and conversation with Mark helped. After negotiating the traffic that characterizes I-495, parts of I-95, and downtown Baltimore, we were able to find a parking space directly across the street from MECU Pavilion. Had we had more time, I would have loved for us to go to Fells Point for some real crab cakes, but we had a little less than an hour till showtime, so we walked to a nearby Chipotle and chowed down on some of their trademark burritos. From there, we made it to the venue, which overlooks the Inner Harbor. The set started at 7:13, only thirteen minutes after the scheduled start time. The “Alligator” opener got me moving, as did the “St. Stephen” (of which I sent a video to Maggie) and “The Wheel” that followed. Things slowed down with “Row Jimmy,” and that’s when I started yawning. I started work this week, and this is the first time I’ve met with most of my colleagues in person. I also made a presentation on my work to colleagues who I’ve never met, and while it went well, it stressed me out. Combined with the trepidation of this drive to Baltimore, it was a recipe for exhaustion. Fortunately, the Diet Pepsi I got during setbreak helped perk me back up for Set Two. I was rocking for “The Music Never Stopped” and “Help on the Way,” which went into “Slipknot.” One of the unique things about JRAD, which Mark pointed out, is that they always surprise the audience. They had teases of the Allman Brothers’s “Mountain Jam” and “Jessica”, and I’m sure I heard one of Phish’s “End of Session” (playing a Phish song at a Dead show is sacrilege, habnabit!). In this tease, rather than going into “Franklin’s Tower,” they launched into “Feel Like a Stranger.” They alleviated the tempo with “Peggy-O” and brought the expected “Franklin’s Tower.” “Touch of Grey” closed the set. During this song, an older gentlemen pointed to Mark and said, “That dude’s a maniac!” I said, “I would love to be able to keep up with his energy.” “Impossible,” he said. After the set, I told him to tell Mark what he told me. While that happened, his daughter asked me if I was taking notes, and I informed her about the blog. When she asked for the name, I gave it to her on a piece of paper, and I made a note to myself: carry your new business cards so you can write it on the back whilst getting your business’ name out there. The encore was new to me, but Mark’s research indicated it was a Bob Dylan cover entitled “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You.” Mark pointed out it was funny because he would be staying at my place with me that night. And then we both laughed for ten minutes. True story.
I was still a little out of it, so Mark helped me out by driving back to DC. We encountered three street racers and an accident on 495 involving two SUVs. Ahhh, the fun of DMV traffic (why I’ve been opting for bicycling and public transportation more and more). We took some munchies back to my place and popped on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on Netflix. So many quotables in that movie (“Bueller…Bueller”), although that scene where Principal Rooney eyes Ferris and Sloane making out has not aged well. Sunday morning was spent with me getting to know one of Mark’s mountain bikes and now wishing to move beyond Bikesharing (I’ve fallen in love with bicycling since moving to DC) into owning my own bike so I can trail ride (it’s awesome not having to look my shoulder every five seconds for cars). It also included me getting a ticket to a performance of Better Off Dead and the Allman Others Band next Saturday. I’m learning these shows are quite beneficial for my well-being, particularly in a time of transition. Especially when I can take Metro. Having Mark come over was awesome too, a nice break from the pandemic. The second person to stay at my place (the first being Maggie for Born Cross-Eyed), we caught up on lost times and joked, laughed, and bonded. Those good times rolled. NOTE: This post is cross-listed with one on my other blog, The Happy Bachelor.
In the spirit of living my best solo life, I decided to take a two-day trip to Baltimore since I have the time “off” during the summer. Friday was spent walking the city, enjoying its crab cakes, and being dazzled by the unconventional artwork at the American Visionary Art Museum. But the real reason for the trip was meeting fellow CoSPer Heather for the Acrocats show, that event where cats do cool tricks like jumping through hoops, walking on balance beams, and even playing instruments! After hopping the #56 bus to Highlandtown (which seems like the cultural hub of Baltimore), enjoying an Italian sub at DiPasquale’s, I walked over to High Grounds Coffee Roasters, where I did another thing I intended: distributed a few flyers for my coaching business. I had a nice conversation with an older gentleman named Wiley, who asked if I helped with things like ancient writing. I gave him my pitch wherein I tell people I coach the individual writer and what that writer needs, and he revealed he was a student of ancient writing. Very cool. After reading my newest literary acquisition, Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime, and writing in my journal for a bit, I met up with Heather and her friend Missy at the venue, where we look at the cool merch. I acquired an Acrocats bumper sticker for my amplifier, as well as some treats that can help with my cat/son Chester’s hairballs. Missy and I did what all cat owners do when they meet each other in this digital age: show off our cat pics. She also referred to the event as a “catcert,” which I found delightful. The cat puns continued as the event’s emcee started with an “ameowncement” greeting “Baltimeow.” The soundtrack consisted of cat-related songs like The Cure’s “The Love Cats,” Tom Jones’s “What’s New Pussycat?” and Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever.” I would have also loved “Eye of the Tiger” and “China Cat Sunflower,” but I guess you can’t have everything. When mice were brought out, my first thought was, “They’d better not have the cats chase them around!” And they didn’t; they just walked the balance beams. We were also treated to some antics from a rooster named Cluck Norris. The emcee gave some explanation on how the trainers get the cats to do their bidding via the use of clickers. That, and a lot of patience. In fact, her line “nothing teaches you humility like trying to train a cat in front of a live audience” stuck with me. Tricks that stuck out included the following (I was writing too quickly to remember most of the names):
My favorite was when a white cat named Tuna walked into the audience and eventually headbutted me. Of course, I kept saying “Hellwoooo Chester” under my breath because, again, I associate all cute things with little Chester. Plus I just like to act weird. The highlight, of course, was the Rock Cats, their band. “Tuna, more cowbell!” was a common request from the trainers. I’m pretty sure I heard “Bad Romance” on sax from Oz, and “Careless Whisker” appeared as well. Bowie rocked out on drums, Nue took us to the 1980s with the synthesizer, Sookie played those chimes like a champ, Buggles emerged from her high perch to play some trumpet. One line of note. The emcee revealed that she fosters most of these cats. She said, “I won’t say how many cats I have but I am single and probably always will be.” I felt some subdued, awkward laughter from a few members, but mostly silence. I’m not sure how I feel about that self-deprecating humor, which really plays into the stereotype, but then again, I do try to subvert it though my “crazy single cat male” persona, so there you go. At any rate, it was a fun time, and thanks to Heather’s astute observational skills, I found a place to put more flyers for my business. Of course, I was missing Chester, and was ecstatic to come home and do my thing where I pick him and give him endless kisses. And, of course, some Netflix and chill. When I heard about the band Better Off Dead, my first thought was, “Where’s my two dollars?” But I still dug the band name, and I was happy to finally get out to see my first Dead cover band in over a year, and on the eve of Jerry’s birthday! Since I’m new to the city and not familiar with the DC show scene, I chose on my Weather Report T-shirt, which is always a good conversation starter, on the theory it would make connecting with others easier. And I was right. Quite a few people asked me where I got the T-shirt, and telling the story of its acquisition (the lot at Dead & Company in Bristow back in 2017) helped me get comfortable with the scene. I naively thought people would be wearing masks given the new DC mandate to do so, but I was one of a handful to people to do so indoors. Not my place to say anything, but after a “Dancing in the Street” opener that brought the Cornell 1977 show to mind, I went outside, where I felt freer to let loose, and I felt connected with my musical spirit in a way I hadn’t been since before the pandemic. I also liked the fact that there seemed to be quite a few people who had gone solo; one thing I’ve loved about DC so far is that I won’t be an anomaly if I go to places by myself, one of my favorite introvert activities, when done in moderation. “Halfstep” followed, then “Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Let it Grow,” a slow version of “Friend of the Devil” and “Box of Rain.” They followed with what appeared to be a JGB song that nobody around me had ever heard of, and closed the first set with “I Know You Rider,” sans “China Cat Sunflower.” By this point, I had developed my first permagrin in two years. Maybe it was the contact buzz, maybe it was my reunion with the showgoer part of my identity, maybe a combination of both. But over the past year and a half, I’ve felt a bit like Bart Simpson in “Bart Sells His Soul,” the Simpsons episode in which he, well, sells his soul to his best friend Milhouse for $5 and experiences a crisis where he’s really lost his soul. This evening, I felt like I got it back. I had a brief conversation with a woman named Amii and a longer conversation with a man named John, and although they ended by the beginning of the second set, I felt like I was part of the scene. I can only hope the shows will go on, even with this new Delta variant. But one day at a time. Set Two opened with the missing “China Cat” and followed with another JGB song I didn’t know. “Playin’ in the Band” meshed into “Crazy Fingers” and back into “Playin’.” At that point, my social battery was drained, which time perfectly with the last Metros of the night. Parking is insane by the Waterfront (see JRAD on 9/28/19 for my adventure with Maggie as we tried to find parking for that show, and the insane $45 price). Additionally, since I’ve moved to DC, driving in this general region has brought out the worst aspects of my personality, while riding public transportation has brought out my best. So if a show is accessible by Metro, I’ll jump on it ($8 round trip, as opposed to the aforementioned parking price). Pearl Street Warehouse doesn’t allow backpacks (understandable, as it’s a small venue), so I couldn’t bring a book for the trip, but it allows for some great people-watching. Tonight’s entertainment came from a group of drunken 20something baseball fans who were riding home from the Nationals-Cubs game. One of them looked at my shirt and said, “Weather Report! Chili today, hot tamale?” I told him it was a Grateful Dead thing and he said, “Cool man.” Their general raucousness on the ride back seemed to annoy some people, one of whom moved to the other side of the Metro car, but I was entertained. When I got home, I gorged out on some leftover pizza from Rome Pizza and Sub (they didn’t’ pay for any advertising) and a small package of Chuckles I bought from True Treats Candy in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia after my section hike on the AT. They were my late father’s favorite candy; I couldn’t resist. I’ve been going through some turmoil related to the pandemic, but tonight’s show, while not a cure, gave me some perspective on it (and I feel I got part of my soul back). Here’s hoping for more (though probably outside for the time being)!
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2024
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