SHARING THE SHOWS
So after the “widespread panic” that pervaded campus during Midterm week, it was time for spring break. The plan, as it stands at this moment, is four concerts over eight days (not enough, of course). I was unfortunate enough to catch a stomach bug, but I wasn’t going to let a little thing like that stop me from making my shows. After all, I don’t go to enough! Maggie picked me up at 7 this morning to take me to the train station (trains are my favorite mode of transportation, by far; it’s just so relaxing). After a couple of delays (damn freight trains), I got into DC at about 2:30, and met up with Nicole in Arlington for lunch at Asia Bistro & Bar. A chicken and rice bowl was able to soothe my stomach. We had some very deep, philosophical conversation, and I played with her cats Boba and Lando (he's the dude with the tie) before taking a nap. From there, we Ubered it to the 9:30 Club while enjoying a chat with our Tupac-loving driver. Side note: congrats to Nicole on her upcoming bundles of joy! Twin boys! Due to her pregnancy, we were able to get VIP seats. Well, a stool was more like it. A bar stool for her (and me, occasionally) in the balcony. Space was tight, but that’s an urban rock club for you. I definitely dig the fast-paced city vibe that comes from fans who aren’t quite as “traditional” as I’m used to in the South (I’m hoping my DC or surrounding area in the next couple of years). A duo named Buffalo Nichols opened up (and they were greeted by my “Special Guest!” yell): one on guitar, the other on drums. One concertgoer commented, “Bluegrass White Stripes?” I heard a Stevie Ray Vaughn influence in the guitar’s blues riffs. The rockheads (my term of endearment for urban rock fans) seemed to like one. One 50ish bearded dude, who referred to himself as a “headbanger” (my kinda guy!) talked with his friends about the Silversun Pickups playing at the 9:30 Club next weekend. For me, it’ll be Show #3 on the trip (in Brooklyn, NY). The city vibe brought out my extroverted side, and I became part of that conversation, as his friends appeared never to have heard of them. I describe them as “Smashing Pumpkins on acid.” I’m not super-familiar with Drive-By Truckers’s (DBT) repertoire; I first heard “Rebels” on an episode of Mike Judge’s King of the Hill, used in a motif to highlight the descent of Khan uptight, arrogant, upwardly mobile neighbor of Hank, into the world of “cat fisting,” drag-racing, and other stereotypical hillbilly antics. I couldn’t find a video to use, so I include the episode description here. The band did grace us with the song toward the end of the show. Nicole enlightened me on some of their repertoire. “Three Great Alabama Icons”, part of which was a huge fuck you to former Alabama governor George Wallace. In Nicole’s words, “they’re not afraid to take it there.” I salute them for that as well. “Thoughts and Prayers,” a song I just downloaded onto my Spotify and one that Nicole had been listening to all week, was the highlight for me. The chorus, “Stick it up your ass with your useless thoughts and prayers,” appealed to my primal Trump-hater and gave me a nice skingasm. Side note #2: Nicole and I theorized as to why concerts have encores, but no prologues. Books have “epilogues” and “prologues”; why not concerts? I figured fans might get pissed off but Nicole theorized if it became a regular thing, fans would eventually come to accept it. I think I agree. At any rate, although I only knew two of the songs, this show was one of the best I’ve ever been to. Two straight hours of high-energy rock; very few bands can pull that up. Even bands like Phish, the Grateful Dead, and Widespread Panic, take breaks to play slow songs. Needless to say, I was floored. I may have to do what Nicole did and start listening to all of their songs. I did resist the temptation to buy a CD; after all, their music is all online. We closed out the night by grabbing a two-slice-in-one concoction at the pizza place a block over. The atmosphere there (as well as throughout downtown DC) also reminded me of painting Manhattan red in my 20s, club-hopping till 4 a.m. and then capping off the night with greasy NY-style pizza. Good times indeed. Pizza’s not the best food for a stomach bug, but as I told Christina when she inquired about me going to a concert sick, “I’ll accept the consequences.” And dealing with them, I am. Fortunately, Nicole and I grabbed waffles at a kiosk called Bread and Water, and the combination of waffle batter, apple, cinnamon, and chamomile tea helped to settle my stomach for a bit.
Between Nicole’s pregnancy and my stomach bug, I have to say we qualify for True Badassery. And we exposed Nicole’s future kids to good music, politically-charged lyrics and all. Gotta start ‘em young! And help them stay young in spirit through good music, like we are!
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