SHARING THE SHOWS
I need live music like I need air. That’s the theme of this blog, really. So two months without shows was starting to affect my mental state. While I’m grateful I can take trips to NYC in the spring and summer instead of the dead of winter, to say I was jonesing for a show would be a gross understatement. The Greensky/Stringdusters livestream whet the appetite, but was more like an Hors d’odeuvre. I needed a meal. This was a big week; on January 27, my PCR test came back negative, so I could return to campus. I've been teaching remotely still because I have to do some prep work with my classroom, but I went into the office, where I had the chance to meet with colleagues I had only interacted with through email or a virtual platform. I also got to meet with some of my students, and I even helped two in person! I love attending shows on Fridays, especially when they’re work-filled, because I feel like I’ve really earned the reward that is the concert. This particular Friday, a radio station in Ireland interviewed me about my work in Singles Studies (to air next week). I followed that with some virtual communication with students, a face-to-face appointment with one student, and a meeting with a client for my side hustle. Maggie and Dan made their way up from Virginia at about 3:30; I met them at the CVS close to my Metro stop, and we hung out at my place for a bit, where we caught up on old times and shared our in sync political views. We hopped the Metro downtown, which is pretty desolate these days. I had reserved us a table at the Elephant & Castle, a British pub. Since I had interviewed with an Irish radio show, I was feeling some British food. Bangers and mash, to be specific, which I hadn’t had since I actually was in Galway, Ireland. That gravy the sausages and potatoes were soaked in was succulent. Yet I still wanted some of Maggie’s fish and chips and Dan’s Sunday Roast. During dinner, we theorized about Cobra Kai’s next season and talked about some other shows, most notably Breaking Bad, as well as the Star Wars movies. They ordered a Big Ben Brownie for dessert; I wanted to go in, but I limited myself to one bite (so proud!). The restaurant was packed with other concertgoers, and our waiter commented that the place would basically become a ghost town once the show started. The group at the table next to us was raucous but entertaining; one guy posed for a picture in his girlfriend’s fur coat. I missed this kind of people-watching. We walked around downtown before making our way past the gates over to merch, where Dan added to his T-shirt collection. I was captivated by the Victorian architecture of the concert hall, which reminded me of the Beacon Theater, my favorite venue of all time. We were seated at the top, a spot I love because I get to see everything. Dan made the boss move of upgrading our students to a lower section, so we could still look at the band from above, only closer. And there was a table upon which we could place our drinks. I typically fade out by the second set. When I hit JRAD with Mark/Brodysseus back in August, I had faded by setbreak, but a Diet Pepsi brought me back to life. I figured a similar caffeinated beverage could do the same for me for the entire show. And I don’t drink a ton of caffeine, so it’ll affect me that much more. And it did. Sadly, the TTB crowd isn’t much for dancing, at least not where we were seated. I’ll never forget the show in Milwaukee where someone shoved past me and flipped me off when he passed me going down the stairs. I was also yelled at that evening (and during a few other shows) to sit down, so I got the message for this time: don’t dance in front of your seat.
I did get up to dance in the aisles a few times, as did a couple of other people, most notably during some good jams in “Misunderstood” and “Whiskey Legs.” And they played the spaciest “Dreams” (my favorite Allman Brothers tune) I’ve ever heard. Let’s also factor in that Susan Tedeschi has knee surgery coming up in March and is playing with an injury (she sat down for the second set). She’s badass just for coming on stage in that condition. The Metro is right near the venue, so we walked right there and backed to my place so Dan and Maggie could pick up materials they couldn’t bring into the venue. After two attempts at getting them an Uber back to their hotel, we succeeded, and I winded down with some munchies and a couple of episodes with Married with Children. After this week, and its topping, I was out like a light. And that’s good, because round two (Greensky/Stringdusters) is tonight. Time to rally!
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May 2024
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