Post by Bret Walker on Aug 16, 2006 11:05:51 GMT -5
Last night was, to say the least, an adventure. We were booked to play the Boiler Room, a new venue in Kensington that we've heard good things about, with our good friends from Something In the Water. We were really looking forward to this show, and we (Erin and I in one car, Justin and Geo in another) left my house about quarter-to-seven in high spirits.
Well. Then we hit a shitload of traffic at the Ben Franklin Bridge toll. Justin fell two cars behind me at the tool booth, and we slowed up while merging into bridge traffic (which went the span) and I caught a glimpse as Justin's car was swallowed up behind me. I figured, no problem, when I get to the 5th St. exit, I'll pull over and hit my flashers, Justin will see me and pull off and we'll be fine.
The next thing I know, we're almost over the bridge and here comes Justin on my left side. He tried to merge in behind me but the car behind me squeezed him out. Now he had no where to go, so he ended up in front of me. Now, I had the directions, and Justin doesn't know Philadelphia from Cairo. So here I am pulling off the 5th St. exit, and there goes Justin onto the Vine St. Expressway. I'm like, well, let's just say, the inside of my car was as blue as the outside. We tried calling Geo's phone but she was out of minutes. So we ended up calling Frank, who was already at the Boiler Room with Something in the Water. I explained the situation to him and he was like, oh shit. No shit oh shit. We talked for a bit and decided that worst comes to worse, we'll do a White Stripes version of MtD.
So we got to 5th and Susquehanna. The directions tell us to turn right on Dauphin St. and then turn right onto 4th and we're there. But when I turn onto Dauphin, there's a big fucking PARK right in the middle of the road. I can't GET to 4th St. from Dauphin. So now I'm REALLY like FUCK!!! Poor Erin had to suffer the barrage of obscenities. Sorry, hon. Anyway, after circling the block several times, we FINALLY got to where we needed to be, on the East side of 4th St. on Susquehanna, and then there were signs telling where to turn for the Boiler Room.
When we pulled up we saw Frank standing there with Heroin Bob and Lauren and HB's girlfriend (sorry, I forgot your name). Frank and I talked about the situation for a while. We both knew there was no way Justin was going to make it to the show. I was doubtful Justin would even make it home. I just figured we'd pick him up in Harrisburg or something.
So. But here we were, two members of a three-piece band. Hey, what the fuck, right? It's punk rock! So we went up and did the best we could with two pieces. I cut out my guitar solos, and turned the bass up on the guitar amp and played off the neck pickup all night. Frank had an awesome two-minute solo during "We're Not A Jam Band." And instead of playing "AtmosFear" which has a lot of guitar solo and really NEEDS the bass, we played "Lockstep." Good times. The crowd was awesome, although I think we took them by surprise with "Foreplay." They didn't seem to understand that "SUCK MY DICK, BITCH!" was the entire song. Well, they know now (-:
So, afterward we packed up and went home. Erin wasn't feeling well so unfortunately we couldn't stay for the other bands. Sorry guys, maybe next time. But near home we got a call from Geo. She and Justin had JUST gotten home. Wow. Color me impressed.
So to recap, Justin got lost, we got lost, we found the place, we did a two-piece set, and almost beat Justin home. Good times. Last night was definitely one for the books. Well hell, Max the Dork has performed with just guitar, as a three-piece, with just guitar and bass, with just bass and drums...We'd never done just guitar and drums before. Until last night. So now we've done it all. Be happy for us. (-:
Well. Then we hit a shitload of traffic at the Ben Franklin Bridge toll. Justin fell two cars behind me at the tool booth, and we slowed up while merging into bridge traffic (which went the span) and I caught a glimpse as Justin's car was swallowed up behind me. I figured, no problem, when I get to the 5th St. exit, I'll pull over and hit my flashers, Justin will see me and pull off and we'll be fine.
The next thing I know, we're almost over the bridge and here comes Justin on my left side. He tried to merge in behind me but the car behind me squeezed him out. Now he had no where to go, so he ended up in front of me. Now, I had the directions, and Justin doesn't know Philadelphia from Cairo. So here I am pulling off the 5th St. exit, and there goes Justin onto the Vine St. Expressway. I'm like, well, let's just say, the inside of my car was as blue as the outside. We tried calling Geo's phone but she was out of minutes. So we ended up calling Frank, who was already at the Boiler Room with Something in the Water. I explained the situation to him and he was like, oh shit. No shit oh shit. We talked for a bit and decided that worst comes to worse, we'll do a White Stripes version of MtD.
So we got to 5th and Susquehanna. The directions tell us to turn right on Dauphin St. and then turn right onto 4th and we're there. But when I turn onto Dauphin, there's a big fucking PARK right in the middle of the road. I can't GET to 4th St. from Dauphin. So now I'm REALLY like FUCK!!! Poor Erin had to suffer the barrage of obscenities. Sorry, hon. Anyway, after circling the block several times, we FINALLY got to where we needed to be, on the East side of 4th St. on Susquehanna, and then there were signs telling where to turn for the Boiler Room.
When we pulled up we saw Frank standing there with Heroin Bob and Lauren and HB's girlfriend (sorry, I forgot your name). Frank and I talked about the situation for a while. We both knew there was no way Justin was going to make it to the show. I was doubtful Justin would even make it home. I just figured we'd pick him up in Harrisburg or something.
So. But here we were, two members of a three-piece band. Hey, what the fuck, right? It's punk rock! So we went up and did the best we could with two pieces. I cut out my guitar solos, and turned the bass up on the guitar amp and played off the neck pickup all night. Frank had an awesome two-minute solo during "We're Not A Jam Band." And instead of playing "AtmosFear" which has a lot of guitar solo and really NEEDS the bass, we played "Lockstep." Good times. The crowd was awesome, although I think we took them by surprise with "Foreplay." They didn't seem to understand that "SUCK MY DICK, BITCH!" was the entire song. Well, they know now (-:
So, afterward we packed up and went home. Erin wasn't feeling well so unfortunately we couldn't stay for the other bands. Sorry guys, maybe next time. But near home we got a call from Geo. She and Justin had JUST gotten home. Wow. Color me impressed.
So to recap, Justin got lost, we got lost, we found the place, we did a two-piece set, and almost beat Justin home. Good times. Last night was definitely one for the books. Well hell, Max the Dork has performed with just guitar, as a three-piece, with just guitar and bass, with just bass and drums...We'd never done just guitar and drums before. Until last night. So now we've done it all. Be happy for us. (-:
