as late as this may seem... my functions are in order again... my fingers
know the way. the tiny, impossible bursts of electricity form words
from gray salty matter to clicks on the keyboard have found purpose.
the coffee is ready.
st. louis
anticipation heightened in nearing the gateway to the west.
out of nowhere, all of a sudden, shazam... it stood there, a big
ol' arch. none of us had seen it before. for the first time i could
say that some giant structure really "loomed" above.
the arch seemed impossible too.
the drive itself did not present issues or problems, save for one
moment where we almost smacked into a center divide... safely
navigating that... we drove into an industrial park...
dave was navigatin'... and at first looked like it was going to suck. big time...
there was nothing around... nothing at all... scary, if you ask me... what if
east st. louis somehow organizes itself to beat the shit out of st. louis... we were
near the border!
anyhow, as i was planning my apologies to the band, for booking such
a place, we turned a corner, in both the literal and figurative, and ended up
on an ice covered residential street, at the end of the block sat Pop's Blue Moon
Saloon.
Capacity 75.
In House PA.
Mics and cables available.
First beer is free.
Set Times 9pm-12am
Terry, behind the bar, was a large mid-western man who appeared
to have seen much... stoic to strangers at first. I introduced myself as
part of the band... the ice began to melt, a little.
He shook my hand and gave me the run down on what was happening.
Terry's interest in keeping a well oiled bar was evident.
We loaded in... checked out the PA and began setting up...
check one
check two
hello st. louis...
Andy Herrin from One Lone Car came out and brought us
a kick pedal for the drums! What a swell guy... looking forward to
playing with them again! for certain.
As the crowd started coming in we met several nice folks... probably about
15 people came in... in such a small place you start to feel loved.
At the end... we packed up... the bar paid our tab and Terry gave us
$60... more than I know paid at the door. Times like this, I love America...
Columbus, OH
7.5 hour drive to Columbus... we started our trip at a diner...
chicken fried steak with white gravy... my heart persevered somehow...
good times though. the drive was easy, no bad weather... lots of coffee
and truck stop here or there.
we get to columbus, and following the directions, we found ourselves in another industrial
park. i kid you not.... but this time... there are no houses... I began preparing my apologies
again... "sorry fellahs... really i am." we find the treehouse... and no one is in sight... we sit
in the van... heat on... watching a mystery science theater on my iphone... funny!
the joint opens... we go in... labyrinthine nightmare! it is a cool place... but i was kind of
reminded of "masque of the red death" by poe... the twists and turns create a maze where you
cannot see what is in the next room until you are in it... yup... same thing...
the room the bands play in has an enormous tree growin' out the ground and through the roof...
no shit.
pretty neato,for certain.
Chris the bartender lays it out for us:
First Drink is Free
In house PA
Mics and Cables available
Set time: 10pm-11pm
Set Order: Swimsuit Edition, June Star, Wussy
Swimsuit edition showed up... set up... they were great! I really enjoyed their set... energy and
quirkiness! front man was pretty funny...
our set was solid... 40-50 crammed into the room to see us... they clapped at all the appropriate
times... lots of fun... excitement... we were really happy to play... sold more cd's than normal... 17.
mailing list... all filled up... we felt good about ourselves... really happy to have so many people
listening... people we didn't know... the end of the night we had a 14 dollar tab... and we received
$100 from the door...
Thank you Columbus! Seriously...
Grimm
No comments:
Post a Comment