Friday night i met up with Spencer (sporty on PerlMonks) for some pints at St. Andrew's. His girlfriend joined us later on and we had some heated conversations on religion, life, and love. I'm not about to repeat the conversation here, but i will say that i had good time. I do fear that i will drink more than i have been in the past 10 or so years. Not having to drive, while potentially limiting one's opportunities in most areas, liberates -- at the same time. I suddenly feel more grounded and weightless. Back in Nashville, just before i moved up here, i was talking with a girl who used to live in NYC. She was happy to have a car now, "I was so sick and tired of waiting for sub. Waiting for bus. Waiting for a cab. Waiting, waiting, waiting!" Sure ... now she waits in traffic, in the comfort of her own prison. It's not about waiting, it's about relief of control. Control that turns around and controls you.
So ... back to events. I took off by myself to see 4 bands play on Saturday. The first band was perhaps the most chaotic thing i've ever witnessed. Turns out that the drummer is a session guy here in town, and this band is his outlet. They never played the same riff for more than 4 or so bars, covering about every odd-time signature and polyrhythm out there -- and each song was at least 8-10 minutes long. Later he told me that each song also took about 6 months to learn. Needless to say, the audience, while appreciative and respectful, didn't get it. I did.
The next band was the one i was there to see. The Secret Life of Sophia. I got a good feeling they might just go somewhere. Next band, i forget their name ... by this point i was parked at the bar and downing some Stella's. They were good, but i don't remember too much more. The final band was who everyone was there to see, and i moved from the bar (4 beers is my limit) to the crowd. Their name was Nakatomi Plaza, and apparently this was their kick-off tour. They reminded me of Superchunk, only a little better. All in all, it was a night that brought me back to 1994, when i returned to Murfreesboro from Knoxville and entered the Boro music scene. I miss playing drums ... again. That's good.
And yes, i realize that you can't go home. But you can always get a hotel room there.
