I had incredible nightmares last night, just plain incredible. The kind where all sorts of ex girlfriends show up, and manipulate your brain into some kind of terrible stew, and you’re left publicly humiliated, wearing leiterhozen, dancing the Mambo with a chicken. While actual events may vary (slightly), it was still very frightening, but also reassuring. I like knowing that within our own heads, we have the ability to scare the crap out of ourselves, and then wake up and be like “oh, I just made all that up?” The odd thing was, I didnt wake up in one of those cold sweats, I woke up on a logical note. You know that point where you think “oh, thats not real this is a dream!” so that happened, and I wonderfully transitioned to reality, and just sat there, like after you run a marathon or something (I ran a 10k once at a Phish show at an airforce base, does that count?)
The Old 97’s are playing on a boat tonight, But I am not attending. The price is way to high, and the show starts early, and I’m not about that. I saw Rhett Miller one night at the Hiro Ballroom solo acoustic, and I’m sure the full 97’s could never top that. Its like David Lee Roth once said, “when I’m kayaking down the Hudson, blasting Thievery Corporation, Boozey Boozey BOP” no, after that “if you can’t do the show with one lightbulb and a microphone, you cant do it at all” DLR, you had some mighty pearls of wisdom in your day, how did you go so far down so fast? But in his case, Rhett exposed the beautiful chocolate coated, diamond centered, halo toating levitating soul of his songs, which just seem to become cluttered when 15 guitars and drums show up.
But still…..the 97’s announced a free show at the WTC, with The Hold Steady. Instant Brain Explosion. Then Nick Lowe the next night, and still, M Ward the night after. Whoa. Its the 2nd greatest free lineup downtown of the past decade. the first was Jeff Tweedy 2 nights at some weird auditorium in tribecca, with Ryan Adams the night after, but me and Ry were not homies at that point (yes, I call him Ry, he calls me Steve-0, its a thing we have). But depending on how these go, they might top it. The Tweed tore up the first night, but he lacked it on the 2nd, which i was fully ok with, because the 1st was the only one that mattered.
On this note, I will attack this eerie little friday with some GUSTO. some VALOR. some CHUTSPA!!! i think its going to rain, that fits with the theme.