muted

weekend

around two weeks ago i came home from a newbury comics run and when i opened the door, i saw mom at the top of the stairs, on the phone. she said "oh, here he is now" and then asked me if i wanted to talk to johnnie or if i'd rather call him back. i opted to talk to him.

he asked me if i wanted to see the kings of leon with him at the orpheum and told me that black rebel motorcycle club (brmc) would be the opener. i was only mildly familiar with brmc (owning the first of their 4 albums) and not at all familiar with the kings but i said "sure, that sounds cool."

the show was friday night. johnnie lives in norwood which is where i work. therefore, the plan was for me to bring a change of clothes to work and head to his crib when i was done making money. i got a little hung-up at the office and made it to my car just as my cellphone started to vibrate within the cupholder where it chills 9-5 each weekday (there's no cell service at work).

"where you at?"

"just got outta work. i'm on my way."

"working late on a friday? that sucks."

"yeah, sorry. i'll be there in a few minutes."

johnnie drove into boston. we were stuck in a lot of traffic but it just gave us more time to laugh and something else to laugh at. since we were starving, we stopped at this place he knew called "the otherside" on newbury st. annex before heading to the orpheum. the food was good and they were rocking the new black lips album while we were there. i felt cool for recognizing that. i am lame.

after dinner, we parked under the common and shared more laughs on the walk to the oprheum. since there was a boxer named leon spinks, we referred to the kings as the kings of leon spinks. then we shortened it to spinks and would shout it at random intervals.

once we reached the orpheum, we were directed to our seats and neither of us could believe how close to the stage we were. johnnie says that the rows started at DD and we were in LL which means 9th row, yo. two minutes after we sat, the lights went down and brmc took the stage. i shit you not. two minutes!!!!

brmc rocked pretty awesomely. i'm not sure if you've ever gone to a concert with me but i don't move much. i just kinda stand there. by the end of their set, however, my head was bobbing almost as much as johnnie's.

ok, i admit it. i missed the fucking boat when it comes to the kings of leon. johnnie had lent me their cds before the show and i only got a chance to listen to 2 of them once (and 1 of them nonce) because my ears have been busy. so, i was only slightly more familiar with them come showtime than i was when johnnie first asked me if i wanted to go to the show. and let me just say....

SPINKS.

ROCKED.

THE.

FUCK.

OUT!!!!

seriously, they were incredible - rock and roll at its southern-fried finest. the crowd was more into it than i've seen most crowds. johnnie turned to me at one point and yelled into my ringing right ear "i never knew spinks had so many devoted fans!!"

after they finished their set, thanked everyone and said goodnight, they walked off stage. maybe i just hadn't noticed this phenomenon before because i'd never been so close to the stage, but the lights stayed off and the roadies started re-tuning all the instruments, taking any suspense out of the "will they or won't they come out for an encore?" game. it didn't matter. the crowd was going nuts anyway. the best part was when johnnie yelled "SPINKS!!!!!" twice. if anyone could hear him over the noise, i'm sure they had no idea why he yelled that. too funny.

anyway, they came out and played three more songs, each better than the last. when the lights came on, it was clear that this was a one-encore show. as we walked out of the theater, we confirmed with each other that we had just seen one of the most rockingest shows ever. great times. oh, and lots more laughs on the drive home.

as a bonus, my answer to "what's the last concert you attended?" is no longer snow patrol. not that there's anything wrong with snow patrol. i just don't like to think about that night.

* * *

saturday i went to newbury comics to buy the first spinks cd as well as the new jose gonzalez. directly from newbury comics i headed to mark and adam's, blasting spinks as i went. "how the fuck did i miss this boat?!" i kept wondering and made sure to thank johnnie with one of them there text messages, see? maaaaa.

mark and adam's was fun. i threw seven cd's into adam's itunes for him and we had a three person party for a bit. it was really great to spazz. at one pt, we played paparazzi in the kitchen but the effect was not perfect since their cameraphones lacked the paparazzi-essential flash.

it was also good to talk with them. at the same time, though, it was also kinda tough because they got to see that i really am messed in the head. they tried to get me to see that things aren't that bad and i know they're right. but there are certain things i can't stop thinking about...and i wish i could...and i hate that i can't.

i think i left earlier than they expected. i listened to jose gonzalez on the drive home. what a beautifully somber little cd. i highly recommend it if you're into that kinda music. he does a pretty sweet cover of massive attack's "teardrop" (or, the house theme song as some of you might know it). but the whole cd is great.

* * *

today i took the 3:25 pm train into boston's back bay. i spent around 2 hrs in the city. i walked up and down the length of newbury st and took 100+ pictures. i kinda wish someone had been with me (especially on the train - riding it alone reminded me too much of working in nyc) but it felt ok to be alone, i guess. of course, i had to go into the original newbury comics. but...i didn't buy anything!!! that'd probably be more of an accomplishment had i not spent $24 at a newbury comics on saturday. oh well.

yeah.

word.