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play the game
Sep. 28th, 2012 05:34 amSo Wednesday I went to collect my Decibel Festival pass (brought to me by the kind folks of XLR8R and random number generation), then rode the bus downtown to get Reg's Matthew Dear ticket. Unfortunately the box office closed at 6pm and the Green Room didn't open till 7pm (it was 6:50), so I just walked up to Triple Door and said "hey it says I need a ticket from will call?" and they're like "right on sit here next to someone you don't know." Which is as expected when you show up 5 minutes before something starts. I ordered my drink and made zero talk with the guy next to me, except when I discovered they had free wifi.
I've only been to one other similar thing in SF with Steve, where you sit at a fancy table and get service during a show and all that. I have to say it is choice, and the sound almost made me want earplugs. First person to do their ambient thing was decent, although the visuals were very cool. Next person was awesome, and also playing at Neumo's later. Third person started out too ambient for me, beach noises and crickets chirping, but got better. He was also playing at Neumo's later (dvDub and Monolake).
So I ran back to Showbox, got Reg's ticket, then ran up to catch a bus to Neumo's. Except that a) my phone was at 2% power and b) the only card I had any money on, was about to have a big payment clear. But I checked the ATM and it was fine. You can see what's coming, can't you.
I had a powerful lust for chips and salsa, so I stopped at Poquito's for a margarita and chips. The guys sitting next to me at the bar were making me giggle with their WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT POLITICS IN FRONT OF MY GIRLFRIEND/talking about politics game. The guy with the GF had more nuanced views, while the single man was just going to go ahead and vote for Obama. Eventually, due to the aforementioned hilarity, I borrowed the single man's phone to call Reg to beg him to pay my bill.
Since he and his friend overheard me, they bought me a shot of tequila while the GF was having a smoke. Secret drinking, the best way to make friends. Not that I remember their names or anything. I do remember them saying "No more politics or Gettin' Pussy talk." And I was like "Fine with me, I don't like pussy." And then of course we proceeded to do just that. On my part I quoted some Bill Hicks at them, and reminded them that in WA your vote for the president counts for jack and shit. For the latter, I told single guy that chicks tend to hate beards, aside from those girls that actually like it a ton (and the girls that are indifferent). I pointed out that his friend had a GF and she probably made him shave every day or something.
And finally my boyfriend arrived to save the day. We were both annoyed at each other, but he still agreed to pick me up at 1:30am while he hung out with a friend of a friend who just got dumped. So I walked over to Neumo's (where Monolake was hanging out in front of the Fish Fry place eating some fish'n'chips) and began dancing. Saw Jason and told him my phone was dead, and that he'd be my walkie talkie. That worked out ok, we danced near each other by the speakers in front.
I put my jacket, hoody and purse down in front of the speaker for a while, but my purse totally got jacked from that locale. Kind of freaky and nerve-wracking - I was convinced someone had stolen it, and my dentist-prescribed meds were in it. (I did retrieve it Thursday afternoon intact in every way.) The 3 drinks (hell, more like 5, big ass margaritas) made me not care so much, and enjoy dancing a lot more than I normally would have. Although every time I accidentally danced onto a cute guy, he allowed it to happen exactly twice, then backed away and began using his smartphone in a very intent and purposeful way. I came to the conclusion that these not-so-young men were gay or had girlfriends. (Actually, the gay ones just backed away casually, now that I think on it.)
So after the show we started an informal poll, that guys over thirty who were at least moderately attractive tended to have girlfriends. Two guys had wedding rings and the third guy was under 30 so not relevant to the poll - besides he had a neck tattoo so it wasn't a real surprise that he didn't have a girlfriend. However, he started talking about getting mugged for his bike, and fighting back by using the bike against the assailant/would-be thief. That was sort of sexy. Fortunately Reg showed up before I could tell icky neck-tattoo guy that I found guys getting into fights an attractive quality.
Thursday I spent half the day playing phone tag with my dentist's office, since he's the only actual doctor there, and he was home today, but I did manage to get the scripts filled before 2pm. I was hoping it'd get called in before my lunch instead of after, but there you go. At least my pho was absolutely bomb. PHO BOMB. I wrote a review on Yelp.
I wasn't really feeling up to schlepping to Seattle before it was time for the Orbital show, but Reg wanted to get there in time for the opener. I bussed up to Neumo's, retrieved my purse (Kindle and Matthew-Dear ticket intact), bussed back down and went to the front of the stage with Reg. Paul Chambers was opening, he was mixing loops and stuff into music-type songs, and I enjoyed these sort-of songs, except that they kept lasting 3 minutes or so. That just isn't right, man. I mean, I like glitchy minimal techno as much as the next nerd, but when you do the same thing that Vegas pool DJs do, it's not a good thing.
But so by the time Orbital was almost ready, it was so packed I could barely find Reg again. The brothers came on stage to "Time Becomes" (first track off the brown album), and then their second number was a super remix of "Halcyon+On+On" which I attempted to bootleg. (Holding up a recording device in the air is always a tricky situation.) And they kept on playing for two hours, and I think I developed what I used to at raves, that is to say a "Natural High." It's a combination of great music and hard dancing that just makes your brain go OOMPH, and it's awesome.
On the way to the bathroom I got Quent to come up and dance in front with us, and then after the show, while everyone and their brother (and probably their mother, for that matter) shared a cigarette. We said HI to all the people we haven't seen in 3 years, and the people who moved and came back just for the show, and that was nice. Q & K and us made our way to Dragonfish, which Reg and I hadn't been to since Steve's 2010 February visit, ye gods. The Happy Hour menu is even better now, I must say. I could have gorged myself on small plates. And some young man from Detroit mistook Reg for a DJ.
Anyway, bit of a rough start, but getting awesomer and awesomer.
I've only been to one other similar thing in SF with Steve, where you sit at a fancy table and get service during a show and all that. I have to say it is choice, and the sound almost made me want earplugs. First person to do their ambient thing was decent, although the visuals were very cool. Next person was awesome, and also playing at Neumo's later. Third person started out too ambient for me, beach noises and crickets chirping, but got better. He was also playing at Neumo's later (dvDub and Monolake).
So I ran back to Showbox, got Reg's ticket, then ran up to catch a bus to Neumo's. Except that a) my phone was at 2% power and b) the only card I had any money on, was about to have a big payment clear. But I checked the ATM and it was fine. You can see what's coming, can't you.
I had a powerful lust for chips and salsa, so I stopped at Poquito's for a margarita and chips. The guys sitting next to me at the bar were making me giggle with their WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT POLITICS IN FRONT OF MY GIRLFRIEND/talking about politics game. The guy with the GF had more nuanced views, while the single man was just going to go ahead and vote for Obama. Eventually, due to the aforementioned hilarity, I borrowed the single man's phone to call Reg to beg him to pay my bill.
Since he and his friend overheard me, they bought me a shot of tequila while the GF was having a smoke. Secret drinking, the best way to make friends. Not that I remember their names or anything. I do remember them saying "No more politics or Gettin' Pussy talk." And I was like "Fine with me, I don't like pussy." And then of course we proceeded to do just that. On my part I quoted some Bill Hicks at them, and reminded them that in WA your vote for the president counts for jack and shit. For the latter, I told single guy that chicks tend to hate beards, aside from those girls that actually like it a ton (and the girls that are indifferent). I pointed out that his friend had a GF and she probably made him shave every day or something.
And finally my boyfriend arrived to save the day. We were both annoyed at each other, but he still agreed to pick me up at 1:30am while he hung out with a friend of a friend who just got dumped. So I walked over to Neumo's (where Monolake was hanging out in front of the Fish Fry place eating some fish'n'chips) and began dancing. Saw Jason and told him my phone was dead, and that he'd be my walkie talkie. That worked out ok, we danced near each other by the speakers in front.
I put my jacket, hoody and purse down in front of the speaker for a while, but my purse totally got jacked from that locale. Kind of freaky and nerve-wracking - I was convinced someone had stolen it, and my dentist-prescribed meds were in it. (I did retrieve it Thursday afternoon intact in every way.) The 3 drinks (hell, more like 5, big ass margaritas) made me not care so much, and enjoy dancing a lot more than I normally would have. Although every time I accidentally danced onto a cute guy, he allowed it to happen exactly twice, then backed away and began using his smartphone in a very intent and purposeful way. I came to the conclusion that these not-so-young men were gay or had girlfriends. (Actually, the gay ones just backed away casually, now that I think on it.)
So after the show we started an informal poll, that guys over thirty who were at least moderately attractive tended to have girlfriends. Two guys had wedding rings and the third guy was under 30 so not relevant to the poll - besides he had a neck tattoo so it wasn't a real surprise that he didn't have a girlfriend. However, he started talking about getting mugged for his bike, and fighting back by using the bike against the assailant/would-be thief. That was sort of sexy. Fortunately Reg showed up before I could tell icky neck-tattoo guy that I found guys getting into fights an attractive quality.
Thursday I spent half the day playing phone tag with my dentist's office, since he's the only actual doctor there, and he was home today, but I did manage to get the scripts filled before 2pm. I was hoping it'd get called in before my lunch instead of after, but there you go. At least my pho was absolutely bomb. PHO BOMB. I wrote a review on Yelp.
I wasn't really feeling up to schlepping to Seattle before it was time for the Orbital show, but Reg wanted to get there in time for the opener. I bussed up to Neumo's, retrieved my purse (Kindle and Matthew-Dear ticket intact), bussed back down and went to the front of the stage with Reg. Paul Chambers was opening, he was mixing loops and stuff into music-type songs, and I enjoyed these sort-of songs, except that they kept lasting 3 minutes or so. That just isn't right, man. I mean, I like glitchy minimal techno as much as the next nerd, but when you do the same thing that Vegas pool DJs do, it's not a good thing.
But so by the time Orbital was almost ready, it was so packed I could barely find Reg again. The brothers came on stage to "Time Becomes" (first track off the brown album), and then their second number was a super remix of "Halcyon+On+On" which I attempted to bootleg. (Holding up a recording device in the air is always a tricky situation.) And they kept on playing for two hours, and I think I developed what I used to at raves, that is to say a "Natural High." It's a combination of great music and hard dancing that just makes your brain go OOMPH, and it's awesome.
On the way to the bathroom I got Quent to come up and dance in front with us, and then after the show, while everyone and their brother (and probably their mother, for that matter) shared a cigarette. We said HI to all the people we haven't seen in 3 years, and the people who moved and came back just for the show, and that was nice. Q & K and us made our way to Dragonfish, which Reg and I hadn't been to since Steve's 2010 February visit, ye gods. The Happy Hour menu is even better now, I must say. I could have gorged myself on small plates. And some young man from Detroit mistook Reg for a DJ.
Anyway, bit of a rough start, but getting awesomer and awesomer.
