The reason he had to go to the birthday party had layers I won't go all into it but what's cool is when he applied for the IT job at Paul Reed Smith, 500 other people did too. In order to stand out at a guitar manufacturer's company he brought in his guitar and performed numbers at the interview. It worked, he got the job. They had a weird relationship from what I was told. I think he was well liked by his boss but suffice it to say they were friends with undertones of rank. He had to be at the party.
Back to the band. The venue was a warehouse up on a ledge overlooking a river. I don't know where we were, around 695, maybe Towson. It was cold and damp when we arrived to set up and practice we were locked out for a long time. Finally, when we got in we were met stiffly by a tenant. It was an uncomfortable welcome. On entering the place either side had padlocked doors. As we moved through the art filled foyer it turned into a huge open space where a woman was burning sage all around like she had a wand. There was a Buddha statue off in a small alcove behind the stage and modern art was scattered around. The entire far wall was all thin glassed windows with a view of the river. So these artist types rented out their space as a business. It was so friggin' cool. Their bedrooms were by the entrance and the rest of the place was for parties. There was a big cafeteria style kitchen with a roll up window for food and drink orders.
After rehearsal we headed out to kill time before the show and the Wilco dudes were coming in. No, I was not noticed and catapulted from my normal life into one of luxury and fame. Perhaps another time. The musician dudes talked shop. Come showtime it went great. The shy artist really nailed it and I was impressed by the evolution of the practically impromptu band. They supported their friend and were able to learn the tunes really fast and rock out. The small crowd was mostly friends as usual and afterward a couple of us bolted to the birthday party in Baltimore. I don't recall much about that party. The thrill of the night was the novelty of everything going on around me.
We did hightail it back to the warehouse to hear Glenn Kotche's band rock out. When we got there I was amazed because now the place was PACKED. I could barely see the band through the crowd. The windows were steamed and I wandered around taking unnoteworthy pictures of an extraordinary night.
 |
picture courtesy of Yolkie on blogger |
After rehearsal we headed out to kill time before the show and the Wilco dudes were coming in. No, I was not noticed and catapulted from my normal life into one of luxury and fame. Perhaps another time. The musician dudes talked shop. Come showtime it went great. The shy artist really nailed it and I was impressed by the evolution of the practically impromptu band. They supported their friend and were able to learn the tunes really fast and rock out. The small crowd was mostly friends as usual and afterward a couple of us bolted to the birthday party in Baltimore. I don't recall much about that party. The thrill of the night was the novelty of everything going on around me.
We did hightail it back to the warehouse to hear Glenn Kotche's band rock out. When we got there I was amazed because now the place was PACKED. I could barely see the band through the crowd. The windows were steamed and I wandered around taking unnoteworthy pictures of an extraordinary night.
I love places like that. You get to poke around someone's space, and look at art, and listen to music, and meet people, and inevitably something cool happens. There's a place here that always gets an ice cream truck to set up outside during their summer parties. Very excellent.
ReplyDelete