March 4, 2006

• Last night I went to see Danel's friend's (Sandra) band play at The
  Store in Chicago. And by Store, I don't mean Jewel or Sears,  it
  was an actual bar. The name of the band was Private Mind Garden. Or
  Private Mind Trap. Or Primitive Mind Garden Trap. Honestly, I don't
  remember. I'm pretty sure it was called Private Mind Garden and they
  have a myspace. Anywho, she picked me up at about 7:15ish. Traffic was
  ok, not too bad but not too good either. Parking on the other
  hand..................well, its the north side of Chicago and as we
  know, there are about 3 parking spots on the north side. Danel was
  almost out of gas by the time we left the 'Ville. In fact, her gas
  light was on before we even hit I55, but she insisted to me that we
  would be ok. That being said, its not like we had all sorts of time to
  drive around and look for parking. We drove down several streets before
  Danel saw a spot across the street. She asked me to get out of the car
  and go over and save it. Ahhhh, only in the city do you have to save
  spots. She pulled up and asked if her car would fit. It looked like it
  would to me, but what the fuck do I know, its not like this was a game
  of Tetris. It was an extremely tight fit, she really had to work it to
  get it in there and only tapped the car behind her once, but
  eventually, with my very poor direction, she made it. We walked the
  block and a half to The Store.

  This place was one of those classic tiny ass bars that could only be
  found in the city. The front of the bar was a long room with a bar. To
  the side was another tiny room where the band would be playing. They
  were doing a sound check as we arrived. Ahhh, the sound check, boy, that
  brings back memories. See, what many of you don't know is that back in
  the late 90s I used to be a roadie in my friend's band. It
  was................an interesting experience, to say the least. Going
  to this gig last night brought back a lot of memories. We were there
  for a few minutes before heading across the street to a chocolate
  lounge called Ethel's. In front of the place right on the sidewalk was
  a sign with a chocolate trivia question. It was a true or false
  question. We opened the door and I walked in, looked right at the girl
  behind the counter and said sorta loudly "TRUE!" Of course, she looked
  at me like I was some sorta freak, which, in a way, I guess I was. This
  place had all sorts of different varieties of chocolates, including
  peanut butter and jelly. And, it was all very expensive. In fact, it
  was $1.50 for a piece of chocolate. Or, 4 pieces for $6. I was talking
  to the people behind the counter asking them all sorts of goofy
  questions. And the one kid behind the counter was a cute, nerdy gay
  kid. I asked him if Ethel was there and he said that sadly, she was
  dead. I asked him who the hell Ethel was and he said that she was the
  wife of the guy that invented the Mars company..........you know, the
  people that sell M&Ms. Gay counter kid told me all sorts of stuff I
  need to know about the company. I tipped him $1 for being so
  knowledgeable. Anywho, I wound up ordering a hot chocolate and 4 pieces
  of chocolate. In short, I spent almost $11 on chocolate. The hot
  chocolate was........ehhhh, but the candy was amazing. The peanut
  butter and jelly was pretty yummy, but the best piece was this
  strawberry flavored dark chocolate piece. Holy shit, it was amazing.

  Danel and I sat at a table for a few minutes and ate and drank. We got
  up to leave but I was still drinking my hot chocolate and didn't want
  to walk into the Store with a drink. So, we stood there talking to gay
  counter kid. We caught him eating a piece of candy and I asked him if
  there were any free samples and he gave me a piece of passion fruit,
  which was very good. He told me not to tell anybody, so what do I do, I
  post it on my blog for the whole world to read. Ok, not the whole
  world, but about what, 10 people? Ok, so nobody reads my fucking blog,
  that doesn't make me a loser, does it? Anywho, we talked with him for a
  few minutes. Danel said I was flirting with him, but shit, he gave me
  free chocolate, that alone deserves extra attention, even if the person
  is as ugly as Bill Maher.

  After a while, we headed back to the Store. By this time, the place was
  packed and it was not even 9 in the PM (there were going to go on at
  9:30). Sure, pretty much all of the people were friends and family of
  the band, but it had to be great for them to see a packed house. I was
  wearing my "I'm the evil twin" t-shirt which is always quite the
  conversation starter, I usually get all sorts of funny comments from
  people. Anywho, somehow, we wound up right in front of the stage. Ok,
  so I guess it wasn't really a stage. It was a rug where the band set up
  to play. While waiting for the band to start, I was standing there
  talking to people when I felt something hit me in the head. I turned
  around and somehow, I had gotten hit in the head with a cell phone. I
  turned around and the girl that did it was very apologetic and was
  laughing, as were a few other people, including myself. It didn't
  really hurt at all and I said to them that it was ok, this was the 3rd
  time this week I had been hit in the head with a cell phone.

  Having been a roadie for a band, I know that bands NEVER start on time.
  NEVER. And these guys were no exception. I don't remember what time
  they started, but it was well past 9:30. There were six members of the
  band. Sandra, who was playing guitar, the lead singer, a bass player, a
  drummer, a keyboardist and, get this, a girl playing the flute. And it
  was a wide range of people. The oldest person was the keyboardist who
  was 40. The youngest, was the bass player at 21. They are also very
  mixed, the singer and drummer are white, the guitarist, keyboardist and
  flute player black and the bassist........I think he was middle
  eastern. Anywho, after a while, they finally started. I was right in
  the front eye to eye with the lead singer. He was short and had on a
  Marvin Gaye shirt which said "War is not the answer." Already, I liked
  him. Anywho, for some reason, the first song they chose to play did not
  have any lyrics. Nevertheless, they sounded good. The next song they
  played had lyrics and much to my surprise, he was rapping. They sounded
  good, had a different sound. I mean, a flut and a rapper in the same
  band? The only problem is that it was hard to hear the vocals or the
  flute. I always remember back in my roadie days, getting the vocals
  right was always very tough. A soundman can make or break the show.
  They wound up only playing 4 songs, but it was 4 long songs.

  After the show, we headed to the front of the bar where a guy who was
  there celebrating his 51st b-day started talking to Sandra. He seemed
  like a cool guy, he was wearing an earring the shape of a peace sign. He
  told me that he was in a Pink Floyd tribute band called "Think Floyd"
  and they had a gig in Milwaukee tonight. Me not being the biggest Floyd
  fan around, I really didn't give a shit. After a while, it was decided
  that we would leave and get something to eat. Poor Sandra had a cold
  and had lost her voice and couldn't speak. It sucked.

  We left and headed to the car. Although it was easier getting out of
  the spot then getting in, Danel managed to do a little more tapping
  this time. We headed straight for a gas station. I told her she
  shouldn't fill up much out here since gas was about 50 cents more in
  the city than back in the 'Ville. Still, $5 doesn't get you much gas,
  in fact, by time we got home, her gas light was on again. Being the
  gentleman that I am, I made her pump while I went inside to pay. When I
  came out she had trouble getting the gas to come out of the pump. Turns
  out, I pre paid on the wrong pump. I quickly went inside to correct
  that injustice.

  We then headed over to her mom's house on the south side. She had to
  pick up something and I waited in the car on the account of her mom's 3
  large dogs. Yeah, I'm not a dog person, people. While I was waiting, I
  thought about how it would be funny, yet mean of me, if I had just got
  out of the car and left, leaving her to wonder where I went. I decided
  against it. Damn, stupid conscience.

  We went to eat at a mexican restaurant called ZaccoTacos. I got some
  sorta of chorizzo and eggs sandwich and also snacked on chips and
  salsa. Really, there isn't much to this part of the story. We ate and
  came home. I'm tired of typing. Be sure to leave comments, people.

  • 5:07 pm
  • 5 Comments