MUSIC MONDAYS: OUT OF BREATH

First, sorry for no Friendly Friday. You see I saw Batman the night before at midnight and if you've seen it, you probably know, you don't exactly feel "Friendly" afterwards. I was thinking maybe I'd do a Sadistic Saturday in honor of the wonderful DARK KNIGHT, but then I got concerned that the masochists amongst you would enjoy Sadistic Saturday so much that you'd beg and beg until I had to add it to the lineup, and I just don't have time for that.

Today's MM will actually focus on something that happened yesterday that's not entirely music related. But it's close enough... Let me continue. Last night I went to see Sharon Jones and Feist at the Hollywood Bowl. I packed up some leftover pasta and met a few friends for a little picnic. A couple minutes before the scheduled start time, someone brought the subject of tickets to my attention. I had been under the impression that the group's leader Amanda had all the tickets. But no. Apparently she gave me my tickets a few weeks before at my housewarming party. Of course the only thing I remember about my housewarming party is my excitement over finally having almost enough varieties of alcohol to make a long island iced tea.

I'm known to leave tickets at home. I've done it for a good four or five shows in my life. I don't think I'll ever learn. Luckily, I have a ticket machine named Jen who will always have my tickets. But when the ticket machine leaves town, it's a bit of problem... Usually it's simple. Jen will hold onto the tickets and then we'll go to the show and she'll give me my ticket at the door. But Jen was out of town!! I'm helpless you see. I need to be coddled. I need to be dressed. I definitely need my tickets handed to me! In fact, I needed a lunch box packed for me for the picnic with a triangularly cut sandwich, a piece of cheese and a juice box. But no. Nothing. NOTHING. Maybe this is Jen's way of saying "grow up, Alex!"

I panicked a bit. Neil and Amanda offered to chip in five bucks each for me to buy another ticket from a scalper, but I couldn't stand to see money wasted in this economy. So I did what any responsible person would do, I ran home. Now don't get it twisted, I don't live that far. Still, running there and back in like twenty minutes, plus having to search around for the tickets, is no easy task. I got back in time though! Right before Sharon Jones came onto the stage to melt the audience into a mass of dripping funk juice. Yum. Mixed well with my sweaty shirt.

A couple of my other friends who arrived around the same time apparently also forgot their tickets. But they were on an air conditioned bus. They tried to laugh off my situation too, saying I lived so close and this was no big deal. Now I do live pretty close, but I just looked it up and it's still over a mile each way. You try running 2+ miles after having worked out for 30 minutes earlier in the day, walked a mile to the venue and had a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine. Not that fucking easy!

I do feel stronger for it though. It's as if I really earned last night's show. I think if Feist had known she would've called me up on the stage to perform a song with her. Eh, maybe I'd rather perform with Sharon Jones. They were both quite good, I'd be happy to perform with either.