When I go to a Best Friends Day show, I know I'm not going to see any of my best friends.
What I am going to see are T-shirts that say things like "American by birth, Hardcore by choice" and "Dead Since 1991" and "Cloak and Dagger."
Meanwhile I'm wearing an innocuous five-year old Yo la Tengo t-shirt.
Do I care about fitting in? No. Am I there for morning music? Yes.
Night Birds were this year's band for the Fine Foods show that always kicks off the Saturday of Best Friends Weekend.
And even though I didn't know the band, I knew exactly what kind of music to expect. And I got it.
Loud, fast and short, Night Birds' pop punk thrashed hard for about half an hour in Fine Foods' parking lot before people began climbing on the To the Bottom and Back buses to head out to Haddad's for a day of fun in the pool and the sunshine.
I have to say it was pretty interesting seeing the crowd, plenty of whom I know or recognize, and most of whom never wear anything but jeans, in shorts and bathing suits.
With so much exposed flesh, it was a great day to check out the extent of RVA's tattoo culture.
I'm betting there are going to be a lot of burnt tattoos by the end of today.
But not for me. All I'll be left with are slightly ringing ears and my fourth year's memory of thrash before noon.
I don't need any of my best friends to enjoy that.
Showing posts with label best friends day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best friends day. Show all posts
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Morning Music Unplugged
When worlds collide: I had to walk through VCU's campus on move-in day to get to the Tim Barry show at Fine Foods this morning.
The campus was crawling with freshmen and their families unloading their worldly goods for transfer to the dorms (two things common to every pile: a full-length mirror and bottled water). The students looked impossibly young and the parents looked harried even through the morning was young. The sidewalks were clogged with people and stuff. Welcome to VCU.
Arriving in Oregon Hill, minivans, SUVs and frantic families gave way to an almost entirely tattooed crowd of kids in bathing suits, kids with cases of PBR and kids on bikes. One guy had on the most amazing pair of green glitter bathing trunks; they looked like the scales of a mermaid's tail. Welcome to Best Friends Day.
Like last year, here, and the year before, I always make a point to be at the Saturday morning show at Fine Foods. It doesn't matter what the music is, either. I go because I can't resist the lure of a morning show (even earlier at 10 this year compared to 11 the last two years), the crowd is always colorful and I like showing support for a true Richmond tradition.
After the past two years of full-on noise, today's show was relatively low-key. Former Avail front man Tim Barry did an unplugged set, no doubt surprising some of the audience members. Surrounded by the sweaty and hungover crowd, he played an energetic show in the shaded part of the parking lot.
I talked to a bunch of people who told me they were there specifically for Barry. Two guys with whom I was sharing the shade of a tree told me that they' d driven up from Norfolk this morning solely to see him play and then do some rock climbing by the river. Nothing more. Barry and rocks and they were out.
I didn't have the heart to tell them that he's playing the Listening Room Tuesday night. It's a good week to be a Tim Barry fan in Richmond.
Walking home through Monroe Park, I detoured through the misting tent, using VCU's water to cool my Fine Foods show sweat. Now that's the kind of worlds colliding I'm talking about.
The campus was crawling with freshmen and their families unloading their worldly goods for transfer to the dorms (two things common to every pile: a full-length mirror and bottled water). The students looked impossibly young and the parents looked harried even through the morning was young. The sidewalks were clogged with people and stuff. Welcome to VCU.
Arriving in Oregon Hill, minivans, SUVs and frantic families gave way to an almost entirely tattooed crowd of kids in bathing suits, kids with cases of PBR and kids on bikes. One guy had on the most amazing pair of green glitter bathing trunks; they looked like the scales of a mermaid's tail. Welcome to Best Friends Day.
Like last year, here, and the year before, I always make a point to be at the Saturday morning show at Fine Foods. It doesn't matter what the music is, either. I go because I can't resist the lure of a morning show (even earlier at 10 this year compared to 11 the last two years), the crowd is always colorful and I like showing support for a true Richmond tradition.
After the past two years of full-on noise, today's show was relatively low-key. Former Avail front man Tim Barry did an unplugged set, no doubt surprising some of the audience members. Surrounded by the sweaty and hungover crowd, he played an energetic show in the shaded part of the parking lot.
I talked to a bunch of people who told me they were there specifically for Barry. Two guys with whom I was sharing the shade of a tree told me that they' d driven up from Norfolk this morning solely to see him play and then do some rock climbing by the river. Nothing more. Barry and rocks and they were out.
I didn't have the heart to tell them that he's playing the Listening Room Tuesday night. It's a good week to be a Tim Barry fan in Richmond.
Walking home through Monroe Park, I detoured through the misting tent, using VCU's water to cool my Fine Foods show sweat. Now that's the kind of worlds colliding I'm talking about.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Early Morning Thoughts
When a recently rediscovered friend announces to the world that my devastating combination of wit and charm will render him helpless, I can't help but wonder when he was rendered.
His response?
"About 17 years ago."
That's the kind of answer that puts a smile on my face and does an ego good.
Why is it some guys don't like to compliment?
Beats me, but I'll ponder on that when I get up later.
For now, back to bed and sweet dreaming.
Did I mention his ace in the hole?
He also knows how to cast a musical spell.
G'night.
His response?
"About 17 years ago."
That's the kind of answer that puts a smile on my face and does an ego good.
Why is it some guys don't like to compliment?
Beats me, but I'll ponder on that when I get up later.
For now, back to bed and sweet dreaming.
Did I mention his ace in the hole?
He also knows how to cast a musical spell.
G'night.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thrash Before Noon
Admittedly, thrash/grindcore is not my favorite type of music, but that didn't stop me from joining the throngs at Fine Foods this morning at 11 to witness the fast, loud and ultimately kick your face sound of Magrudergrind. Actually, I can't think of a better place to experience a hard-hitting band like this than the great outdoors. There's not an inside venue that could contain that sound without making my ears bleed and do I really want that? No I don't, but this show represents my only participation in Best Friends Day, so I was happy to be there.
Needless to say the hordes of the great unwashed, hungover and pseudo-punk made for some outstanding people watching as they traipsed in and out of Fine Foods for cases of PBR to stuff in their bike bags. As the guy next to me said to me, "I hate the ones who only pretend to look like they're dirty."
Don't we all?
Needless to say the hordes of the great unwashed, hungover and pseudo-punk made for some outstanding people watching as they traipsed in and out of Fine Foods for cases of PBR to stuff in their bike bags. As the guy next to me said to me, "I hate the ones who only pretend to look like they're dirty."
Don't we all?
Fabulous Female Friday
My neighbor Liza and I have most of our conversations over dog-walking, since we both spend an inordinate amount of time exercising our devoted four-legged friends. We finally made the time to meet for lunch yesterday at Bistro 27 and took the extended time together to get to know each other better. I may have found a soul mate: Liza also refuses to carry a cell phone. That alone yielded 15 minutes of empathetic conversation. Who knew there was another such oddball in all of Richmond, much less practically across the street? We had a delicious lunch, as I always do there, with the added thrill of Dave the waiter (and my go-to music person there) serenading me with "Stop Playing Games with my Heart" as he led me to Liza.
Last night I was invited over the river to an all-female party of VCU theater grad students, professors and advisor types for eating, drinking and being merry. As the only non-drama type there, it was a good thing I'm an extrovert and can hold my own since this raucous group rolls high speed through an ever-changing conversational well. The hostess, my wonderful friend Glynn, is the ringleader and hostess extraordinaire and between her laugh-out-loud storytelling abilities and group leader tactics when it comes to generating probing topics, made this wine-soaked evening a blast.
Upon returning to the Ward, I found, not surprisingly, that the streets were crawling with people. It's Best Friends Day weekend after all, so you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a hipster or wanna be. The dog and I enjoyed plenty of random exchanges with untold groups as we traversed J-Ward. When I left the house this morning, I found 3 PBR cans in various states of emptiness adorning the curb in front of my house. I expect by Monday morning, there won't be a PBR left in a convenience store within 3 miles of here. I love this town.
Last night I was invited over the river to an all-female party of VCU theater grad students, professors and advisor types for eating, drinking and being merry. As the only non-drama type there, it was a good thing I'm an extrovert and can hold my own since this raucous group rolls high speed through an ever-changing conversational well. The hostess, my wonderful friend Glynn, is the ringleader and hostess extraordinaire and between her laugh-out-loud storytelling abilities and group leader tactics when it comes to generating probing topics, made this wine-soaked evening a blast.
Upon returning to the Ward, I found, not surprisingly, that the streets were crawling with people. It's Best Friends Day weekend after all, so you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a hipster or wanna be. The dog and I enjoyed plenty of random exchanges with untold groups as we traversed J-Ward. When I left the house this morning, I found 3 PBR cans in various states of emptiness adorning the curb in front of my house. I expect by Monday morning, there won't be a PBR left in a convenience store within 3 miles of here. I love this town.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
