Monthly Archives: August 2014

Missed Opportunity

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The last show I really wanted to go to with Dylan was the Augustines at the Troubadour on 2/11/2014. They are a band that I like very much, and would have liked to expose Dylan to them to see what he thought. The show was on a Tuesday. Three days before Valentine’s Day. When I brought it up to Donna, it was clear that she really didn’t want me to go. I was not home much since I started the new job. I knew I would be tired, so I was convinced not to go. I regretted that decision the night of the show and the days afterward. I really like the band and want to try to support them.

I didn’t really think about it or even hear much of the faint music I had playing until the beginning of March was near. I turned to the last thing I bought. An album that I was very excited about, since their first album (Rise Ye Sunken Ships) was one of my favorites of 2011. Well, I could not stop listening to their new album (Augustines) once I started. It reminded of the show I missed. I knew I was going to see them play, if they came back to the Los Angeles area. To my surprise, I found out today they are playing the exact same club in September. I have my ticket bought. And I might even shed a tear when Billy McCarthy sings:

Have you ever lost someone
Screamed Holy Mary down the hall
Or cried against a steering wheel

Because I have. Oh yes, I have.

Superchunk

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“I’ll say I love ya I won’t say goodbye.
I’ll say I love ya I won’t say goodbye.
I’ll say I love ya I won’t say goodbye.
I’ll say I love ya I won’t say goodbye.”
Superchunk

Tomorrow night, Superchunk is going to be playing at a small place in Eagle Rock. I would have liked to go, but I have a floor to finish this weekend and nobody to accompany me. Why is this significant? The last show Dylan and I went to was a Superchunk show at the El Rey on September 4, 2013. It was the first time the band had been in town in a long time, and I really liked their new album. I remember when I asked Dylan if he wanted to go with me. He kind of hesitated and said yeah, but I knew he was wondering if I was going to expect him to pay for his ticket. I told him I would get his ticket, and I wanted the company.

When we got there, he commented that it was bigger than he expected. I supposed that was because he didn’t know anybody else that had heard of the band. Colleen Green opened up. We spent most of her set making fun of her drum machine and guitar routine. The songs weren’t bad, but I think she would be better with a full band. We would predict how each song would begin, because they all seemed to have the same or very similar percussive programming.

When the band came on, it took all of a few seconds for me to realize that I wanted use the earplugs I brought. I put them in and Dylan laughed at me with these bright green sponges hanging out of ears. I told him I didn’t give a shit, at least I could hear better. We had fun and he didn’t think the music was that bad either. I told him about how easy he has it now discovering new music. I told him how I discovered this band, and the process I had to go through to buy more of their music. I had to write to their label (that a couple of band members started) and ask them to send me a catalog. After the show, I didn’t really want it to end. We looked around for something near the theater, but found nothing open. I had to work the next morning, so we just headed home.

Only Memories Remain Now

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The shrine that was Dylan’s bedroom has been demolished in our never ending floor remodeling job. What have we done? I hope it was time. It was not easy.

I remember when Dylan chose that nasty green color. I didn’t care for it, but didn’t really fight it. We could always paint it again later — which means Donna and Marisa since I have only painted baseboards in recent years. The subject of painting Dylan’s room had briefly come up a few times as we started this flooring project, and maybe a little before . He wanted red. Like fire engine red, I think. To which both Donna and I said “No!” We finished the wood on the stairs and in the master bedroom before Valentine’s Day, and then everything in our lives just stopped. For a while, I wondered if that stack of wood in the loft and master bedroom would stay there forever. Something got me started. Probably the mess. Although, the house remains a horrible mess with the last 150 square feet ahead, we are getting there. Maybe then, we can roughly approximate some kind of normalcy.

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