Is That The Thanks I Get?

Who remembers this?


So, I love going to live shows. We have been taking a little break from performances because of the musical overdose that happened at Sasquatch. Recently getting the itch to go see some live music again...
We have this place called the WOW Hall 4 blocks from home sweet home. Billed as "Eugene's Finest Venue" I have to say, it's a bit more like a mini high school gymnasium / sauna....

And actually, I am just going to stop a minute here to discuss something that has been really bothering me lately. Are there not any laws regarding how many bathrooms there need to be related to the number of individuals in a building? Because TWO toilets seems woefully inadequate if any more than 10 ladies are in attendance. Every show I end up fifteen minutes (per time) in a turtle speed line. Same goes for bars. What is the deal? Seriously, is this an issue that the fire marshall should be dealing with? To whom should I address my complaints to about this? Anybody?

So anyway, bathroom grievances aside, it's an ok place to see a band. Lots of little bands go through here. Corey Feldman's band played there recently. But we chose to go see Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, which I always kind of thought were the same band, but apparently not. Same singer though. That man must have been exhausted by 1:30am when they were finished.

Maybe due to the 'intimate' nature of the venue there was a lot of what I'll call here 'interaction' between the crowd and the band. Normally, I like when the band members talk a little in between songs, but I get a little nervous when they start reacting and conversing with the members of the audience. I have seen it turn bad... Jeff Tweedy prime example.


The best Jeff Tweedy heckle I ever heard "JEFF! I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR VOLKSWAGON!" Even he admitted it was a good one.

So anyway, there was lots of discussion, where did you come from type of stuff. One guy came from a place that was a unintelligible mumble that the singer tried to figure out for a minute. Then the guy said it's 100 miles away so you better be good! Then "requested" a song. To this the singer says "I am in the band and I traveled thousands of miles so I get to pick the songs." The heckler promptly turned around, walking by me on his way out and yelled over his shoulder in a totally (totes) genuine way "That's FAIR."

Cracker made me ponder the nature of the universe. I was thinking: Man. When is the last time I heard this song (Low, the big hit)? Probably sitting in my bedroom playing a mix tape on Signal Mountain in Tennessee, like 16 years old. Wonder what my teenage self would think if I told her: In 15 years (which is basically the entire span of your life again), you will be hearing this song live. In Eugene, Oregon. Where you live because you are enrolled in a PhD program. Two weeks before you marry your artist musician husband. And you're so happy.

I'd probably be like, whatever lady.