much like carving “megadeth” into the side of my car, i dont think i will ever regret sending emails like this. surprisingly, timmy, vice records, nor greg from southern lord responded to this email.
hey greg, have you ever listened to James Plotkin‘s Old Lady Drivers (ft Jason Everman from Nirvana and Soundgarden? shit kinda stands up
when we were just in Omaha, someone mentioned to me that they felt a little robbed because i hadn’t written about the show we had out there the year before. which was probably because by the time we got to Omaha at the end of last year’s tour, i was incapable of forming thoughts or doing anything aside from eating, drinking, and screaming. tour baby. baby’s first show
so much so that my notes on Omaha are as follows:
“WAITER SAID TOP FIVE BANDS TO KILL: NIRVANA”
that is seriously the only thing i have written down about Omaha. so i’m going to do my best to piece together what i remember to be an enjoyable evening. but this is the Stephen Malkmus looking fuck in Omaha who hates Nirvana.
so the safest way to start out this post is to say that we drove a shitload from Denver to Omaha. on the way, we stopped at a taco bell/kfc where i got a black bean burrito, which is pretty good. not to get political on you, but why the fuck would you buy meat/dairy shit from taco bell? i guess if you are a crazy slob who knows the world is doomed. but here is an untouched gem that the next batch of planet-destroying cretins will unearth thousands of years from now:
i was tempted to vandalize this piece of art by scribbling the implied racial segregation but resisted. so we drove, and drove, and drove, stopped at gas stations, ate bullshit, and who cares.
we have a fondness for Omaha and part of that fondness is for West Wing, the legendary house where tons of forgettable douchebags with synthesizers and art school dreams played shows. as we never venture much further out from the few block radius and the people who go to punk shows, we don’t encounter the dark and presumably boring side of Omaha. instead, we are always surrounded by good things.
down the street from the house is a place called Brothers Lounge, which is probably one of my favorite bars. the owner stuffs the jukebox full of old punk and serves everything from cheap beer to specialty cocktails. also has a fucking stage in the back where i remember some Burger Records band was due to play sometime in the next few weeks, according to a flyer.
we drank and observed some possible hipsters while talking to the owner/bartender about his connection with Minneapolis bands. such as STNNNG, a decent band ive always liked (despite some of them not liking me very much)
then we walked to The Grand Ol’ American Big Burger Brewpub & Eatery Tap-Room. i dont know what the name is (Omaha Tap House?), but you know the kind of place. locals say theyre famous for their wings or some shit, blah blah blah, art school, stephen malkmus, drank scotch, probably played Pink Floyd’s “Echoes”. good food though, nice way to blast a hundred dollars with your loser broke friends
we went to West Wing and then walked to a gas station to buy beer. i saw this fucking sign, which reminds me of my favorite Mitt Romney moment. then i imagine we stood around in the alleyway while talking to best dudes, JD and Alex.
i took a lot of pictures of Gag Reflex which means they were probably good. i didn’t take any pictures of Diamondz R 4Eva which probably means i was drunk. i still cant figure out if “Diamondz R 4Eva” is the best band name i’ve ever heard or the worst. i think the fact that im contemplating that means it’s the best. but anyhow, theyre a good band. and i’m 90% sure they were smoking weed in the middle of their set.
then we sold a bunch of shit. then i dont know what happened, but i am certain we were paid well and taken care of because Omaha is a fantastic place. the next pictures i have are me at the Minnesota State Fair two days later. it was not the best time i have had at the fair because some dude groped my girlfriend (i was not nearby and wisely dragged away from the guy upon finding out) and later i watched another guy dude with neck tattoos grab his girlfriend by the hair and pull her down, then chase her as she ran away. we tried following the dude without being noticed but it was sketchy shit. but on the plus side, i got a picture of this white guy wearing a dashiki. note the tag.
also worth mentioning is the show we played shortly after getting home with legendary freaks, COCK E.S.P. (on tour now), our pals in Cognitive Dissonance, and the honorable Kenny Millions (http://www.kennymillions.com/). click his name to read about what an amazing career this guy has had and go see him if you ever have the chance. and yes, that is hardcore pornography he is playing on a screen behind him while he holds a child’s saxophone, guitar, and adult blow up doll.
