Monthly Archives: June 2011

I Can See In Color

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A beautiful summer day, a Thursday at that. Last night didn’t work out as planned but it was still an enjoyable night. Bill and I did not have the birthday dinner like we anticipated. He wound up staying in the city since there was a car fire and every bus that was leaving the terminal sat idling for quite a while. He decided to get off the bus and go back to the office.

He had taken off of work today and decided to set things up for his replacement. I came home and had a sandwich before heading up to Maxwells. It was certainly a mellow evening. No rushing through dinner to make the show. I walked up to Maxwells where my brother Frank was already inside.

I bought the tickets at the beginning of June, opting for the ‘Will Call’ service and Frank was able to get in as my plus one. I walked in and saw Pat Irwin from the Raybeats as I stood at the bar and ordered a pint of Guinness. I met up with a former Maxwells habitué, Alirio. We never really talked back in the day but thanks to Facebook a line of communication had opened.

As we stood there talking, this attractive woman comes up to me yelling that I hadn’t changed at all. It was Patti Quinn, another mainstay from back in the day. She had already talked to Alirio and focused all her attention on me which was flattering. She was there with her nephew Liam who just got back from Taipei, as well as her 2 children.

I don’t think she expected to see so many old faces and I don’t think she knew what was going on in the back. We talked for a few minutes before I headed into the back room. I found my brother Frank thanks to Stan Demeski from the Feelies. Stan was there with his lovely wife Janice and Frank was standing next to them, next to the soundboard which is where we always used to stand years ago.

The Schramms were playing and they were enjoyable. After that came the Raybeats, who I really wanted to see the most. The Raybeats were the band that Danny Amis was in a long time ago. Danny had bone cancer, which is in remission thanks to stem cell therapy. Still he has enormous medical bills which is what these benefits around the country as well as Mexico are all about.

After Danny left the Raybeats, he formed a band called Los Straightjackets in which all the band members wear wrestling masks. They’re big in Mexico too. The Raybeats were phenomenal. I love the Raybeats. Last night they had Steve Almaas on bass guitar. Alirio pointed that out and I didn’t hear what Alirio has said at first, but I did notice the Dan Electro bass he was playing. I had seen Steve Almaas several times years ago when he was in Beat Rodeo.

When the Bongos were a 3 piece, and thinking about adding another guitar, it was down to Steve Almaas and Jim Mastro. Jim got the gig and Steve did his own thing. And Jim Mastro was enjoying the show last night as well. So many people from the past & present, including Chaz Charas, whom it is always good to see.

Adele Bertei came on stage and sang Shakin’ All Over with the Raybeats and once again it was over way too soon. Then came the Individuals who put on a good set, all the original members made the show. Then came Yo La Tengo who did a very good set and finished with Jody Harris from the Raybeats on a fantastic feedback drenched finale.

It was all over around midnight I think, and I’m not sure since by the end I wound up having about half dozen pints of the black beer. Oh yes, I am paying for it today, but happily doing so. As tired as I was beforehand, seeing the Raybeats made me believe in the rejuvenating power of rock & roll.

So now I am home after running some errands. Heading into the city to see The Motherfucker with the Hat on Broadway. It stars Bobby Cannavale, Annabella Sciorra and Chris Rock. Bill and I are both quite excited to see it. I am meeting him around 6:15 at John’s Pizza in midtown for dinner before the show.

It’s been a very good and exciting 24 hours.

The Raybeats (with Gail Ann Dorsey) backing Adele Bertei at Joe’s Pub 2010

Pat Irwin, Steve Almaas, Don Christensen and Jody Harris


Yo La Tengo

I Can See For Miles

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I slept incredibly well last night, but that have been because I was not feeling too well. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was nearly fast asleep. And it was earlier than usual, a little after midnight.

I had a vision of sorts, on how to fall asleep soundly. Basically the trick was to visualize different objects and then figure out where they go. It actually worked. I woke up with a smile on my face with Bill leaning over me giving me a good bye kiss on his birthday.

Bill just said a few minutes ago on the phone that he wished he had a camera to take a picture of my angelic face. I tell you, an angelic face from me in the morning is quite a rare thing.

And Last night I was not feeling well at all. It may have started at the cigar shack, or at least on the bus ride. So fatigued, and who knows I do shake some hands throughout the day so I might have picked up some bug, albeit a temporary bug.

Luckily I had done most of my writing beforehand so all I had to do was edit. Bill was asleep when I came home and then got out of bed for a few minutes. My bones felt heavy as he went back to bed and I eventually joined him.

So this morning I had to open the store. That meant everything was an hour or so earlier than usual. I made my way to the bus stop and got on a nice air conditioned coach bus that quickly filled up. The guy next to me was sleeping throughout the ride, his leg rubbing against mine.

I just stared out the window. A totally different crowd than the one I am used to when I commute into the city. This afternoon has been a bear. Some running around, not much of a lunch hour, more like a 15 minute break.

I am maintaining good spirits, or at least trying to keep some good will for dinner. It hasn’t been easy to keep. Once again I realize that I am a bad teacher. Trying to show the new guy, Jerry Vale how to do things properly on the register. A lack of patience which could be attributed to the bad teachers I had when growing up.

I would rather do it myself than have to explain over & over how to do something. I would say I don’t like to repeat myself, but here we are reading something that I more than likely written before.

Now just finishing things up in the shack, been yet another long day. I tell you Calvin is quite fortunate to have a competent staff. No one is getting over, everyone pulls their own weight. But for me, I just want to go back to Hoboken, have a steak with Bill and then head to Maxwells for some Rock & Roll. That’s all I ask.

Apparently I ask for too much. I wound up taking the train to the Path train and that turned out to be the smart thing to do, however inadvertent. Bill texted me when I got off the Path train, the plan was to meet at Maxwells, but here he was texting me from the bus.

The bus had been stopped in the terminal for a half hour due to a car fire in the Lincoln Tunnel. So we are rescheduling dinner until tomorrow. Maybe before the play. In any event I am home, just changed out of the suit & tie into something a little more cooler, a little more comfortable. And though I haven’t been drinking lately, I am determined to have a pint. Or two.

Happy birthday to my man, Bill with lots of love.

Oh yeah, this is the 2,000th posting I’ve done. Isn’t that something?




Ubee & Bubee 2001