I Touch Myself with Hands of Time

I think I was so caught up in winding down when I last posted that I neglected to mention my brother Brian and his wife Karen coming to Maxwell’s on Friday night. Friday was the better night anyhow and of course I focused on the ‘less than’ night. Brian and Karen were heading home after seeing ‘Not In It For My Health’ a movie about the late Levon Helm from the Band. Brian has been going to Woodstock once a month to see the shows at the Ramble and was upset when Levon passed away. Brian and I were lucky to see Levon perform on Elvis Costello’s Spectacle a few years ago.

They were dismayed at the price of parking in Manhattan, a nearby garage gouged their wallet but the universe seemed to even that out when they nabbed a spot right outside the door at Maxwell’s. It was a pleasant surprise to see them both and I was even more surprised at how much weight Brian had lost. Truly amazing and inspiring. He looks great and now wears a 36 waist in trousers. A new wardrobe is in order. It was great to see them both and I wish I would have been able to talk to them both but I was working and it was a bit busy.

They left a while later after and headed home and I continued sitting people at tables on the Lido Deck. And like I wrote, the next night was even busier. Yesterday was alright. I met up with Juan and ran around Hoboken trying to fax some documents on Bill’s behalf. Juan of course was so damn funny. He knows how to get under my skin and tickle my sense of humor. I hadn’t walk down the street in Hoboken laughing like I did in a long time, and that was thanks to Juan.

At a friends office I tried to use their fax machine to no avail but while we were there I sang a little bit of 10CC’s The Things We Do For Love, as I was doing this for Bill. Juan paid me no mind and I hoped I had the song on my Android but I didn’t. Juan played the latest Phoenix song on his iPhone which I thought was ‘meh’. I’m not much of a Phoenix fan. Last night when going to bed I turned the radio on and heard 10CC singing The Things We Do For Love.

I can’t say I was much of a Divinyls fan, but their singer Christina “Chrissy” Amphlett died after struggle with breast cancer and multiple sclerosis at age 53. And then after that came news that Richie Havens died this morning. I never saw Richie Havens and I remember getting a phone call from Julio while he was working at Maxwell’s telling me that Richie Havens was putting on an excellent show. I was too lazy in Weehawken to make it down to Hoboken.

I did work with his daughter Dahlia at Murdoch Magazines with Pedro and Harpy back in the 1980’s. She was a handful, and difficult to get along with sometimes. Some people doubted that she was Richie havens daughter but I believed her. Why else would someone say they were the daughter of Richie Havens if they weren’t?

Last night I dreamt that I had a Cadillac which I think was owned by the Crowley family, friends of my parents. It was parked in the parking lot of the VFW where my father was a member and I drove off in the Cadillac, past the Saddle Brook Diner where I slid while applying the brakes into the car in front of me. They didn’t stop so I guess it was alright. I was behind the other car in traffic on the bridge over the Saddle River which was surging underneath.



Sloppy (I Saw My Baby Gettin’)

Been working again at Maxwell’s. I’m enjoying it, fitting in more. Getting to know my co-workers. They seem to like me and I feel the same. Occasionally I play the geezer role, saying how certain bands were back in the day, or at least my perception of those bands.

Nirvana? Ugly, loud, looking like carnival workers. Smashing Pumpkins? Boring and annoying.
This is why a career in A&R would never work for me. I simply cannot pick ‘em.

Last night, Saturday was one of the strangest nights. Five bands, three of them related somehow. Bands usually get a free meal when they play Maxwell’s and sometimes the bands try to get their friends fed too. So some vigilance is required. A table for six became a table for eight, then a table for twelve. The situation was somewhat annoying but they were nice people. I, in geezer mode mentioned that the Pogues weren’t as difficult as these groups were.

And it was a sold out show.

A mixed crowd, all ages and I had never heard of any of these bands before. Two women, perhaps older than me came in for the show around 8:30. The band they wanted to see was playing at 10:30. I asked them if they wanted to eat first and they said they wanted to see the show and then eat. But once they knew the schedule that had changed and so I did a slight impromptu strip tease for them which they seemed to enjoy. They giggled and I sat them at a nearby table.

They behaved themselves. The same can’t be said of the two drunk couples, in one case the male could barely walk or finish a sentence. In the other case, the female could barely walk as her boyfriend held her hand like a leash, as she stumbled into other patrons trying to find where she was previously sitting. Of course both groups were cut off from any more drinking. This all happened in my last hour and I did see them out.

I spoke to the relatively sober half of each couple, the male’s girlfriend loudly stated that she called a taxi and asked if it was there yet. It wasn’t and I think she said that so I would leave her alone. I was only trying to make sure they were OK to get home safely. To the other couple, I asked the male if he’s taking care of his girlfriend, he’d better do more than just hold her hand.

He didn’t pay any mind to me and was holding her hand as she stumbled down the sidewalk about to hurl. Sloppy drunks.

I did reconnect with dear Andy Peters, former soundman at Maxwell’s and current soundman for the Feelies. Andy lives in Arizona and flies out to wherever the Feelies are playing since he is the only one they trust with their sound. They were supposed to be playing in Boston on Friday and since Boston was in lockdown, Andy went to Maxwell’s instead. Great to see him albeit fleetingly since everyone wanted a piece of him it seemed. No difference since I will see him again in a few months.

And then there was Brian Musikoff who I have orbited around for years without a proper introduction. Finally after years of nods and hand waving we chatted about our deceased pets, and specifically how I got to be John Ozed.

Hello Hialeah!

Straight men with bear beards. Nerds with piercings. Nerds with tattoos. Twenty something nerdy drunks.
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