Four o’clock. Better roll outta here if I’m gonna swing by the house and pick up Sharaun and still be back at work to grab Benz at five. Glad Wes agreed to cover my five o’clock call, that was nice of him. Truck’s gassed up, got a Death Cab mp3 comp for the ride, and Ben said he had the tickets: check, check, and check. Pick up Melissa downtown and we’ll be good to go. Man, I always love rolling into the driveway of the house we own, just always makes me happy.
On the road already. Surprised Sharaun got ready so quickly, I barely had time to scan in some pictures for a future blog article. “Sharaun, can you call Ben and tell him we’ll be at work to get him in a few minutes? Thanks.” I hope traffic isn’t that bad between here and San Fran, I really don’t wanna miss any of Nada Surf’s opening set. “Hey, one of you call Melissa and let her know we’re almost to her building.” No, I don’t care that I’m parked on the sidewalk. What?! OK, I’ll move into this alley. Sheesh, Sharaun is gettin’ on my nerves telling me where to park.
I hope Melissa was her usual diligent self and printed directions to the Fillmore. I know we were just there a couple weeks ago, but I never remember directions. If not, I’ll just work with Ben and combine our memory to get a general idea. Oh, you left the directions in your trunk on accident? That’s cool, I’m sure we’ll be able to find it, even tho I have no idea where to go.
I think it picks up after we merge off 5 onto 80, we’re just stopped because they’re metering. We should be cool. Where you guys wanna eat? Seriously? How can you not like Arbys? I thought everyone liked Arbys. OK, how about Taco Bell? Yeah! In-n-Out sounds good, there’s one off that exit in Davis. Damn, I don’t have any cash. Why don’t I ever have cash? I hate borrowing cash all the time. Sometimes I wish Sharaun would carry some. Owell, thanks for the loan. Number one or number two… hmm… “Lemme have a number one with grilled onions please. No, to go.” Bummer, I shoulda tried out that “animal style” thing Anthony was talking about. Owell. Why the crap is Ben’s burger taking so long?
Eating this burger and driving isn’t that bad, I thought it would be messier, I’m doing a pretty good job here. I know, I’ll just hold the fries and steering wheel at the same time, and hunch over to make sure I don’t drop one on my new Kiss shirt. What’s that? Is that a cop? Was that them talking? Loudspeaker: “If you’re gonna eat, you need to pull over. You can’t eat and drive.” Dang… OK, I’m done anyway. Glad they didn’t decide to be real jerks and pull me over, I was going like 10 over too. That was funny, sounded almost like it was coming from the song on the radio, weird.
Awww crap, the Bay Bridge is all taillights. I think it’s the stupid toll booth, they meter right after it. Crap, how do I get out of this FastTrak lane? Stupid dude, his fault if I almost hit him – creeping into my lane like that. Thanks for the $2 Ben. Yes babe, I know you have to pee – we’ll stop as soon as we’re over the bridge. Come to think of it, I really have to pee too. “What you think Ben, Harrison/Embarcadero or 9th St./Civic Center?” OK, I’m just gonna take Harrison. I am looking for Kearny. Pine, that sounds good – I’m going left on Pine. Kearny! This doesn’t look right… let’s go left on Columbus. I dunno.. I think there’s an SF map in the back pocket back there. Chevron, we can pee here. Melissa and Ben can figure out where we are while we go.
South on Kearny? OK no problem. Right on Geary, cool. There’s that AMC Kabuki – we’re getting close. Can’t miss that dang u-turn again, remember it’s impossible to get to going this direction. Thanks. We’re making good time, it’s only ten after eight. We should catch Nada Surf no problem since that ham-n-egger is opening. Is that a spot right there? Awesome! Ben, can you get out and direct me? How much room do I have. Sweet, that was an easy parallel.
It’s not really that cold, I wonder if I should take off the undershirt? Hold on while I shove this camera in my boxers. Wow, it’s not that uncomfortable… too bad it’s nestled between my jewels and a-hole. Owell. Wait hang on, I’m gonna have to readjust here… this thing wants to migrate… OK, cool. Sorry, no extras. They patting down? It’s just a bottle opener on my keychain – I’ve had it since 5th grade. “Hey Melissa, the ladies room is to the left.” I’m gonna hit the men’s room myself and do a camera extraction. Dude! That’s Nada Surf on right now! It’s only 8:20, wassup? The tickets say doors at 7!? Owell, that sucks – but at least we’re here. Guys, check it out! That’s Vanderslice over there… that guy is everywhere.
Man, the pictures are coming out all blurred. It’s the low light. Dang, they sound great – I always love the sound here, great acoustics. I’ll just set it on “auto” instead of “manual” low-light. Awesome! Much better. Hey, let’s press up to the stage now while people leave between sets. Awesome, this is a really good spot. I should be able to get some good pics from here.
Wow, Gibbard looks different than I remember. Holy crap they sound great. Yeah, that girl in the pink is cute. Lotta older stuff so far huh? Pictures seem to be coming out so/so depending on the stage lighting at the time. Oh, I’ll take a movie! Wow, this is awesome – seems to be picking up a lot more of the light, and I should be getting sound too. Why can’t I zoom while taking a movie? That kinda blows. Oh crap I haven’t cleared the memory card… running low. Deleting Halloween pictures that I’ve already saved. Awesome.
What a great set. Gibbard’s voice sounds excellent. A Cure cover?, that’s cool. That thing with his shoes was hilarious. Hope the encore lasts a while. Bob head, sing along, hold Sharaun’s hands and massage her shoulders. Good temperature in here, that fan feels good. My knees are getting tired. Great encore, these guys rock live. I really think they are one of my favorite modern bands, so creative. Cool poster, I love that you always get a poster from Fillmore shows.
No, I’ll just drive until I see a Bay Bridge sign. There’s one. Anyone need to pee? Shell station, OK. I dunno, tune the iTrip to 88.7 FM. That thing sucks, what’s up with the static? Forget it, let’s just listen to cd’s. They’re all scratched… I need to take better care of them, this sucks. Dang I’m getting tired. No Krispy Kreme tonight, I’m not even bringing it up. We have a chance to get in bed before 3am this time. Half a tank should be enough.
“See you guys later, drive careful.” Can’t wait to get in bed. 1:22am, not too bad. Not much worse than a regular late-night. The sheets are cold, I love that feeling. Your hands are freezing, like ice. Hey Keeper, how ya been? Sleepy.
“Had a good time tonight, you? Yeah, me too. I love you. Goodnight.”
Also written on this day...
- i know you're watching - 2009
- flying, early - 2008
- sometimes you just write - 2005
- fun run - 2004