My Mumbling Thoughts

It's monsoon season here in Northern VA, which kind of put a damper on our concert day. No pun intended. Mel and I took yesterday off so we could trekk it into downtown DC to watch We Are Scientists do what they do so beautifully.

We met up with Mendy around 5:30 at her house and made our way over to Applebee's where we sat next to a couple who couldn't keep their hands off of each other that we're more than positive that Mel is pregnant simply through osmosis. It was good to be out but at the same time the three of us were kind of just sluggish. With all of the rain and long hours at work that we've all been putting in it would have been nice to just curl up under the covers and watch Footballers Wives. Mendy was certainly a trooper since she didn't know any of the bands and was being a brave driver after she had gotten into an accident while in the rain.

It didn't take us that long to find the Black Cat and parking didn't suck so much that we wanted to scream. It was one nice, swift, fluid motion we all made to get to the front door. I gathered our tickets, we hit the loo's and then weaved our way through the bodies to find the end of the line where we waited for the doors to open up.

Eventually people began to move forward and we were ushered upstairs where we made ourselves comfortable on the right hand of the stage. If it wasn't for these three prepubescent twits we could have sat on the edge of the stage and gave our legs a rest but they probably didn't stop by the bathrooms first and got a closer spot in line. For some reason it felt like we had been standing for an eternity and by the end of the night I would have completely lost all ability to walk.

While we waited for the show to start, Mendy and I pointed out that we were officially old and didn't understand young kids these days. The outfits they wear, the lingo they come up with and my god! the things they do. It was in this moment when I noticed a young girl (I'm guessing she had to be twelve) standing off to the left side of me was wearing braces and had zero body fat. The first thing that came to mind was, "where are your parents?" and "isn't it past her bedtime?" I kissed my youth goodbye and made a mental note to buy some baggy floral dresses the next time I went shopping.

Au Revoir Simone were the first to grace the stage. The three tall Canadians with long brown hair and bangs that kept sweeping across their eyes were keyboard rocking queens. Sure it was kind of out there, and okay maybe it made me feel like I should be running in a meadow with a daisy crown on top of my head, but I dug 'em. They were different, unique and the lyrics sounded awesome. It was nice to be able to actually understand what they were saying. They also apparently had a rough time trying to wade in through all of the rivers that were created through our poor drainage system, so major kudos for them hiking up their rain boots and performing for us.

The Double set up after Au Revoir Simone ended with extra bouncing and hair flipping (there are only so many moves one can do while rocking out on a keyboard). The band set up their own equipment and I spotted the yummy keyboardist who had hair with a mind of it's own and smoked while he made sure that his keyboards played the right sounds for him. That's always been hot to me; watching a musician set up his instrument while smoking...grrr baby.

Anyway, after I got over ogling the cute keyboardist, I got down to business and jammed out while they performed. It was awesome even though the lead singer was kind of muffled and I didn't have a fucking clue as to what he was saying. I couldn't even take a guess it was that slurred. But(!) it did sound really good. He reminded me of Morrissey, that is if Morrissey had a second cousin who lived in New York. Still, they were brilliant and Mendy liked them so much that she bought one of their CDs. I'd recommend them too. They'd be good to curl up and snuggle with at night like a fuzzy bear.

Finally after The Double were finished cranking out their music for us, I squeezed my way up to the front of the stage, hopped up to give my legs a rest and then shared a fag with Mendy. Man, that was nice. It didn't take the people that long to set up for We Are Scientists and I was really excited once they made it on stage. Keith appeared to be slightly tipsy but that was a-okay. He rocked out and proved that he should be the world's number 1 vegan in the world, not the third. Chris was a great commentator for us all and Michael hung out in the back on drums and made Mendy swoon in the knees. They sounded amazing and even did some funny jokes during the song breaks. Some random chick came up on stage during one of the songs and was a major distraction in a very negative way. Thankfully she was removed.

Once all was said and done they peaced out and we headed to the Merch table where Au Revoir and The Double were selling t-shirts, CDs and other band things. I told one guitarist of The Double that I thought they were brilliant and asked if the t-shirt I was going to buy would shrink in the dryer. He said it would and recommended that I got a size small instead of extra small. I thought that was very thoughtful.

We found the car, drove Mendy back home while rocking out to People In Planes and then drove ourselves back home with the indecisive rain that was on and off (and very annoying).

And that, ladies and gentlemen, would be the end of our concert experience.

It was really fun and I preferred being in a more intimate setting like the Black Cat. It's a nice place to go watch all of the "unknowns" and things are so chill. I have a sneaky feeling though that We Are Scientists are going to blow up soon and then I'll have lost another one to the masses. Sure I love it whenever a band I know and love gets more recognition, but at the same time it's kind of like I lose a best friend who was so close to me. Let's face it people, I'm a jealous bitch who loves to keep everything dear and precious to me attached to my hip. That's just the way I am. After a while though, I adjust and so long as they don't become sell outs who only sing to the groupies who somehow manage to get up on stage and dance like a five-year-old kindergartner who seriously need support on the upper hemisphere of their body, then I'm okay. It's all about spreading love and joy of music.