bah lidge

Because apparently there was a problem with what the signs taped up all over said was their asshole neighbor, the concert did not happen on the rooftop as I had been kind of excited about. Instead, it was held in this hot loft space where the bands played on this elevated part of the room that is probably someone's bedroom. It was a neat setup and it felt good to see bands play in a party setting instead of the typical stage setup of every concert venue in the world, or at least, New York. There was tons of free booze and after a couple whisky and cokes, I started just asking for whiskey and they filled the cup up basically all the way. I drank two of those and then some wine, and not surprisingly by the end of the night, Ethan and I had decided we were going to have a band called Bah Lidge. And in true Bah Lidge fashion, I asked a couple of scared people if they wanted to be part of Team Bah Lidge.

And because of all those drinks and eventually seeing other people I knew and wanting to chat, the first band, which was pretty awful is the one who I most vividly remember. VAZ is two guys, one on guitar and vocals, the other on drums playing loud, loud, loud noise rock. My innards were vibrating along with the insanely heavy bass rhythms shaking me. I felt like such an old man and wished that I had had earplugs. I was so worried and paranoid that I was permenantly causing damage to my ears by listening to music so loud.

The next three bands from what I heard of them all sounded really good. Dirty on Purpose were the first of those and no one made any musical associations either during or after the set. No one to me, at least. Either Paul or Ethan, maybe even both - someone said that A Place to Bury Strangers sounded like Coldplay. We heard them from the staircase outside overlooking the skyline. I didn't think they sounded like Coldplay but have no other musical associations to make you understand what they really sounded like. Before Youth Group came on, I talked to this girl about them who was familiar with them and really excited to see them. She mentioned lots of bands that they sounded like, the only one I remember, probably because it was the only band she listed that I knew was My Bloody Valentine. Again, once I heard them, I didn't think the association was apt.

And then there was the closing act who most people I talked to did not know, whom I did not know, but whom I was told by a few sources, reliable ones, that they were awesome and put on an awesome show. I told lots of people what high praise I had heard about them and perhaps got lots of my friends' expectations excessively high. The Lovemakers were either a three or four piece band - I can't remember if there was a drummer. Either way it only seemed to be two of them that mattered, the two guitarists/singers/oversexed gyrators - a guy and a girl.

Now, I am not sure if they were good or what because I wasn't really listening. I was dancing so much with all the other people who had all started to dance for this band. I had a fun time but I think I am more into the earlier three bands, that with stage antics and being hypersexual, of course, you are going to please the crowd, but it's too easy. And yet, the two of us, no musical talents other than Ethan's laptop and no ability to sing whatsoever (um, have you ever heard me at karaoke? yeah.) are planning on a band that is also entertaining before being good musically.

After the show, I hiked to Morelos and ate a spicy pork burrito that was the most perfect kiss goodnight, that not even in sappy romantic daydreams, me being swept off my feet by that charming man, could I ever have even come close to hoping for. Call it a lack of imagination.