Bright Eyes and the Drunk Kids Catholic

My brother and sister went with some friends to see Bright Eyes at the historic Southgate House in Newport, KY. After a stirring performance, Conor Oberst came back on the stage with an acoustic guitar to perform an encore.

One of the friends who accompanied my siblings was this guy Andy. Andy, as is typical for him on a night out, had many, many drinks. As I'm sure many of you are aware that alcohol is really just social lubricant that releases drinkers from the chains of inhibition. Of course, Andy doesn't need much help at shedding his inhibitions, but he was rather juiced this particular night.

Like what happens whenever an artist comes out for an encore, fans scream for their favorite songs. Apparently, Andy's favorite Bright Eyes' track is "Drunk Kid Catholic" and he asked Oberst to play it. And he asked. And he hollered. This continued through Oberst's first song of the encore.

Finally, Oberst had had enough (wine and Andy's request) and stormed off stage.

Fast forward about six months later at Detroit's St. Andrews Hall. It was my brother Nate's birthday and several of us met at this show to celebrate.

Nate started the night off by ordering a beer. I ordered right next to him. I was a little put off that the beers were so expensive that all I got back was a quarter, so I turned around without leaving a tip. The bartender saw the quarter and thought Nate had left a quarter tip (which he had actually left nothing, but that's besides the point) and threw the quarter at Nate's head. Needless to say, Nate had to be careful which bartender to approach for the rest of the evening.

Eventually Bright Eyes filled the stage and put on a decent show. Nate and our friend CJ decided to honor Andy by hollering for "Drunk Kid Catholic" throughout the set...or at least once they got drunk enough to not care anymore.

Once they got bored with this request, instead of screaming for another BE song, they altered the title by replacing "Catholic" with any religion they could think of. Drunk Kid Mennonite. Drunk Kid Baptist. Drunk Kid Muslim.

Between requests, Nate and CJ were buying each other drinks at an alarming pace. Finally, the bar refused to serve either one. So, I bought them drinks.

The night ended with Nate pushing the issue further by arguing with the same bartender that tossed the quarter at him earlier. On our way out, Nate condemned Detroit and all its occupants.

I later gave Nate an MC5 record I purchased that day in Ann Arbor. Happy birthday...you drunk kid Agnostic.

Eric Judy Needs a Job

A friend of a friend has lived in Seattle since graduating from college at the turn of the century. Being the hipster she is, she has worked all the cool jobs in Seattle, including bar tender, florist (at Pike's Place), and coffee shop manager. It was this last job that allowed her an opportunity to meet Eric Judy of Modest Mouse.

On a typically rainy day, Judy walked up to the counter and asked for the manager. My friend recognized Judy right away and was slightly star-struck. Judy proceeded to ask her for a job.

It seems that Modest Mouse was on hiatus and it was unclear if they were ever going to get back together again. Isaac Brock was as unstable as ever and drummer Jeremiah Green was playing with the band Satisfact. Judy had kids to feed.

My friend bought him a coffee and sat down to chat. She basically talked him out of applying for a job because he was Eric Judy of Modest Mouse. Judy took her advice and left.

Within a year of his job hunt, Judy and the other members of Modest Mouse recorded Good People Who Love Bad News.

My Sister's Liquid Courage and Stephen Malkmus

Stephen Malkmus and his Jicks were set to play Little Borther's. I arrived between the opener and Malkmus' set to find my sister three sheets to the wind and boasting of a conversation with SM.

She gathered up enough courage (ie a few beers) to strike up a conversation with SM. She told him how much Pavement had meant to her since she was 13 or 14. She bragged about attending their last American show (at Cincinnati's Bogart's). SM finally got a word in and mentioned that former Pavement percussionist/hype man/Moog-beater Bob Nastanovich was at the show, selling t-shirts.

Bob, aka Nasty, was happy to chat with a Pavement fan. Nasty now lives in Louisville across the street from Churchill Downs. My sister proceeded to tell him how our family used to go down to Louisville every year for a big sheep show. She compared al sorts of insights about sheep with Bob's knowledge of horses. This impressed Nasty and SM.

Career Advice from Bob Pollard

The first time I ever saw Guided by Voices was on the second stage at Lollapalooza in 1994. They were supporting Bee Thousand which should be on every one's top-ten of all-time, no excuses.

After GBV put on an electric set in the hot, summer sun, Bob ended up hanging out at the second stage's merch booth. The drunkard of an indie rock genius struck up a conversation with my brother. Nate told Bob that he was heading to Wright State (Bob's alma mater) in the fall to major in elementary education (again, Bob's major). Pollard proceeded to tell my brother what a great profession teaching was. Of course, just as Bob had, Nate eventually gave up this dream and now plays in bands in Dayton.

I didn't get to meet Bob Pollard. Instead, I met Adam Duritz of Counting Crows just before he leaped into the mosh pit for the Flaming Lips set on the second stage.

The Six Degrees of Sub Pop

My uncle grew up with a friend named John. My mom even dated John's brother once. The boys eventually went their separate ways to college. My uncle attended Kenyon (I believe) and John traveled out west to Evergreen State in Washington.

Eventually, John invited my uncle to join him in the Pacific Northwest.

It was the eighties and there was a thriving music scene developing in this part of the country. Besides the local acts, my uncle got the chance to see bands like Black Flag and The Replacements. However, my uncle succumbed to a few demons and had to return to Ohio.

Whatever happened to John? Well, his full name is John Poneman. He joined Bruce Pavitt in establishing the record label Sub Pop. Sub Pop would later gain fame during the grunge era with releases by Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, and others.

Ben Folds Noticed My T-Shirt

I took my sister to see Ben Folds Five at Bogart's in Cincinnati. We ate at the Mediteranean restaurant a few doors down. Ben Folds and a friend walked in to eat just on the other side of the restaurant. My sister was frozen with anxiety.

I decided to go to the restroom to get a better look. As I walked past, Ben said to his dinner-mate, "Hey, that guy is wearing an Archers of Loaf t-shirt." And I was.

This Guy, Lee Ranaldo, and Archers of Loaf

The night after the lady licked my ear clean at the Guided By Voices show in Dayton, I decided to brave yet another GBV show, only this time in Columbus.

I was driving with my friend John and a couple of his buddies.

One of John's friends - let's call him "Steve" since I don't remember his real name - heard me mention Archers of Loaf and had a story to tell.

Steve went to school somewhere in North Carolina. He drove over to Chapel Hill one night to catch Archers of Loaf in their hometown. As an added bonus, Steve met Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth outside of the venue.

Steve and Lee struck up a somewhat friendly conversation. Then, Lee wanted to go in before Archers of Loaf began their set, so he went around to the back entrance, as rock stars tend to do, and said he'd meet Steve inside.

Steve started to walk up to the front entrance when he noticed two concert-goers being turned away because they were not 21. Steve, who was 20 at the time, didn't know what to do. He really wanted to see Archers of Loaf and wanted to continue his conversation with Lee, but now he was unable to enter the venue.

A few minutes later, Ranaldo comes out looking for Steve. Steve tells him the situation. Lee offers Steve his ID and says he'll meet him inside.

Steve promptly walked up to the doorman and handed him his ticket and Lee's ID. The doorman looked skeptically at the ID, at Steve, and then back at the ID. He asked Steve what year he was born.

Who really knows how old Lee Ranaldo is? Steve apparently did not. He guessed something like 1962 (Lee was born in 1956) and was turned away as the doorman kept Lee's ID.

Steve eventually got in the back door with Lee's help, but the only thing he could remember from that Archers of Loaf show was his encounter with Lee Ranaldo.

My Shoulder Helped Mike Watt

I went to see Mike Watt once at Stache's in Columbus. Nels Cline played in his band that night and did not seem out of place. Mike used my shoulder to get on stage and said, "Thanks, buddy."