Times New Viking Kicked Out My Sister

For my sister's birthday a while back, she and some friends decided to go to a Times New Viking show at Columbus' Cafe Bourbon Street. Their ulterior motive was to heckle TNV drummer Adam Elliott since he was now dating (read: stole) my sister's friend's girlfriend.

Elliott caught wind of their plan...or just saw them hanging out. So, he had management kick them out. My sister didn't even get one zinger in before being kicked to the curb. What a crummy birthday.

The Afghan Whigs Final Gig

I was there when the Afghan Whigs took the stage for the final time. The show was in their hometown of Cincinnati at Bogart's. They opened with "The Boys Are Back in Town". The rest is history.

Hey, isn't that Dave Berman?

Some friends took a road trip down to Nashville. One night at a typical Nashville joint, they saw this guy who resembled Dave Berman of the Silver Jews. Both friends were big fans of his music as well as his book of poetry.

"Hey, isn't that Dave Berman?"

Sure enough, it was Dave Berman. They hung out with Berman for the rest of the night.

When the bars closed, Berman invited the friends to join him at his place where he had some coke. Neither friend had ever tried coke, but they could not resist the opportunity to snort coke with one of their idols.

While hanging out and doing drugs, Berman's wife came out to complain about all the noise. She had been sleeping until the party moved to her home. The couple had a shouting match. The friends were beside themselves.

Later that same year, Berman had a breakdown and nearly committed suicide. He then found Judaism and has seemingly recovered from his addictions.

Will Oldham

I nearly missed my chance to appreciate Will Oldham...twice.

Palace Songs played a Lollapalooza second stage once. I don't even remember which year. Either way, I didn't pay attention.

The next time happened when I went to Stache's to see the opening band, Run On. I had seen Run On before in an opening slot for Yo La Tengo. They were really good.

Will Oldham came out with an acoustic guitar and some cheap keyboards that he laid on the floor around him. The audience actually sat on the floor. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Who knows what lay on that floor.

It was sort of slow and this woman was picking me up, probably the first and last time that ever happened. So, we left for the Blue Danube across the street.

A few years later, I paid attention when Will Oldham returned as Bonnie "Prince" Billy. He played with Chavez's Matt Sweeney for the Superwolf tour. I'm glad I caught him this time.

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My sister had a friend/roommate who used to work a Starbuck's in Columbus. One day, a Jetta pulled up with a mountain bike strapped to the trunk. The driver entered the coffee shop. My sister's friend made his latte and Will Oldham drove off.

Columbus Is a Douche Bag

I saw Built to Spill for the first time at Little Brothers in Columbus. Between songs, Doug Martsch suggested that he might share some excerpts from the book he was reading, Lies My Teacher Told Me. He was particularly intrigued by the entries about Christopher Columbus, since they were set to play the city by the same name.

He proceeded to share an excerpt from a journal kept by one of Columbus' crew members. He read, "Columbus is a douche bag."

Built to Spill then continued their stellar set.

The Walkmen and The Sun at Detroit's Magic Stick

The first time I saw The Walkmen was in Detroit. My sister and her then-boyfriend convinced me to take a road trip with them to see a band with which I was only mildly familiar. I had one half of the band's debut, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone, in the black LP sleeve. I'd later buy the other half that night and the entire CD a few days later.

We listened to The Walkmen and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the way up to Detroit Rock City. I fell in love with both bands. It also occurred to me that The Walkmen were responsible for that song on the Saturn ad.

The Magic Stick is attached to a theater by the name of Majestic and above a bowling alley/diner. The Stick contained billiard tables, a large dance floor, and a wide-yet-short stage.

The opening band was interesting. They fancied themselves rather dynamic, but their best song was a cover of that same Saturn ad song, "We've Been Had".

The second band was The Sun (or "Sun" according to a flier). This is only remarkable because The Sun are from Columbus. I had always managed to miss their sets while opening for nearly every major act that had passed through Columbus over the past year. They were considered to be the first major rock band to come out of Columbus since, well, ever. It was ironic that the first time I saw them was by accident and four hours away. The Sun were good. It's too bad that their full-length, major-label debut was released as a DVD of videos.

The Walkmen then came on and blew us away. They were all over the stage, swaggering and smiling their songs of break-ups, too much drinking, and fading hipster identities. The guitar work was acidic and the percussion rattled our bones. It amazed me that Hamilton could even speak, let alone sing after screaming every song.

An interest in a band was born out of that night that has not yet subsided. I always like shows that win my admiration for a band. This was one such night.

Chavez, Blonde Redhead, and the dude my girlfriend left me for

I once saw Blonde Redhead at Stache's in Columbus. They were really great. It was way more punk rock-like than their most recent release, 23.

The best part was that they opened up for incredible Chavez. The drummer for Chavez was maybe the most amazing being behind I kit I've ever seen.

The worst part is that the guy my girlfriend left me for was there. He actually picked up our tickets. She hung out with him while I stood up front.

Man, that guy could smack that shit out of those skins.