Last night Josh and I pulled our “Late-20s-lying-around-always-tired-hard-working” asses off the couch and to a show. It’s really ridiculous that we don’t go out and see more. We live two blocks away from The Aggie and four from The Starlight…both decent places that bring in great bands. (Shit, I missed Ministry two weeks ago, MINISTRY).
We went to see the Ska is Dead Tour which featured: Catch 22, Mustard Plug, Big D & The Kids Table, and Suburban Legends. Big D came highly recommended by Ryan, and since he’s sequestered away in Seattle, Josh felt very passionate about getting him a t-shirt per his request. Now, the last time I saw a show at The Aggie it was Dick Dale & The Deltones, (infamous show where one of the guitarists asked if he could buy me a drink…yowza! Still got it!) The crowd was aging, wearing surfer inspired printed shirts, and the drinks were pricey. Last night, the drink were still pricey but the crowd was filled with good natured college kids, high schoolers, and the random, rebellious 8th grader. (It was actually kind of nice, once Josh and I got over the fact that we’re older than dirt). The crowd was small, the place intimate, and Josh got burned in the first five minutes by plopping down three perfectly good dollars for a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon–a CAN.
I recognized a kid from the ballet, and I do mean a kid, this girl is about 13…she actually came up to me, maybe to impress her friends, and asked if I ran the dance store in town. We chitchated about pointe shoes, dance classes, and her breaking the rules big time by attending the show, (Dad was picking her up in 20 minutes though, and she was pissed). Five minutes later another one of my students from the ballet strolled by, an older one this time, but still I hid from her…it was really wierd, even though I didn’t have a beer in my hand and I was with my husband, I felt like I was strangely ruining the Good Teacher image these kids have of me…either that or they thought I was some aging hipster attending this new form of music called SKA.
The show was rousing, each band played a healthy set, and the crowd loved them. At one point, the lead singer of Catch 22 had to sort of instruct the crowd on how to form a circuler mosh pit. Everyone was taking great care of each other, helping each other up when they fell down, etc. There’s a no-smoking ban in F.C. so the best part was not inhaling cigarrette smoke while listening to the band. A few people actually dressed up in suits and one guy had a bowtie, but overall it was extremely college casual. Suddenly I realized that this was the first Ska show I’ve ever attended where there weren’t skinheads lurking around. No wonder the pit was so nice!