Me and my drum
December 20, 2007
Two shows at the Roseland Theater in one week. Not bad, considering that before those two shows I think I’ve been to one whole show in all of 2007. The first show was David Gray and Collective Soul last Friday night. That was a particularly interesting concert, musically and for, shall we say, other reasons. Let me back up a bit, though.
Friday was also the day of my Holiday Party for the firm, and so after a half-day we got off early and went to a B & B in NE called Portland’s White House, where we had appetizers, drinks, a nice fondue lunch, and the White Elephant gift exchange. The limit was $15, so instead of going for a gift card I contributed a bottle of my Christmas beer, which I hope was well-received. I got a butter dish for my gift, though since I won one of the fondue pots in a raffle, I think I came out ahead in the end. This was a very different party than last year’s shindig for my old firm. For starters, this much much less formal and for employees only, which created a nice atmosphere of camaraderie even if we excluded non-employees in the process. We also got free booze, which while not a deal-breaker, was very nice. My old firm made us buy drinks last year, from $8 glasses of Columbia Crest wine (I could buy a bottle of Columbia Crest wine for $8) to $5 bottles of beer. It was cheaper to go to the hotel’s bar, buy a drink, and carry it back in. Ridiculous, but I understand the firm’s concern about providing alcohol.
In any case, I ended up drinking a couple of beers and a fair amount of wine. Then there was an after-party. Then Hanne and I went to dinner at the Green Dragon. All in all, I had a lot of alcohol that evening, and I probably didn’t need to finish the beer at the Green Dragon. I probably didn’t need the second beer at the after party. I probably didn’t need the first, truth be told, but it was one of those days.
So there we were at the Roseland. I have no shame in admitting that I was relatively drunk by then, though not the staggering around, slurring speech drunk. Just very, very content and silly and thankful I wasn’t in a position where I needed to drive anywhere. Needless to say, I drank nothing at the Roseland.
The concert was a KINK benefit concert with about five acts performing over the course of the night, and we arrived just as someone was finishing up. Then someone who’s name escapes me (and Hanne must have told me several times, but what can I say? I wasn’t exactly paying attention to much by then) came on and did a set, then David Gray came on and performed three songs. The night was going pretty quickly, though I was standing there watching the bands play and trying not to let my head spin too much. The heat and the crowd weren’t helping, either.
By the time Collective Soul was about to come on, Hanne turned to me and said she wasn’t feeling well. Something about the crowds, and the heat, and the lights. When Hanne and I saw Air at the Crystal Ballroom earlier in the year, she abruptly left in the middle of the show to go sit down away from the crowds because she said she needed some air, and I chalked it up to the same sort of environment. When she said she felt similar to how she did at Air, I didn’t exactly ignore her warnings…but I was too focused on one of my favorite bands about ready to take the stage. I wasn’t feeling too hot myself, but I was under the chemical influence of alcohol moreso than Hanne and her two beers. I just told her not to lock her knees.
The lights dimmed, the crowd cheered, Collective Soul walked out…and Hanne fainted. I keep joking that she swooned at the sight of the band, but in truth, she dropped like a rock when her knees just buckled under her. I had largely sobered up during the break between David Gray and Collective Soul (no spinning head anymore, at least), so I had the faculties to catch her by the armpits before she hit the ground, but I still had to practically drag her off the floor. “Floor” being the area in front of the stage, not the actual ground we were standing on.
I haven’t seen someone faint since my choir days, and I’d forgotten how sudden it is. She became aware of her environment enough to point at her purse she’d dropped as we were walking off the floor, but I’d imagine she was pretty woozy. She went downstairs and sat down away from people for awhile, and I watched Collective Soul play a few numbers. After about 20 minutes or so, though, I started feeling guilty that I was upstairs watching the band and Hanne was sitting by herself downstairs, and despite Hanne’s assurance that she was fine and I should go watch the band, I convinced her that we should leave so she could go home and get some rest.
Yes, I’m proud to say that I sacrificed seeing one of my favorite bands for the well-being of my girlfriend, and if I had to do it all again, I’d do it the same way. Well, probably without those last few beers, though. It was an easy choice, what can I say?
So as I said, it was a particularly interesting and somewhat surreal concert. Last night’s show wasn’t nearly as surreal, but I did stay through the whole show. On the marquee was The Dandy Warhols, a band that despite my living in Portland and loving that sort of music, I didn’t “discover” until a couple of years ago. I was a pretty big bonehead for not knowing their music before, even if I did know who the band was. I was really excited to go to this concert with Hanne until she told me she had a final that night. I asked my friend Kat, instead, and we had a great time.
They had two openers, one band called The Upsidedown that had some real talent with guitars and backing (they reminded me of the Dandys, actually), but no real vocal talent. Bummer. I think I might seek out their music, though, as it was good enough that I could probably ignore the vocals or turn the treble way down. The second opener looked like a bunch of kids that had just stepped out of one of their mothers’ basement.
And The Dandy Warhols? Well they just plain rocked. Kat and I sat in the balcony (in the 21 and over section) and were abel to look down at all the teenagers making idiots of themselves, high-fiving each other and even a couple of wannabe crowd surfers and stage divers. What a great concert, though. They played a lot of older stuff, some stuff off a forthcoming album, and they closed with a great “Dandyfied” version of Little Drummer Boy. I got outside just in time to catch the third to last bus of the evening, and the second to last wasn’t going to come for another hour. Yay, no taxi for me!
Today and tomorrow and going to be nice days. The weather, no so much–it’s pretty grey and icky out–but I’m going for a run during lunch today, then Hanne and I are meeting my Dad, my Gramma, Heather, and her friend Jane at the Green Dragon after work. Tomorrow is the 2007 Epic Ale release party at Roots Brewing, and then Heather and Jane are coming to my apartment for some homebrew and some grub.
And this weekend? Well, Hanne’s last final is this afternoon, so the sky is pretty much the limit. I, on the other hand, have to do my Christmas shopping, so my four day weekend isn’t all cake and candies. Until I get that done, I can’t sit back and relax with a satisfying “Ahhhhhhhhh.
Now I have “Little Drummer Boy” stuck in my head. Natch.
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