the king of clowns! or the end of an era.

betsy, with child

st louis, leave me alone. i am much too comfortable here. this life is too easy, i thought that my travel and tribulations of this summer were supposed to be all heartache and soul searching...so far, not so much. and here, not really at all. it is just simple living, as if i were 24 again and everyone liked me.

so, on with the good times. the other night alison and i met up with betsy, her husband, and her child to listen to jazz music at the botanical garden. it was a nice time. the music wasnt very good, it was packed in there, and our blanket reeked of dog. however, our olives and cheese were good, the company was top notch and the evening was pleasant. it was a nice way to begin an evening that promised extreme drunkeness and wild parties.

the whole plan, something that i had been looking forward to nonstop was a little thing called "penny pitchers." penny pitchers, as the name suggests, is an hour at a bar where you may purchase a pitcher of beer for one penny. i have done it before and have forget that night with great pleasure. i wanted to experience that again.

after the jazz concert we headed straight to the place where pp was supposed to commence at 9pm, however, the times have changed my friend. instead of 9, now pp starts at 11 and we didnt want to stay in a sparsley filled bar with folks glued to the ball game. we were out to party. so we pushed on toward our destination area after pp. that was back towards the atomic cowboy that we enjoyed on the first night or so i was here.

but we didnt go right there, because we had some time and this bar also didnt look very exciting yet. we walked on down the street to one of the numerous gay bars on this stretch of the city, and we entered. i havent been to many gay bars, but i always like it when i go to them, i think i will start going more often. i dont know what it is, but the atmosphere in the bars i have been too are generally different from bars where guys are trying to get real drunk to hook up with girls. also, all the guys chek me out and i like that.

we only had one drink there, but it stretched out for a bit and afterwards we walked back to the atomic cowboy. it had changed a bit since the first time we were there. the crowd was no longer dominated by yuppies, now it was rockabilly hipsters. the mma cage was gone and the dunk tank was empty. the bonfire had not yet been ignited. but there was a fair crowd pooling in here, the action for thie evening promised to be very entertaining: clownvis!

it was another hour or so before the act would begin, but the signs were looking good. there was a family sitting at a table that were all done up in rockabilly fashion, one of the acts in clownvis' variety show. there were some other clownlike people walking around, and there were burlesque dancers. when the music started coming up and people were getting excited, we went into the stage room and eagerly awaited this show.

the king of clowns!

first up was the duke of clowns. he came out as if he were clonvis and those that didnt know (like me) thought he was. he was okay, but more of a drunkard than a real good host. shortly after he came up and berated the crowd for a bit there was a commotion backstage, ominous music filled the room and the real clownvis thankfully stood up. i recorded his entry, and for those that have facebook, you can watch it here.

awesome. he broke into a song and then did some other variety type things. eventually he gave the stage to a burlesque dancer. after she danced, more clonivs antics, introducing his posse and what not, then another burlesque dancer. after another clownvis scene, he finally gave the stage to the nights musical act. i was anticipating this. the family of rockabilly folks came ondtage as a four piece called "mad max and the wild ones."

how fucking cute/awesome. the dad was the bass player, the oldest brother lead guitar. middle brother was on drums (he stole the show) and the youngest, maybe 8 years old, played rythym guitar, sang, and played harmonica. HOW FUCKING AWESOME! i moved my butt and enjoyed their set. however, it was way too short, only three songs plus an encore. but, after that the room was more energized and the rest of the show went pretty quick. pretty much the same format as before. i wish i had gotten more songs that clownvis did on video, but my camera doesnt take it very well and i was more into enjoying the moment than capturing it.

by the time to show ended it was past 1:am and we were tired, so we headed back toward the house. i stayed up a bit later on the computer, and then slept in the next day, which was also great! i made some biscuits and gravy in the morning, it turned out okay. i havent cooked in a long time (and i miss it), so i enjoyed the opportunity to get on the stove, but we were lacking in some ingredients and had just had to improvise and make do. the biscuits turned out salty and the gravy was a bit bland. oh well.

the green monkey

with our late start to the day, we then set off to the science center and then the zoo. mostly because all of these palces are free. the science center had some interesting things, but i was quickly getting tired of walking around and we cut the zoo short, we only made it about halfway through. then we went out for sushi and martinis! i dont think i have every really had a martini, they were half price so i went for it, i got one called the green monkey and the waitress made me make a monkey sound for it. it was real good.

we had planned to go to an outdoor movie this night projected on the side of a building, but once we got back to the house i wasnt really interested in leaving again. so, we just stayed in and watched a movie here. it was the longest movie ever, but it was nice to not have to be outside.

and now, i am just having a lazy day. i think i am putting off leaving becasue i like it here and i am nervous to start heading to chicago. there will be so many people to see there and i dont know how i will fit it all in or where to start. so instead of diving in i am holding back. but not for long. i will probably leave hear on saturday or sunday, we'll see.

this is the final day of this month, marking my 2.5 months of this adventure. it also opens the door to august, a month in which i will have many decision to make, also, the month i will edge closer to thirty, an age which i feel attuned to already, but numbers make a difference. shit.