slow teeth = hot nights

so, last night was one of the stranger nights of this trip. the strangest, surely, involves my adventures through sioux city; amarillo, however did bring its own bag of tricks to the game. on the last leg of my trip i am only trying to go to places that have something specific for me. amarillo is such a place. some people that i am friends with in portland have a band called slow teeth and they are on tour, last night they played amarillo.

my plan, and it was a good one - i thought - was to surprise them. there is no reason i should be in amarillo and they certainly wouldnt have any idea that i was going to be there, so i waited for them to arrive. around 8:pm or so, i was sitting in my truck reading and waiting when a minivan pulled next to me and turned around, i stared into the window and knew that it was my friend brenna. i must've looked a bit creepy, and she didnt recognize it as me. so i finished up my chapter and went down to the golden light cantina to meet them.

this turned out to be a much harder thing than i was prepared for. i walked towards the show space and lurked around back, trying to make sure that the van i saw was actually from oregon and actually carrying my friends. once i discerned this fact i should have just announced myself and gave some hugs to greet my friends, but i got caught up on the presentation. they were milling about in front of the space about a half block from where i was, if i walked down this concrete path to them i would surely be spotted before i arrived to their group, and i didnt want that. what, there could have been some awkwardness, do you notice the people you know and run to them or continue to walk slow with a smile on your face, what if they are in the middle of some serious conversation and my arrival is less than what i had planned. these are the things i think about and i understand that they are irrational and somewhat creepy.

eventually, after peering around corners for a good five minutes, i figured out the best plan of arrival. i went around back and came into the back door of the space so i could then walk out the front door and be directly upon them. and, fortunately, this worked out rather well. brenna noticed me halfway through the bar and came inside to give me a hug and be surprised that i was also here in amarillo. we talked for a little bit, then she introduced me to the band people that i didnt know. i was curious, becuase there was a person missing. my friend rachel who plays the clarinet and the saw in the band was no where to be seen. i inquired about her absence and was informed that she ditched the tour back in california because she had to work! how dumb!

but she will rejoin it in the midwest. then we sat in the place for a little bit before going next door to the restaurant portion of the space where the band received free food. i had recently eaten and wasnt hungry, but we sat there for awhile, getting to know everyone and catching up, telling road stories and just having a real good time. it was the happiest i had felt since i was in chicago. (this doesnt take anything away from my friends in alton or dallas, but - and heres the thing - this reunion is my return to portland in a microcosm. all the fear i feel for coming back to my old friends was captured in this little moment and it all

welcome to my home, friends.

turned out well, the people that used to like me still end up liking me and the people that never knew me also end up liking me...a confidence boost.)

there was still a good bit of time before they had to start the show so we went back to my truck. and this was one of the best things. i had some whiskey in there (that i had bought oh so long ago in salem, mass) and they wanted to drink it. i figured we would just go back and stand outside the truck pulling off of this bottle, but one of them asked if we could all get in. there has never been more than two bodies inside the back of the truck, but i was down for this. so they starting to crawl in and i got in last, then i got out my christmas present from my dad - a very powerful flashlight that has three heads and wowed my visitors with its luminance. we all fit in there okay, and just drank whiskey and talked at my house. it was pretty awesome.

this didnt last very long though, we went back to the bar to hang out with some of the kids that helped book their show. jojo, erick, jimmy, jackie, and us all played some hot dice for a little bit. i had never played before and it took a bit to understand the rules. before we could all get the game and get into it the time had crept up for slow teeth to start setting up and be ready to play. the band got free drinks and brenna was nice enough to continue going up to the bar to get drinks for me so i could drink for free also. then they set up the merch table and just sort of waited for the crowd to fill in.

during this time they learned that the second band, mag seven, had canceled. but jojo did some quick footwork and got the local band "starkiller" to come and play after slow teeth. the bouncer went around and collected money from everyone and it became like a real show. i would later learn that this was the first show on their tour that was not a house show, and soon they began playing to the semi full house.

hello, doppelganger.

but! and you had to know i wouldnt get there this quickly. shortly before they played it was $1 pitcher hour and i bought a couple pitchers of beer to share, while i was doing this brenna met a local person. this guy went by the name of george. george and i have a history. by this time i had been in amarillo for about 30 hours, in that time - all earlier in this day - i had been mistaken three different times for this george person. once walking down the street, once in the coffee shop, and once when i was lurking around the corner spying on the band. brenna met him and then introduced the two of us as doppelgangers.

this was nice, everything was falling into place in amarillo. i was with an old friend, and made a bunch of new ones pretty quickly. i talked to george for a bit and then slow teeth got up to start playing. i went up to the stage area so i could take some video of their performance. they played acoustic and this bar was about half-full and a bit loud. so they invited people to come close to the stage and played their set. i recorded five of the eight or nine songs that they played. you couldnt hear them very well too far from the stage, this venue certainly wasnt the best for the way

slow teeth!

they place music, but they got about twenty people crowding up to the stage. and the people were really enjoying the music, it was certainly not something they were used too and the change of pace was appreciated. also, we were all spotted in amarillo!

after they finished they sold a number of cds and other merch and it was a pretty successful show - to my standards and i have no knowledge of what makes a show successful. then the next band, 'starkiller' set up to play. they couldnt have been more opposite from slow teeth, it was amazing - and not in a very good way, i would call them screamo pop rock. we sat through their set and it was okay, the best part was the video i was able to take of their merch guy rocking out to them!

and shortly after they finished up the show was over and people were looking for what to do next. brenna and the band were going over to jojo's house, thats where they were sleeping and a number of other people were heading that way too. it was late and i was up, i tagged along. we went to the apartment of erick, jimmy and jackie - just across the street from jojo's. and this was where the night started to get a bit strange. i have a sneaking suspicion that all of these amarillo kids are just 17 years old, they all look very young, and they had been doing shots from a handle of vodka all night long. there was about two fifths left in the bottle by the time we got back to the apartment.

the penny-farthing experience

it was a messy place, and i was unclear whose it actually was, but that was quickly sorted out. and then i saw it. the dream of my life, the thing that i have always wanted was just in front of my eyes. and i had to have it, for if not now, when? i had never been this close to the object of my desire and all i needed to do was perform a small repair. this, i think, is the first time on this trip i have utilized the leatherman that is attached to my belt for its proper purpose. but i picked that pedal up off the floor and amatuerishly threaded it back into the arm. and then it was fixed and i carried the penny-farthing down the steps to eternal glory!

this monster was certainly hard to get up on, but i used some knowledge of riding a tall bike to get up on it - i propped it against a light pole. once on it, going was another hard thing. my first attempt resulted in making it about six inches before falling over and twisting my ankle. lubricated with liquor, however, the pain was minimal. i got right back up to tame the beast. this time, i had robby give me a push off and there i was! living the fucking dream, in amarillo texas riding a penny-farthing for the first time down the dark streets. it was sweet bliss, and then i fell off again. but i was satisfied with my glory.

robby forever jumped on next and was much better at it than i was, it was fun to watch him guide it better - until he almost crashed into a car and then fell off! next brenna gave it the old try. hers was much like my first try, she got on, got the push, and then about six seconds later she was on the ground with her leg twisted in the bike. that was a pretty good fall she did, and she was satisfied with her moderate success. robby gave it another go and this time performed the

she is okay, dont worry.

proper dismounting procedure and we called our penny-farthing experience and carted it back up the steps. jimmy, thank you for making this happen for us!

but then we were back up in the small dirty apartment with the very young people who were very drunk. by this time two of the very young girls, jackie and erick had locked themselves in the bedroom with the vodka and were arguing or something. we went outside and smoked cigarettes, then came back and everyone was milling about in the bedroom just hanging out. the night went on like this for a bit until the band said they were heading with jojo back to his place to sleep. i had recently acquired a glass of franzia and decided to hang out in this place with these people until i was done with it.

the right choice? maybe not, but it was the choice i made and i cant go back on it now. i spent the next half hour or so trying to get jimmy into a dress and then he got yelled at and reduced to tears by one of the very young girls. so i shifted from badgering him to put on a dress to trying to cheer him up. to the room of three or four people, including jimmy, i sang "lets go fly a kite" from the marry poppins soundtrack - this received a few laughs (especially when i didnt stop after the first verse) but no applause. then i sang another song, but i dont recall what it was, i was just trying to cheer these folks up. and, i was in my most carefree attitude where i feel as if nothing bad can happen to me or go wrong, everything i say (no matter how scathing or ridiculous or just mean) seems to be taken the right way.

so i was having a good time, but then there was another drama freak out in the bedroom and jimmy was sad again, and i had to get out of there. i said my thanks and farewells and went out to my truck to call it a night. this was around 2 in the morning. i was drunk, and ready to sleep it off for a long time. but then there was a knocking at my door. it felt like only minutes after i had curled up to rest, but it had been a couple of hours. outside my truck was brenna and robby letting me know they just got kicked out of jojo's apartment.

i rustled myself up and opened the back door. this was not what i wanted to hear. apparently jojo's girlfriend came home and was pissed. she kicked everyone out, including jojo, and instead of staying longer brenna said they were just going to leave for oklahoma city. it was 5 in the morning. so much for brunch when we all awoke! i said bye to them and closed the door and started to try to go back to sleep. however, this was not easy. jojo, the ex-boxer, was pounding on his door. it sounded like he was going to break it down, and he was yelling.

"let me in, you bitch" "this is my house too" "open the fucking door"

and other things of this nature, these words were chorused with heavy pounding, some kicking and a few screams. i had a hard time trying to fall back asleep. part of me thought that i should remain somewhat conscious in the event he did break the door down and try to harm his lady friend, another part of me knew that i was mostly naked and still drunk and i dont have a good track record going against people looking for a fight. eventually i got back to sleep and woke to the amarillo sunshine, not feeling the best. but i dressed and peeled out of there quickly, i just wanted to be done in this town. and soon enough, this desire will be realized and i will head west on highway 40 inching ever closer to my future.