Sinister: philadelphia debacle

[Goon Koch]

dear friends,

i'm here to share a little bit about what happened in philly and how it 
was terribly sad, but not a complete disaster.  for me, anyway.  forgive 
me if this is not too coherent.  i'm valiantly trying to finish off all 
the beers left in my cooler . . .

first off, i'm very grateful that i only had to drive about an hour to 
the troc.  my heart really goes out to all of you who embarked on the 
pilgrimage from distant parts.

cinerama were ok.  they were still soundchecking when the doors opened 
and it was a sorry sight to see, somehow.  for the first time ever i 
looked up at the stage and said to myself "these guys are too old to be 
doing this."  but david can still unleash the occasional weddoes 
triple-time riff.  occasionally.  that's really all i expect from an 
opener, not to mention a band doing its second gig ever.

ok, so cinerama wraps up at nine forty-five, or therabouts.  belle and 
sebastian's stuff is set up and we wait.  this is expected.  i tremble 
with anticipppppation.  there are some sloppy-drunk assholes at one end 
of the balcony.  one of them pours beer over his head.  what a genius.  
at the other end are two guys in pressed shirts with yuppie beards that 
i saw cutting in line earlier.  one of them rises, leans over the 
balcony and points demonstratively at his watch.  i have the very 
un-cardie impulse to disfigure him permanently.

at about ten twenty, a bespectacled unruly-haired, lanky gentleman with 
scottish accent says something to the effect of "a band member has taken 
ill and has been taken to the hospital.  as we speak, the band is trying 
to figure something out."

i'm thinking, "there were those who said isobel did not look well in 
boston.  shit.  what's to figure out?  either they play without her, or 
they don't play at all.  oh shit."

in retrospect, the band was probably trying to resolve contractual 
issues.

at about ten fifty, chris geddes strides onto the stage and stands at 
the center microphone.  his announcement:  "isobel is ill.  she's in the 
hospital.  we were hoping she would return in time to do the gig, but 
she couldn't make it.  we would like nothing better than to play.  we 
came here for no other reason than to do these gigs.  i sympathise with 
those of you who traveled long distances to be here.  i'm sorry . . ."

after i've had some sleep, i will email the band with an apology for the 
reaction of the crowd.  thank you, chris for making the announcement 
yourself, and not sending a roadie or something.  i wanted to give you a 
hug, but an arrest wasn't really a suitable conclusion to this evening 
either.  i don't really understand why the band could not play the set, 
but i also don't know what happened with isobel.  i sincerely hope she 
gets well soon.  we have to respect the band's decision.  if they had 
played, their minds would surely have been elsewhere.

but the evening was not a total loss because i finally got to meet some 
fellow sinisterites.  we all headed for julie's house, blasted 
"tigermilk" and drowned our sorrows in the proverbial pint or seven.  
there were also unspeakable mutations of several mr. potato heads.  and 
the cutest, elastic, weightless kitten prancing about.  i think a 
wonderful night of commiseration was had by all.

i got to meet sweet emily who was in boston, was planning on DC and has 
tickets for both new york shows.  wow.  also in attendance:  lovely jess 
foxinasnow who managed to snag the very last blue shirt.  in her size, 
no less. (i bought three.  hate me.  they're gifts.)  my deepest empathy 
goes to the wonderful gentleman from wheeling, west virginia.  happy 
trails.  you invested (and deserved) more than i.  i didn't really catch 
everybody's name, but i enjoyed your company.

there's a lot more to gigs than just seeing the band play.  you prepare 
the day before.  you lay out your clothes and arrange everything so you 
can leave as soon as you possibly can.  you get to wait in line and 
anticipate with like-minded folk.  i've learned to regard the lower back 
cramps you get waiting the headlining act as the highest level of 
ecstasy.  the post-ungig party was a wonderful event.   so how can i say 
the evening was disappointing?

what about the rest of the tour?  we're all waiting with baited breath.  
i have tickets to the 11/2 nyc show.  i don't see how the toronto show 
can proceed.  i'm worried that the band is so traumatized by this mess 
that they'll never tour again.  say it ain't so . . .

addendum:  the troc is a wonderful space, but their logistics suck.  
they're abysmal.  i'm ashamed to live here.  this happened at the 
elliott smith show, but i thought they would have learned their lesson.  
why can't they dispense will call tickets before the show.  there is no 
reason for people to not be admitted until ten pm for an eight pm show.  
it's an outrage, frankly.  people flew into philly, had legitimate 
ticket reservations and did not see a minute of live music.  it's truly 
reprehensible.  fuck you, troc.  you have a great place, but you're 
morons.  why should we bother?

and that's not even talking about the refund situation.  we understand 
that this is an unfortunate situation that nobody wanted, but they have 
to have a proper procedure in place.  there are people who paid cash at 
authorized ticket outlets and received a voucher.  this voucher was 
confiscated at venue entry, and their legitimate owners have no proof of 
ticket purchase.  for me, $12.50 is not worth a trip to philly which is 
what's required for the cash refund.  this sucks.

shit.  there's still beer left.  anybody want to teach me how to 
"shotgun" a can?  belle and sebastian don't have any songs sad enough 
for this situation.  i'm listening to tindersticks.  (they've never 
canceled on me, but i've canceled on them . . .)

hope you're ok, isobel.

love you all,

-g. k.-

". . .now it's hanging around in the clouds,
and i've lost it;
i was cheated."
-tindersticks-

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
      +---+  Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list  +---+
 To send to the list please mail "sinister at majordomo.net". To unsubscribe
   send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
 "majordomo at majordomo.net".  For list archives and searching, list rules,
   FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister
          +---+   "legion of bedroom saddo devotees"  +---+
 +-+  "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list"  +-+
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+