You really had to be there

Where were you in 1978?
When the days were long and slow
Now they're gone before you know
No one died in 1978, oh yeah
Stayed alive in 1978, oh yeah
--- Salim Nourallah, "1978"

Last night I stayed at the Hangout drinking and joking with the Friar and L until closing time. The waitresses from TriviaBar T (also my classmate at State School) and W were there, too. Fun all around; we talked smack and rated bands and got fairly blotto. I was introduced to the wonders of the Tom Collins. I could do all this because...

No work, this being Good Friday! (As Spooky said anent the name of the holiday, "Good for humanity, sucky for the Son of God.")

Watched two more episodes of "The Wire" with my dad. It's a great show; I can't believe the lead is a Yorkshireman and not a hard-bitten American. He passes for a Yank even better than Hugh Laurie in "House."

Spooky and I had dinner at Cheesefries with the Friar and his wife Palfrey. Gads, I hate Cheesefries; the Friar sure has some shitty taste in restaurants. After that, we walked around the corner to Theater Venue to see our pal Sonar and his band play (he was the second opening act). It was great seeing him and his excellent band. There were perhaps three hundred people in attendance.

Watching him, I flashed back to about a year and a half ago, when the Ex and I saw Sonar play, accompanied only by his guitar, at some out of the way beer house. About fifteen people at most were there that day, and few of them had some specifically to see Sonar. The owner of the place passed a bucket around for the patrons to drop a few dollars in; this was Sonar's pay for the gig that night. At the end of the show, he dropped his guitar and broke it, and made a rather plaintive plea to the people around, "Does anyone have a cheap guitar I can buy?" And he wasn't kidding, either.

Now, tonight, I just felt great standing there with the Friar and Spooky, listening to Sonar rockin' the joint and getting the applause he deserves. Well done, Mister Local Musician Guy! Have I mentioned that your wife is gorgeous? (Yes, I have, more than once.)