Yesterday Betsy and I met at Jenn’s house to help her move. Her parents were gone, so it was the best time to get as much of her stuff out of there as possible. Four cars full of boxes and furniture, we unloaded in Ferndale, attempting to not sweat our asses off. Jenn stayed behind to clean and Bets and I headed to Dally.
What began as an inner city art fair in 1977 evolved into a performing arts festival when it was moved to its present alley and renamed in 1982 to “DALLY IN THE ALLEY”, the title of a medieval drinking song. Great musical talent, good beer and a remarkable string of fabulous September weather has indelibly marked the alley at Second and Forest in Detroit ’s Cass Corridor as the site of the best music festival in the Midwest .
Bets parked at the Stick and we walked five or six blocks to Forest, stopping at the liquor store for Sparks, and passing a house party where we were offered burgers and free sex. The streets were packed with people, shops selling clothing and collectibles, beer and BBQ, music blaring from the stages. Due to being awesome friends and helping out Jenn, we missed seeing The Summer Pledge. I got butterfly potatoes, which are spiral cut potato chips with nacho cheese and sour cream on them - very difficult to eat after Sparks on an empty stomach.
We ended up at Betsy’s friend Tyler’s apt, which was right next to Dally, and sat on his kitchen floor chatting about how he was going to dress in drag. I only paid half-attention while some girl named Scarlett complimented my shoes and took photos of me while I texted.
Around 10 we speed walked back to the car because I was about ready to pee my pants. After a quick stop at the Garden Bowl, we hauled ass to get to Ferndale for The Silent Years show. Made it in time to catch Deastro. The bar was packed, the bands were fantastic, saw lots of lovely faces.
I always assume I give off a bad first impression because people have told me, months after being friends, they thought I hated them when we first met. I was having a complex about that all night and was pleasantly surprised when three of B’s friends greeted me with a warm smile and a hug.
I wish I’d taken more pictures, but I only managed these two drunken blurry ones at Dally.
And now I leave you with The Silent Years video:
Reader Comments
Looks like lots of fun!
Wish you coulda came to the video shennanigans yesterday; crazy, crazy fun.
Sundays in the D are always my favorite. My friends live on Prentis so it was literally in their alley. Good times.