Saturday was date night. We had dinner at the best pizza place in town, Supinos. Their scarlet margarita always worth the hour wait. With time to kill before the show we wandered over to the east side, winding through streets until we found the Heidelberg Project. Pants had never seen it in person so I was excited to take him there.

I’ve got a whole post explaining this giant art project coming soon!

Pants took my outfit photos for this post, so I made him pose too :)

After the Heidelberg we drove around a deserted Belle Isle – the best place from which to see the beautiful lights of the city at night. Pants serenaded me with the oh so romantic Turbo Negro before heading over to St. Andrews for the show. I’d seen MCS the night before with my sister when they played their first two albums and was lucky enough to get into the second night too.

Tank, sweater, jeans: F21, Boots: Olsenboye, Bag: Matt & Nat, Sunglasses: Kohls

Sunday was for sleeping past noon, eating leftover pizza for breakfast, taking the piglet on a long walk and mowing the lawn with my new reel mower. That thing is hard to push sometimes, but when my dad and Pants both say they don’t think I’ll be able to do it I sure as hell am going to bust my ass to cut the grass all on my own :p Ended the day with spicy super veggie soup, snuggles on my tiny couch and bad TV. <333

Saturday Pants and I went downtown for a benefit show for my friend Drew (left). In December, at just 29, he suffered a stroke. He was partially paralyzed and in the hospital for two months. It was a scary situation for a while and now, while he’s back at home, he’s unable to work. So a bunch of friends got together and put on an amazing benefit show. Over 1200 people showed up and completely packed the venue. I felt like every person I ever saw at a local show over the past 10 years was there. They played a cover of a song from one of Drew’s old bands and he came on stage (rocking his panther cane) to sing, which immediately made me tear up.

The Suicide Machines brought down the house  – they make grown men lose their minds and it is the most entertaining thing to watch EVER. I won a gift certificate to a local tattoo shop in the raffle – totally paid off to write my name on 40 tickets! They raised a ton of money for Drew and it was great to see the local music scene come together in a way that only Detroit kids can do.

There are some fantastic photos by local badass Joe Gall here (seriously, his work is phenomenal) – I love that the majority of the pics have kids flying through the air. Pure magic.

We spent last night downtown drinking tallboys and singing along to The Get Up Kids. The show was kind of empty and very chill – it was nice to have a little space to dance. Two girls standing behind us were talking so loud to the point that I turned around and sternly told them ‘I really love this band, but all I can hear is you talking. Can you please be quiet or move to the back?’ I think Pants got a little nervous that he was going to have to break up a girl fight, but with my circus muscles and fist full of rings I could have held my own!

Toward the end of the show an a capella choir from U of M came out and sang…wait for it…Ann Arbor. (For my non-MI readers, U of M is located in Ann Arbor) It was really cool and I was maybe a little jealous of the girl singing lead.

After the show we turned down all invites to go out (actually I turned them down after Pants passed his phone to me because ‘I can’t say no to Royce!’) and opted to stay in and avoid the impending snow. Definitely a good choice :)

I’ve seen Bad Religion many times and last night was one of their best shows. After thirty years they are still as tight as ever. They played my favorite song, the one by which I was introduced to them in high school via mixtape (that was an actual tape), “I Want to Conquer the World.” There is something about their live show that makes it impossible for me to take my eyes off the stage. Their lyrics are still genius and they are still punk as fuck.

+ writing in my journal every night + inspiring story telling workshop + my birthday being just one month away (yikes!) + beer tents + fingerless gloves + bbq party crawling with attractive men (seriously, Lana and I were drooling there was so much mancandy) + late night tacos in Mexican Town + spending the day in the shadow of the train station – it felt kinda special to be in its presence all day + french toast + mom making dinner + August Rush (always makes me cry!) + pear cider + spur of the moment hangs + Groupon – me and a couple other MI bloggers have another adventure up our sleeves + surprise cookies + Sweeney Todd + kisses foiled by sneaky cats + coming into my warm house after being frozen all day + walks with Slayer at dusk + fall smells + Halloween decorations + letters and old family pictures from Grandma + hanging out with the MI bloggers + Sons of Anarchy + honey crisp apples + surprise passes to Bouncing Souls and Bad Religion + purple sparkly nails + Get Up Kids sing-a-longs + cases of chips at work every day this week + the train wreck that is The Real Housewives + knee socks with boots + Big Sexy Hair products – POW did something magic to my hair +

This might change your opinion_Detroit from Imagination Station on Vimeo.

[ An outfit that didn't make the cut ]

I settled on black & white stripes with red, which was the vision I had, but had totally missed the mark with the outfit I ordered online.

After my performance outfit was settled, we met up with my parents for dinner at Bastone and had amazing pizza with mushrooms, goat cheese and truffle oil. When we were sufficiently stuffed I dropped Kate off to work at the street fair and then met up with Jenn again to walk over ourselves.

I somehow managed to have a crazy fun night without spending a dollar. I made gin and juice for Jenn and I to take to the street fair, got handed a couple beer tickets and then the beer-pourers ended up being so drunk themselves they stopped noticing if we handed over tickets or not.

We decided, due to the massive crowd, it was the perfect time for a musical moment and breaking out into song. We got our wish when The Silent Years led everyone in a 4 Non Blondes sing-a-long. We hung out with my sister at her post on the outskirts of the fair, bringing her beer and keeping her and the passersby entertained. I managed to drunk text someone and scored a date – with only one spelling error I might add! I saw some old friends and met a few new ones. And at the end of the night, everyone piled into the Loving Touch and The Summer Pledge brought down the house. We were all crammed around the tiny stage, arms in the air, clapping and singing.

Around 1 or 2 Kate and I stumbled home, the streets empty of booths and fair-goers, my feet aching and so ready for sleep.

We’re wearing the same exact outfit…

A trip that could have taken just over an hour took us two and a half because of a little excursion through classic car hell to the bank and then a stop at Taco Bell that was so not right off the highway. I hadn’t eaten there in probably two years and it was still as delicious as I remember.

When we finally showed up at the venue it was like a scene out of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure – bikers everywhere and us feeling super out of place. It felt a little more Sons of Anarchy once we got inside and got comfortable, but for a while there I was preparing to win over the crowd with my table dancing skills.

The Sleeping played and even though it didn’t look like their kind of crowd at all, people seemed into the show because well, they’re awesome.

Post performance we hung out at the bar, getting hit on (as usual) by an awkward drunk guy who tried to buy us drinks, asked me what color my eyes are, and then petted my messenger bag. The bartender called us over to try whipped cream vodka and Vernors – not too bad!

Once the dudes were packed up we hung out outside in this huge patio area. There were a whole lot of drink tickets being passed around and I, of course, was a party animal with my water.

Doug demonstrated multiple times that he can balance a full drink on his head and do a little dance. He thought he got winked at, but Jess shot him down saying, “Was it a wink or a lazy eye?”

The dudes were hilarious and excellent shit-talkers. It pretty much went like this…

INSIDE OUTSIDE, INSIDE OUTSIDE, YOU LOOK LIKE A LESBIAN, I WISH I WAS WEARING PANTS, DRINK DRINK DRINK, SUCK MY BALLS, ARE YOU A REDHEAD? YES, NECKLACE LEGS, NICE BEARD, THOSE DUDES ARE STARING AT YOU, DUDEYOUGUYSROCKED, JIMMY JOHNS – OH I REMEMBER YOU!, WHERE’S YOUR ROBOT, PLEASE DON’T LET THAT BE ME IN 15 YEARS, YOU GUYS MATCH, SUIT + WHITE COWBOY HAT, FUCK YOUR MOTHER, HOTTEST GIRL IN THE BAR, ARE YOU A REDHEAD? NO, NICE BLACK EYE, WE HAVE THE SAME OUTFIT BUT SHE LOOKS LIKE A STRIPPER, DRINK DRANK DRUNK, CAN I GET YOUR NUMBER, IS THAT METALLICA?!, HOW OLD DO I LOOK, SERIAL KILLER, LITTLE ANGELFUCK, GUYS WE GOTTA GO, 5 MORE MINUTES, WHO HAS DRINK TICKETS, THEY’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY.

Around 2:30 the dudes drunkenly piled into the van (where their sober driver was already waiting) and we hopped back on the highway, letting the Descendents carry us home.

]]> http://sillygrrl.com/2010/08/19/was-it-a-wink-or-a-lazy-eye/feed/ 2 http://sillygrrl.com/2010/07/31/super-secret-show/ http://sillygrrl.com/2010/07/31/super-secret-show/#comments Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:59:54 +0000 sillygrrl http://sillygrrl.com/?p=3164

Remember when my friend Royce texted me about a super secret show and I was soooo excited? Well, last night I got to see Alkaline Trio play in a tiny venue and it was not so secret anymore because that place was packed!

Jenn picked me up at 11 and we headed to Hamtramck. For all the AK3 sing-a-longs we’ve had (pretty much anytime we’re in the car together, much to the detriment of other passengers) we’ve never seen a show together. It was fantastic to belt out ‘My Friend Peter’ ‘Clavicle’ ‘Nose Over Tail’ and ‘Radio’ with her. The band didn’t have a set list so they were taking requests from the audience. At one point Derek came out from behind the drums, grabbed the bass and they did a cover of The Misfits ‘Skulls.’ They ended their set with ‘Radio’ and completely stopped playing while every person in Smalls sang the rest of the song. It was a beautiful moment.

After the show we stopped by a house party, had a mini dance party and then sat outside on the balcony for a bit. I’ve never been inside a Hamtramck flat and it was actually super nice. If only the houses weren’t two feet apart and the streets constantly lined with cars it might be a cool place to live.

Now it’s time to enjoy my day off by cleaning the house, watching True Blood and Friday Night Lights and stuffing my face :)

That’s to DT Jessica for the amazing iPhone picture – she’s the best blog photographer ;)

Ryan picked me up and we headed downtown, driving up the spinning center of a parking garage all the way to the top.

There was a line around the venue, so we opted to get a drink at Sweetwater’s while watching the line dwindle from the window. After an hour or so we walked across the street to the venue. People – I cannot even explain how hot it was in there. In all my days as a punk rock kid, fighting my way toward the stage, being crushed by giant sweaty dudes, I have never, NEVER been this sweaty. We found a spot on the balcony and by the time the band got on stage we were already dripping, but at that point I didn’t care at all. I wanted to witness all the kids down below (who are now in their late 20s, 30s and 40s) losing their fucking minds.

There is no crowd like TSM’s crowd in Detroit. Every person in that entire building, from the ones smashed up against the stage to the people all the way at the back of the building, EVERY PERSON was moving, skanking, pogoing around, hands in the air, singing every word. And they listen – anything Jay tells them to do, they immediately do. He is in the crowd 90 percent of the time and it’s thrilling to watch. Have you every been to a show where out of the middle of the moshing, skanking mess, a wheel chair crowd surfs and then right behind is the kid that was in the wheel chair?

Just a few songs in, despite the bar tenders using the soda guns to shoot water over the crowd, we were all soaked in sweat. I don’t think I’ve ever been this sweaty in my entire life. Every inch of me was dripping and any indication that I was looking cute before was gone. By the time TSM had finished their set my fingers were pruney.

After the show we waded through the crowd of kids spilling out into the cool air of the street, which was likely still in the late 80′s, but felt incredibly good.  We walked back to the parking garage and when the elevator doors opened the group of people inside would not let us in. We must have looked pretty gross and Ryan was not wearing a shirt. So we climbed a few flights and hopped on an elevator on the sixth floor.

Back on the highway with the A/C blasting, we stopped at Sonic for a bucket of tots and limeade and then called it a night. As exhausted as I was, I did manage to shower before climbing in bed, which I’m quite thankful for now.

This is the point where I wish I was a better writer, so I could accurately depict what I witnessed and how absolutely happy it made me feel. I’ve been going to see this band at least once a year, every year, since I was sixteen until they broke up in 2006. This was the band that made me feel OK for being a weird, gawky, teenager with spikey blue hair and giant pants. I have seen them in tiny 80 capacity venues and huge festivals. It would have been 10 times better if Royce and Dan were playing, but it was still pretty damn good.

And now I leave you with one of my favorite TSM songs, which still gets me a little every time I hear it:

You’ve got no friends and so you’re lonely.
It does not have to be this way
Just be yourself, the one and only
It takes some time but that’s okay…

(And also a note: Last time I wrote about TSM it got linked on a blog and there was drama and I ended up taking it down. So please don’t link this post with out asking first. Thank you.)

Jenn sends me a bbm around 10 that I’ve got 30 mins to get ready, so I get my ass off the couch and rummage through my closet for something other than yoga pants. We drink fancy beer while peeling tape off the molding in her freshly painted dining room and then pile into Rachel’s car and head to the Lager House. More beer, a couple dancey bands, slow high-fives, and bubbles on the patio.

After an impromptu dance party on the sidewalk outside the bar we head to Woodbridge where a bunch of friends are playing a show. It’s almost 2 and the bands have finished, but there are still a ton of kids hanging outside where it smells like bonfire and garden. I get super hugs from Jeremy and Dunner, watch someone get a cooler of water and ice dumped on him as people yell ‘you got coached!’ and Jenn’s bf gets a spontaneous drunken kiss from Dunner. We call it a night around three and drive home singing The Get Up Kids at the top of our lungs.