What went wrong? Everything. (Bare bones version)

In the morning receive e-mail wanting to confirm that we were playing. Send e-mail back saying yes – nothing we are the only act that evening – make small joke about the bad luck of booking a gig on super bowl Sunday (the last remaining religious holiday in America – ever notice how weirded out people get when you tell them you aren’t watching the game)

Call at 5 pm telling us owner didn’t want to open up – unless we can promise 20 people – on super bowl Sunday with a wind chill of really damn cold.

Call Enemy Below – conference in Insect girl - like adults even. Express anger at news – decide not to break anything in apartment – happen to like my things. Decide to call back and express displeasure to promoter.

Call booker back – express – oddly enough without cursing extreme displeasure at news. Insist that it is unreasonable to make these kinds of changes in the deal at the last minute. Say we cannot promise 20 people, but we have promoted the gig and would like to play. Promise a living hell – wherein booker was going to find out the truth of the old saw that a working definition of eternity is how long an Irishman holds a grudge. Booker (LES) says he’s on our side and promises to pass info on the owner.

Call Enemy Below – fret assume worst – start preparing another “we don’t have a gig after all “ memo, this time preparing to use this as a vehicle for invective to be hurled against the promoter and the owner.

Get call – we are on – strange sense of anti-climax. Call Enemy Below – get gear together – can’t find cap with skull and cross bones on it – I had put to the side to keep an eye on it and since then it either went to live with Jesus or has spontaneously decomposed into its component molecules

Walk to Enemy Below – very very cold – EB is agitated, Insect Girl is too, Spence seems calm and I am agitated as well. End up watching game – not that exciting – Colts look like the much better and stronger team

Commercials very dark – Carrier Builder features business people in a jungle and in one they are panicked and in a herd run over a cliff. Chrysler Ad created by 19 year old (the winner) has men taking shirts off and using them to wash car driven by 3 or more women. Whole commercial really god-awful and creepy in a deep way. Hate to see the losers if this is the winner.

Head to subway – at entrance gate to subway – Spencer’s keyboard makes a break for it and crashes to earth with loud boom – we all look on. Spencer insists keyboard is okay – but has damndest time getting keyboard back into cart he’s using.

Waiting for subway on platform, freezing cold bitter wind, – plan is to take W or N to 34th street change there to F and take that to East Broadway stop. Note on bulletin board next to subway map that F trains will be running on A route – which takes us no where near the bar. Begin to feel more that a little snake bit. Change plans – will now get cab at 34th street and take it form there. Size of Spenser’s keyboard is a problem – need to get a van cab if we can.

At 34th street decide to try elevator to give Spenser some respite from hauling huge bugger up the stairs again – Elevator surprisingly doesn’t smell of urine. Elevator door closes, elevator doesn’t move. Panicked thought goes through everybody’s mind at the same time – will be trapped in elevator until morning and be forced to miss gig after raising fuss to be allowed to play in the first place. Elevator door reopens; we rush out and find a van cab.

Hail cab; tell cab driver address – 169 East Broadway between Rutgers and Jefferson. After a while realize cab is going too far south. Ask cabbie what’s up – cab driver says something about going rector street – we repeat address and say we said Rutgers not Rector and in any case the address is 169 EAST Broadway. Mood sinks in the cab.

Arrive at Bar – less depressing that anticipated. Owner – bartender – soundman (same guy) introduces us to bar Special – Trucker’s BJ – can of Pabst and a shot of bourbon for 5 bucks. Mood brightens somewhat. Also meet promoter who is on the phone a lot – man bet heavily on the bears and he is not a happy man.

Set up and wait for people to show – 4 do and they will before ever enshrined as the greatest people in the world by this band. Names withheld for privacy. But thank you thank you thank you

Watch end of game Bears try to force passes and lose. Pretty dull game - commercials keep grim tone – we are a dark sour nation these days.

Insect Girl starts to take pictures with my digital Camera – she left hers at home. After one shot she tells us the batteries are dead. For once this is something we can fix – I have spare batteries – begin to wonder if someone isn’t trying to tell us something.

We do set – introduce Spenser – on first song with Spencer I forget order of verses. I never do that – of course I usually don’t have a shot a beer before the set either or have to deal with trying not to get gig canceled. Spencer saves us with fine solo – dynamic of set is set as it were. We screw up – Spencer keeps it together.

During set Enemy Below’s string breaks – it’s official this night is snake bit – grabs spare guitar – my Strat. Between cold weather and floating bridge Strat refuses to be in tune – especially during tasteful solo – since that is only song where high e-string is used EB switches back to his guitar.

Finish set – rousing version of Stacy –everybody says it was very funny - drink some more – get to know owner who is very cool guy – explains problem from his end – too many bands a) don’t show up and b) bring nobody but their parents. A good point – we decide to try here again later – April sometime and midweek say April 15th .

Get home without further mishap except to damn wired to sleep before 3 am.

Photos to come – need to sleep, need to pack.

Peace, Love, Pabsts.