The other night I went and saw Joe Ely at The Mystic here in Petaluma. One perk of moving back here is the fact I can walk down there from our house. It's literally 2 blocks away which is pretty sweet.
Also sweet was the fact I got in for free. I have no idea how...I just walked up to the door, $20 in hand and the guy apparently knew me and let me in. Makes me glad I'm not an angry drunk as the last few times I've been there, I've been hammered. I also know the bartender there. Another small town perk I guess.
Anyway..the show was super cool. It was a Wednesday night and I was probably the youngest person there, not counting the little kids that were dragged down there by their parents. The place was half full and everyone was sitting at tables and chairs about 20 yards from the stage. Kind of weird for such a legendary troubador, but it was midweek.
If you've never heard of him, Joe Ely is easily one of the best songsmiths around. I wish I could say, "you know that song ______, well he wrote that" but he really doesn't have any "hits." His fans include The Clash and Bruce Springsteen who sings on his album "Letter to Laredo" which, if he sounds interesting to you at all, is a great album to get.
The show was just Joe and Joel Guzman on accordian. Guzman apparently won a grammy for best tejano album. Ely didn't really seem to have a setlist and just kind of meandered around, playing whatever he felt like. But every one of his songs is like a story. He also told some great stories in between.
Then, about 3/4 of the way through the show, he played a slow song and out of nowhere, this older couple just got up and started slow dancing. It was so....cool. These 2 just didn't give a shit that 200 people were sitting there. And fortunately, they were good dancers.
After that, everyone started getting closer and closer to the stage and by the end of the 2 hour set, everyone that had been quietly sitting was gathered around the stage. It was really neat...one of those special kind of nights. I'm so glad I went.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Pants...meet Pee. Pee...meet Pants.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
I fought the law and the law is STUPID!
Last night I went down to my favorite local brew pub to watch the Giants game and have some beers. We took the kids at my work to the County fair ALL day yesterday so my feet were hurting. I decided to ride my bike which I rarely do. Dempseys is maybe 3 blocks away so I usually walk.
I go down and hang out for a while and probably drink 5-7 beers. I head out around 11:00 and remember thinking to myself, "if I was really hammered, I couldn't be riding this bike so I must be O.K." I'm about a block from my house when I see some cop pull up behind me and turn on his lights.
Baffled, I "pull over" and look back. This cop steps out and goes, "sir, can't you please get off the bike and show me some ID." Are you fucking kidding me?? I know I wasn't driving erratically so I was thouroughly confused. John Q. Law comes up and takes my ID and says "have you been drinking?" I felt like saying, "Well, duh. why the hell else would I be on a bike at 11:00 at night?" But instead I told him yes in a very sheepish way.
So I stand on the corner for a good 10 minutes with this cop running my ID...his lights going, police scanner blaring and start to actually get really worried. I got a DUI when I was 22 and I NEVER drink and drive. EVER. How ironic would it be if I got another fricking DUI on a BIKE?? It was taking him forever to run my info and the longer it took, the more I started sweating it.
Eventually the cop came back and told me he was citing me for not having a light. He said there have been alot of people getting hit by cars so they're out citing bicyclists who don't have lights and whatnot. I was relieved to say the least. He even seemed a little embarrassed and thanked me for being so polite. I still can't believe I didn't mouth off but the thought of going to jail for being drunk on a bike didn't appeal to me at all.
It's nice to know that at 11:00 on a Friday, 4th of July weekend even, that our local police are running a bike sting 2 blocks from where there are 6 bars and nightclubs in a row. Brilliant work fellas.
I go down and hang out for a while and probably drink 5-7 beers. I head out around 11:00 and remember thinking to myself, "if I was really hammered, I couldn't be riding this bike so I must be O.K." I'm about a block from my house when I see some cop pull up behind me and turn on his lights.
Baffled, I "pull over" and look back. This cop steps out and goes, "sir, can't you please get off the bike and show me some ID." Are you fucking kidding me?? I know I wasn't driving erratically so I was thouroughly confused. John Q. Law comes up and takes my ID and says "have you been drinking?" I felt like saying, "Well, duh. why the hell else would I be on a bike at 11:00 at night?" But instead I told him yes in a very sheepish way.
So I stand on the corner for a good 10 minutes with this cop running my ID...his lights going, police scanner blaring and start to actually get really worried. I got a DUI when I was 22 and I NEVER drink and drive. EVER. How ironic would it be if I got another fricking DUI on a BIKE?? It was taking him forever to run my info and the longer it took, the more I started sweating it.
Eventually the cop came back and told me he was citing me for not having a light. He said there have been alot of people getting hit by cars so they're out citing bicyclists who don't have lights and whatnot. I was relieved to say the least. He even seemed a little embarrassed and thanked me for being so polite. I still can't believe I didn't mouth off but the thought of going to jail for being drunk on a bike didn't appeal to me at all.
It's nice to know that at 11:00 on a Friday, 4th of July weekend even, that our local police are running a bike sting 2 blocks from where there are 6 bars and nightclubs in a row. Brilliant work fellas.
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