So
Rob and I decided Friday night to go to Kalamazoo. We were fairly buzzed
leaving streetside cafe and decided to go to Kalamazoo, Michigan that night.
"We
should go to Kalamazoo sometime, " I said.
"Yeah,
we should." He said.
"We
should go tonight." I said.
"Okay,"
Rob replied.
"No
I mean it we should go tonight."
"Okay."
He said. So we made a pact to leave after we checked out this blues bar,
Rosa's.
So
here it is, my public writings aboutthe weekend where we were
being punk rock in kalamazoo!
Friday
night, 2:15 am
oh.my.fucking.god.
wow.
So I
have been mighty over this whole goth shit and rob and I wanted to go
out
tonight but not to another goth club. The interpersonal drama which I
have
had the misfortune to contend with from those I've met inthat scene only
intensified
this. I got to thinking that it was time to grow up, move on, explore greener
pastures.
Well
I went to centerstage.com. I recently responded to a call for writers
to review
bars and galleries (only $10 a submission but Im getting paid for
my writing,
which is a step in the right direction, so hey) and I realized
there
was a spot a mere four blocks from me.
Oh.my.fucking.god.
An Italian
run blues club, it is everything I ever dreamed of chicago being
and
more. Some damned mean drinks, the perfect ambiance, all old style
chicago
bar, and the most intriguing folk I have ever seen. No really. From
the
twenty something in a beret getting drunk alone to the old italian
grandmother
type working behind the bar to the aging man behind the drums,
slickly
dressed at sixty, singing about all the misadventures while being
high...(god
if that could be me in thirty years, I would feel I had done well.)fuck
I've found my home.
And
the blues...omigod, I've always liked blues but it was particularly inspiring
tonight.
Such
uplifting camaraderie from tales of woe
yet
detatched because it is all just a part of the circus we call life...and
it is
so perfectly done, musically...not just good, not just well
orchestrated,
but perfect in that there was such joy in expressing it...such
fun
and vitality, all the while with mean drinks, it was a scene out of the
movies,
I swear to you...yet it is blocks from my house....I am so elated...
Now
I am off for a middle of the night roadtrip...
So off we went. We drove for about two and a half hours. We checked into a hotel. For eighty bucks, it was as nice as a $300. night hotel in Chicago. It was very cozy and comfortable. I fell right asleep, then around 2 the next day I woke up and Rob got on instant messenger, to track down the k-zoo crew. We all met at Big Boys, where I got the most god awful french toast. (It was cold and really tough) but it was a good time talking with folks, catching up and hearing tales of "crazies we have known..."
Sunday,
5:00 am
Kalamazoo
was a blast. We spent time getting
highly
caffeinated in coffeehouses. This one spot had a mint mocha (always a plus
for me, even more so if they can make it right...which this place did.)
sitting in a corner, smoking cloves, trading alcohol war stories, all the
while with the cure and the cranes playing in the background. Then we went
to a nifty bar and grill place. The service was impeccable, and I
did more raspberry kazi shots than I
can
count, and popped some yellow jackets...not mere mortal ephedrine, mind
you,
these
are gas station speed to outdo all gas station speed. I got into all sorts
of fun and lively conversations. The time flew like you wouldn't believe
and my only regret was that we didn't get the chance to explore all the
other bars that had been described to us. Ah well, next time. There
was this
aging
hippie doing really bad cover songs and handing out a request
list...so
we were drunkenly requesting song after song just to hear him
butcher
them...The high point of the night was when all six of us yelled "Freebird!"
in unison. We were the obnoxious people in the bar. That warms my
heart.
Then,
after we closed the bar, and not only closed it but were the last ones
to leave
as the beleagured employees were putting chairs up and whatnot...we
went
home but then of course neither of us could sleep.
That night, as I laid in bed, I got depressed. I didn't want to go home. Rob assured me that we would be back soon. My constant love/hate relationship with Chicago has been a frustration for me for some time. I had so much fun, it reminded me of other places I've been that have just been mellow and fun. I could see myself getting really settled there, how it could really grow on me. It's also affordable enough that I could actually do my projects and juggle them with a minimal amount of stress.
I woke
up after
maybe
an hour or so, just doubling over with extreme pain, tossed and turned
alot
and eventually decided that sleep was futile, so I went in between
various
stages of attempting to sleep in increments of five or ten minutes
at a
time, basically moaning in extreme pain from the land of excess...I went
onto monster.com to look up jobs in kalamazoo. Who knows what will happen,
but I figure I could do a lot worse...
We had
been supposed to meet some folks for breakfast but as the mere word
'food'
or 'coffee' made me curl up into an itty bitty ball and beg for the
badness
to go away, those plans were postponed...so we packed up our stuff and
hit the road back to chicago. By Michigan City, though, I was able to eat
and rob was in dire need of coffee, so we stopped at Denny's to fuel up.
(if we
get through this alive, I'll see you next week same place same
time...)
And,
yes, rob and I determined to do such impromptu road trips again in the
future...
So there it is boys and girls. We'll probably take a few more visits to scenic kalamazoo...say early december then in february sometime. And so should you, if you get the chance, because there is much fun to be had there.