Strike Three
I woke up sometime around 3:00 in the afternoon, feeling a little groggy, which was likely due to last nights' festivities. I went downstairs to the restaurant, and found myself having breakfast with Dave and Arleen. As the afternoon wore on, I ended up walking to Radio Shack looking for cable adapters. I managed to find what I needed, and I was soon back at the Classic Rock Bar to implement my new purchase.
There was a fellow at the bar who didn't look a day over 19 took a liking to me; he watched us play the other night. First impressions told me he was a massive geek, but it turned out that he was a little bit on the "slow" side. I didn't tell him to get lost, but I did have some work on my drums I needed to do, which required that I be free from distractions.
It wasn't long until I met "Gary". He offered to buy me a beer, so soon I was sitting at the 51 year-old's table with a few of his inebriated buddies. A couple hours and a few beers later, I felt like I should leave the table, since Gary, being as drunk as he was, was really starting to get on my nerves. I excused myself, and left to find dinner.
This happened to be the first inclination that perhaps I didn't want to stay in Neepawa for the week. Honestly, I only wanted to stay in this town to see what I could make out of the Roxy Roller situation.
After a hamburger and a few hours of relaxation, it was showtime. I was still drained from last night's party. I wanted to perform, but I had no energy to do so. I began to feel burned-out, and the bar wasn't very busy, which made it even more difficult to get the adrenaline going. It seemed that the crowd wasn't very perceptive to us being there either. I was gulping down many glasses of cola in order to keep myself awake.
The first set came and went. Gary was still there, drunk like there was no tomorrow (and I'll bet that he'll be wishing exactly that tomorrow morning). Was he ever obnoxious. The bar wasn't very busy, and there was no sign of anyone under the age of 25.
Amidst my apparent lack of energy, the band ended up playing quite well. Dave spoke to the management about the possibility of us playing next week. He returned saying: "We're packing up; we're going home". He explained that the bar only wanted us to play Friday and Saturday next week, and it didn't pay for us to make the long trip for that kind of money. Instead, the band took a "rain check", and we would play here again in the future.
We finished our third and final set of the night by 1:00. This show was a far cry from the previous two nights. We began to pack our equipment until the unexpected happened. At exactly 1:30 AM, the bar became swamped with people aged 18-25, all drunk and attractive. Karen and Roxy were not there. I was somewhat disappointed, but I expected as much. The dance floor was packed, which made it extremely difficult for us to move our equipment. Instead, our cases became coasters for everyone's drinks. By this time, I was really looking forward to leaving this town. I had quite enough of the place by this time.
It was about 3:00 in the morning by the time we had everything packed up and loaded into the trailer. Only one thing remained: all our articles upstairs. The three of us agreed to get out of town as soon as possible, so by 3:30 we were on our way home. We stopped in Brandon at 4:00, grabbed some food, and into the blackness we sped. I think I managed to keep my eyes open for 45 minutes, but as the sun began to rise, I finally ran out of steam.
I stirred slightly as we reached Regina at 7:00 AM. We stopped briefly, but I stayed comfortably curled up in the back seat. We hit the road shortly thereafter.
The next thing I knew, Dave pulled into a 7-11, and walked inside. I stirred, and got out of the vehicle to stretch. I had the feeling we were in Swift Current. Dave walked out of the store, stood beside me, and looked at me. He resembled the living dead. "You look pretty wasted," I said to him. "I'm just baffed," he replied. I was feeling rather awake, so I took the wheel, while Dave layed down and took a power nap. I thought I was well-rested, but 30 minutes later I was fighting to keep my eyelids from closing. I may have dozed a couple of times -- just for a few seconds, only to scare myself awake. The adrenaline would pump fiercely for a minute or two, and then I'd feel exhausted again.
I have no idea how Dave can play all evening and drive all night. We made a gas stop at the hamlet of Walsh. Dave felt better, and he took the wheel for the last leg of the trip. We made it home by 12:30, and I was spending Mother's Day with my mother by 1:00. A hot bath and a long nap completed the weekend.
There was a fellow at the bar who didn't look a day over 19 took a liking to me; he watched us play the other night. First impressions told me he was a massive geek, but it turned out that he was a little bit on the "slow" side. I didn't tell him to get lost, but I did have some work on my drums I needed to do, which required that I be free from distractions.
It wasn't long until I met "Gary". He offered to buy me a beer, so soon I was sitting at the 51 year-old's table with a few of his inebriated buddies. A couple hours and a few beers later, I felt like I should leave the table, since Gary, being as drunk as he was, was really starting to get on my nerves. I excused myself, and left to find dinner.
This happened to be the first inclination that perhaps I didn't want to stay in Neepawa for the week. Honestly, I only wanted to stay in this town to see what I could make out of the Roxy Roller situation.
After a hamburger and a few hours of relaxation, it was showtime. I was still drained from last night's party. I wanted to perform, but I had no energy to do so. I began to feel burned-out, and the bar wasn't very busy, which made it even more difficult to get the adrenaline going. It seemed that the crowd wasn't very perceptive to us being there either. I was gulping down many glasses of cola in order to keep myself awake.
The first set came and went. Gary was still there, drunk like there was no tomorrow (and I'll bet that he'll be wishing exactly that tomorrow morning). Was he ever obnoxious. The bar wasn't very busy, and there was no sign of anyone under the age of 25.
Amidst my apparent lack of energy, the band ended up playing quite well. Dave spoke to the management about the possibility of us playing next week. He returned saying: "We're packing up; we're going home". He explained that the bar only wanted us to play Friday and Saturday next week, and it didn't pay for us to make the long trip for that kind of money. Instead, the band took a "rain check", and we would play here again in the future.
We finished our third and final set of the night by 1:00. This show was a far cry from the previous two nights. We began to pack our equipment until the unexpected happened. At exactly 1:30 AM, the bar became swamped with people aged 18-25, all drunk and attractive. Karen and Roxy were not there. I was somewhat disappointed, but I expected as much. The dance floor was packed, which made it extremely difficult for us to move our equipment. Instead, our cases became coasters for everyone's drinks. By this time, I was really looking forward to leaving this town. I had quite enough of the place by this time.
It was about 3:00 in the morning by the time we had everything packed up and loaded into the trailer. Only one thing remained: all our articles upstairs. The three of us agreed to get out of town as soon as possible, so by 3:30 we were on our way home. We stopped in Brandon at 4:00, grabbed some food, and into the blackness we sped. I think I managed to keep my eyes open for 45 minutes, but as the sun began to rise, I finally ran out of steam.
I stirred slightly as we reached Regina at 7:00 AM. We stopped briefly, but I stayed comfortably curled up in the back seat. We hit the road shortly thereafter.
The next thing I knew, Dave pulled into a 7-11, and walked inside. I stirred, and got out of the vehicle to stretch. I had the feeling we were in Swift Current. Dave walked out of the store, stood beside me, and looked at me. He resembled the living dead. "You look pretty wasted," I said to him. "I'm just baffed," he replied. I was feeling rather awake, so I took the wheel, while Dave layed down and took a power nap. I thought I was well-rested, but 30 minutes later I was fighting to keep my eyelids from closing. I may have dozed a couple of times -- just for a few seconds, only to scare myself awake. The adrenaline would pump fiercely for a minute or two, and then I'd feel exhausted again.
I have no idea how Dave can play all evening and drive all night. We made a gas stop at the hamlet of Walsh. Dave felt better, and he took the wheel for the last leg of the trip. We made it home by 12:30, and I was spending Mother's Day with my mother by 1:00. A hot bath and a long nap completed the weekend.
posted by MC at 22:07
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