Things are shaping up nicely..

It was an excellent idea to come back for this wedding hootenanny a week early.  I've been able to line up plenty of entertainment.

First of all I'm happy to say I've added "hootenanny" to my lexicon.  Rob Zombie's current tour with Alice Cooper is called the "Gruesome Twosome Halloween Hootenanny" tour.  While it's unfortunately I missed their performance last night at the Cumberland County Civic Center recently I've reconnected with Robert and his hellbilly ways through eBay where I was lucky to stumble upon this gem late one night:

I had it shipped home as I didn't have an address on the island at the time of the impulse buy so it was waiting for me Monday evening when I made it back to the 04210.  This could potentially be my favorite eBay purchase ever and I've got a feedback score of 57 with !00% positives so it's not my first eBay rodeo.

I went to this concert back in high school with Nick, Randy, and Luke Robinson.  Ya, a mod squad we were.  Holy smokes.  We sw him at the Central Maine Civic Center pre-city takeover and present Collisee status.  AKA back in the good ol' days.  Saw plenty of freaks last night, so much so that for the opening acts we hung out in a penalty box to protect ourselves from the hundreds (read: less than 1000 in attendance, I'm sure..) of people who wanted to get dead.  This was really about his heyday, though, as Sinister Urge had just been released and a lot of folks were still super high on Hellbilly Deluxe.  I know I thought it was a kickass album, and still do.

But yeah, it was a hell of a show.  I remember we were about the lamest kids there.  Some people rolled in in a hearse.  And fuckers dressed up like kids from Children of the Corn and handed out fliers to get people to go to their fucked up website.  God damn freak shows, I tell ya.  I was considered the "most hard" because I was wearing a Subway polo shirt that I had picked up at Sal's Boutique.  Fairly certain the rest of my party was in A+F as that was the standard getup for high school kids in Auburn in the early 2000's.  Bunch of winners we were, really.  Looking back I can't fathom how I had no problem spending thirty or forty bones on a t shirt when I was making six or seven dollars an hour.  I guess Lester Burnham said it best when he worked all summer to by an 8-track player: "It was great. All I did was party and get laid. I had my whole life ahead of me."  Indeed.

Actually, we weren't the lamest people there.  One of the opening acts played six or seven songs of angry, close-to-speed metal chock full of death, murder, and rape lyrics but in between every song the lead singer would pony up to the mic all heart felt and whine things like, "We will never forget this!!" practically tearing up like a middle school girl writing in her diary about how Jimmy Football Hero touched her hand while he was reaching for the ketchup in the lunch line.  Vagina Face.  Grow up.  Can I get Charles Barkley to throw out an "embarrassing" right here.  "That's EMBURRRRUUUSUUUNG."  Thanks, Chuck.

Anyways long story short it was kick ass.  For whatever reason in those days Rob had a pretty strong affinity for Lewiston and even played a couple of Halloween shows there over the years.  Literally, on Halloween.  Rob Zombie.  Pretty big deal.  In Lewiston.  I didn't go but man I bet it was extra kickass.

Under most conditions I'd be pretty steamed that I missed a show like Zombie and Alice Cooper (rock legend, I'd probably feel like Wayne and Garth did if I had made it down...not worthy..) but I've actually already got a stellar live music lineup dialed in for the weekend.  As soon as I finish this up (the Zombie t-shirt tangent was supposed to be a couple of sentences and a picture.  Go figure..) I'm hopping in the shower ad then heading to Albany to see the Black Crowes.  Stoked.  Love the Crowes and had been planning seeing them while I was back for awhile as a few of you know who read back in the day when I'd actually post on the semi-regular.  Should be kick ass but super rushed as I need to (NEED TO!) hot shot it back to Maine Saturday morning so I can see Skip coach.  Haven't missed a season in my 26 years on this rock so I'm not about to start now.  Go Bobcats.

Then for Monday J.Mac came through and scored tickets for Citizen Cope at Port City Music Hall in Portland.  Small-ass venue so should be a lot different than when I saw him in Tennessee at Bonnaroo a couple minutes back.  GIVE ME ACOUSTIC PABLO PICASSO, DAMMIT.

Then, you know, The Crowes will be in Burlington Tuesday and Wednesday...if inspiration strikes you never know...  We'll see how tonight goes and go from there.  Shit, Burlington's just a rental car away, right?

Wish me luck driving in this weather.  It's raining cats and dogs and blowing goats out.  F this weather; give me the nice fall weather the rest of the way through.  Cheers.

PS.  Hootenanny.  Up until last night I'm pretty sure the last time I've seen or heard hootenanny used was in Disney's animated Robin Hood from back in the day.  I think it's in the "Robin Hood and Little John walkin' through the forest" song right from the beginning.  Robin Hood was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard hootenanny on the Zombie/Cooper commercial at Gipper's so it must be true.Oo-da-lolly, what a weekend.

P.P.S. Zombie is the goddamn man:

Nice double meaning there, right?!  The "god damn" modifies "man" in current American slang-lish to mean "quite good," while at the same time Zombie, in his stage presence, at least, more or less damn's God.  Think about it for only a couple of seconds or you might just have your mind blown before your weekend even begins..

I'm clever this morning; I've got to write more I'm in the zone.  Must be home field advantage.