The Big Green House

Monday, November 03, 2003

 

Old folks boogie

So, we didn�t make it to the Gas Huffer show Saturday night because my knees were not up to it. Y�see, Science Girl and yours truly took Lucy for a long walk Saturday, which was an unseasonably cold day. Really, really cold. By the time we got home I knew there was no way I was going to be able to stand all night long, no matter how many beers were involved. Yes, I am lame. Not quite literally, but it�s close at times.

Now some people, were they in my hi-tops, might take something like this as a sign that perhaps it�s time for me to finally admit that I am too old for the rock & the roll. Time and tide have taken their toll, going out to clubs is for the young, etc. There is a name for such people. Actually, there are several names, but the politest one I can think of is �wussies�.

I have no intention of giving up live music over bad knees, or anything else for that matter. As long as it�s still fun for me, I�ll keep going. I may have to sit down a little more often than previously, but so what, big deal, and who cares. CDs are great, but rock & roll needs to be experienced in a live setting, with the smoke and the sweat and the overpriced beer that spills on the way back to your table (if you�re lucky enough to get one) and the guy in front of you accidentally stepping on your toes and the girl to your right singing along with every song and the boy on your left shouting �Freebird!� between songs as if no one else in the history of the public performance of amplified music has ever thought of doing that and the drums trying to push your ribcage back through your spine and the bass making your chest cavity resonate like a cherry bomb in a tile bathroom and the guitarist�s either playing the solo of his life or he�s being electrocuted because he spilled his beer into his amp and you can�t quite figure out just what the hell the singer is saying but it sure sounds good. Y�know? All that, plus the incredible charge that comes from witnessing music being made as it happens� it�s irreplaceable, cannot be faked, accept no substitutes. I dig it all, even if some aspects of it work my nerves from time to time.

When you get right down to it, the truth of the matter is that I love rock & roll. So put another dime in the jukebox, baby. And hand me that bottle of ibuprofen while you�re up.

bmarkey 11/03/2003 08:16:00 PM