The Jaded Scenester Chronicles, Episode 2

IN THIS EPISODE, The Jaded Scenester tries to acquire information and struggles with naming conventions.

I went back to Cramped Quarters for not one, but two friends' shows. Almost missed the first, because who the hell starts before 9:30 in this town? Seriously? What is that all about? I might have been more annoyed had I not seen, um, Ali Glover several times of late, although this was the first with special guest Special K. Who, at some times, seemed to maybe be unplugged. But no bother.

The surprising part of the night was bumping into a gent I know from other musical outings. I swear to God, I'd never ever seen him outside his place of employ, which I frequent quite often with the cover band, and the feeling was apparently mutual. We both did a bit of a doubletake. Turns out he knows one of the guys in Harry's Beast (okay, that one's really obscure and you're never, ever going to figure out why it works), the headliners for the evening, from his cover band.

I was very upfront to his buddy about having not ever seen Harry's Beast, and that I wasn't going to break that particular streak tonight. I'm too old to be blowing smoke up people's butts about really wanting to hear their band immediately. I'll get to it. Deal.

One would think I might offer up a few words about Of A Nickel, who were on stage somewhere in here, but believe me, you're better off that I don't. Undercard bands on weekend shows tend to be there because they seem to have a lot of friends, not because they're pinning anybody's ears back.

Before fleeing to the upstairs, where we thought we saw these jokers indulging in both a drum solo AND a bass solo, I asked my bartender friend if he had any opinions on My Mixed Metaphor the week prior, but my quarry proved too diplomatic. Damn him.

I only stuck around for about half the set of the Former Carpenters, but nearly half of the tunes were new, which made me somewhat less jaded. I've gotten burned out on a lot of the bands I see frequently because they keep playing the same songs over and over, but I think enough time is passing for a couple of these acts to make it safe again.

From there, it was about a mile up the street to a new local place, and longtime friends of the Scenester, Swum. Except my drummer friend was off actually making real money. I still spoke with The Saint during a break, and watched as they contemplated then abandoned an acoustic set after a friendly visit from the local constabulary. Turns out the neighbors might not be ready for a new music venue in their 'hood quite yet. I'm hoping this gets resolved, because I'm one of those neighbors, and I enjoyed the room, even if it may have been striving too hard for hipness and was very orange. Among other things, a damn fine sound system, and you have to appreciate those things when you find them.