Farewell to Jump and to me...
This may (or may not) be the last LiveJournal post I make for quite awhile. I’m actually writing this message from Washington Dulles, where I am waiting for a flight home. Tomorrow, I fly to Ireland for the semester, as most of you know. Before I give you the update, though, one BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:
IMPORTANT!!!
Please do NOT call my cell phone between now and June. My father will be using it, but he doesn’t know how to check voicemail or read texts or anything like that. I will disable AIM forwarding, but any texts you send will probably never get to me, and any voicemails won’t be received for awhile at least, as an international call to check costs a lot. The best way to reach me is through AIM or email (judithavory@gmail.com). If you do not receive an email from me in the next week, you are not on my Ireland update list; if you’d like to be, please let me know!!
So…
December 27th:
So this was fun. The airline gods were again not working in my favor, or rather they were, but somewhat belatedly. Daddy and I drove home from Charlotte at eleven am and arrived at mom’s house at quarter to three. An hour before my flight, I got a call informing me that the flight was cancelled. I was put on the 7:45 to Dulles, but of course that meant I would have a half hour connection to switch terminals. Mom took me to the airport, where I found out I was actually on standby for the flight. I sat around for a nerve wracking hour, and finally got a seat near the front of the plane. We arrived a bit early, fortunately, so I did not have to spend the night in the airport. I got to Charleston at eleven thirty, and Taylor picked me up so we could go downtown and meet up with Kaminski’s Sarah. After some viewing of metal videos, we went to T-Bonz and sat with both Sarahs and ate cheese fries and chips. And that’s pretty much that.
December 28th:
Day One of Dock Street Ten began for us downtown, where we both had hair appointments with Nicole. We went to Sermet’s first to see if Ward was around so I could give him the money I owed him, but he wasn’t working so I just bought Taylor lunch instead. I must say that Sermet gets major props for vegetarian options. Okay true, you’re pretty much limited to salad, but the dressing is absolutely amazing, and I don’t miss the duck too much after all. Taylor had an amusing moment of magical powers in the restaurant… after we saw Danny and Mike out the window, she said “I hope I see Benji Lee this week” and two seconds later, Benji and Meg came walking down the sidewalk. Then she said she wanted to see a certain other person walk down the street naked, but it failed. Damn! The servers were talking about the Dock Street shows and asking each other questions, and we were slightly tempted to answer them, but didn’t.
After some brief King Street shopping and lounging around at Clara’s, we went over to Berenice’s. Nicole cut, curled, and dyed Taylor’s hair this great kind of purplish red, and gave me my goth haircut, but a little softer than I was originally thinking. I like it… very indie-kid. While Taylor was getting her color rinsed out, I walked over to Port City to check my email, and ran into pretty much everyone. First I crossed Liv, Lindsay, Geneva, and Bethany, then I ran into Angela and Ray, and then Ward showed up (and got his money). It was rather amusing. When I got back to Berenice’s, Seth was there with his moustache curled a la Jonny Gray, and Amanda Kapousouz had the appointment after mine. Small world.
After those adventures, we went back up to North Chuck (after running into a gaggle of Opiates plus Adam and Mary Ann). We changed (I fucked over the Grand Ball theme with my eighties punk outfit of black cocktail dress and black/silver fishnets with sneakers) and then went back down to Mary Ann’s apartment to wait for the show. We ended up arriving at the theatre ridiculously early, but it wasn’t too bad. There was mingling to be had and all that. I met some of the “freshmen” and saw a few friends. I was sitting in a box “stage Jonny” next to Viv and in front of Brenda. Stacey and Cierah and Cierah’s friends were in the box next to us, and Stacey looks like she’s going to drop that baby any second now. I think it’s going to come out looking like Stewie Griffin, honestly. Them big-headed boys!
The first night was a good set-it was fairly Dim & the Dark heavy, but they threw in Smiling Down for good measure, along with I Can Feel You and Sean O’ Flagherty’s. Another highlight was the reincarnation of an acoustic tour joke jam with improvised lyrics. “Years, years, years. It’s been years. Some years they renovate, some years they captivate, some years they excavate. It’s been years.” Amusing. I bought another copy of the DVD (mine was scratched and now in Kat’s possession) but no shirts because I never buy shirts.
After the show, Maddog and Taylor and I booked it to Cumberland’s. Luckily, we were early enough to get in, even though it was already starting to get packed. Melanie and Mona and Aran came in with us, and the Sarahs and Angela were already there, but it ended up selling out before Adam and Mary Ann came back from changing, and so Geni and Mary Ann had to sneak in the back (they let Adam in when others came out but they were cutting off unders). I met Ash Hopkins before the show, and saw some old friends as well. I found Cary in the bathroom restocking paper towels because Jonathon was afraid to go in. Ha! Cary started the set with a couple of original tunes and then Danny joined her for “Kudzu.” Her Jump cover was “Mexico,” performed country-style with Michael Robinson. It was, predictably, adorable. The next set was Bill Carson performing with Charlton Singleton (trumpet) and Kevin (upright bass, I forget his last name). He sang “Dim and the Dark” with Michael Flynn on harmonies, then “Copper Kettle,” “Hold You Down,” and “Only Son”-AND THEY ALL SOUNDED EXACTLY THE SAME!!! Oh, I love you, Bill.
Bain Mattox did a set next, minus two members of his band. The set was originals-heavy, including “Bleed Me Dry,” and “Time Bomb.” All the songs were from the new album, which he plugged, but I could handle that. His Jump cover was “All Those Days are Gone,” during which Justin just sat on the stage and talked to Rivers the whole time. After Bain, Michael played with a sort of makeshift band involving Benji and an unknown bassist and guitarist. I didn’t recognize the songs, but he played a Radiohead cover that got Emily, Bethany, and Liv rocking, and a cover of “Close Your Eyes.” Next was the rock portion of the set. Michael Trent played a set with “the Achievers,” which consisted of Danny on guitar, Bill on electric bass (actually rocking!), Ash on tambourine, and I believe Jack Berg on drums. They played some originals including “Keep Movement,” and then covered “Say Goodnight.” Sarah was gunning for “Body Parts,” but I liked the double-time version with Ash’s spastic tambourine clapping. The last act was almost the same people (the Bedrooms), and they weren’t that great, honestly. Their cover was “Vertigo,” which Danny completely blew the lyrics to, but oh well.
After the show I got to experience drunken Brent, watch Mary Ann get kicked out of her first bar (the doorguy noticed her inside without paying), and have Ally tell me drunkenly that she “loves my ass.” It was amusing. Oh, I also gave Amanda her scarf, which she loves, and saw Nicole again. Needless to say, by that point we were all exhausted, so we hobbled to the car, dropped of Sarah, and went straight to bed.
December 29th:
This was supposedly the “sleeping in day,” which sort of failed. We had French toast for breakfast with syrup and butter, which was good, and then proceeded to shop. We started at Walmart, where I bought Fellowship of the Ring and Return of the King on DVD (extended edition). Then we went to a jewelry store to find Taylor a shawl, but they didn’t have much, so we had lunch at Burger King. Mmm, veggie burgers and Icees. Amanda Mae got in around three, and we took paparazzi photos of her getting off the plane from the airport windows. On the way downtown, she flipped through the Urban Dictionary I got her and found the definitions for “tool,” “toolish,” and “toolbox,” respectively. The best was the example for the latter, something like “Matt is a mega tool. He’s not just a tool, he’s the whole box of tools. A total toolbox.” Ha!
We ended up at Mary Ann’s eventually, and then proceeded to Kaminski’s to meet up with Steve Fiore, who wanted to see Amanda as soon as she got into town. It ended up being Mary Ann, Taylor, Amanda, Adam, and I plus Steve, his bandmate Dan, and two female friends of Dan from out of town crowded around two little tables. I had key lime pie and we hung around for a little while talking about “good” bands and such. Taylor and I then ran back up to North Chuck to change again, and came back with Maddog in tow. This time we were much less early, but I still had time to see a few people. John, who I haven’t seen in forever, was in the audience below my box (stage Ward this time), and I saw a few others in the lobby. The set was more old-school this time, and quite enjoyable. Highlights included a particularly enthusiastic Pink Lemonade, John Reilly with Jonny on banjo and Ward on bass, Mother’s Eyes, and a personal favorite of mine, Mountains So Grand. There was also a very odd and amusing story involving the differences between Ward and Jonny, Bill Carson, and biscuits. The set looked especially good (props to Chad, Lauren, and “Rockstar,” haha). The Grand Ball stage included columns in a semicircle around the edge of the stage, and for night two lights were added from underneath, along with two chandeliers.
After the show there was a bit of a conflict because everyone wanted to see Matt, so they waited around while Sarah and I went to go get tables. Trouble was, everyone decided they wanted real food so poor Sarah is going to have to take some heat from her people at Kaminsky’s for reserving tables there. Fortunately we were able to get a bunch of tables together at Tbonz, and after an hour or so everyone finally came to meet us. I had cheese fries again, and I saw, but didn’t meet, Roger Davis, who is nothing like his brother.
December 30th:
This was far and away the longest “day of Jump” I’ve ever had, and one of the best. We got up early to attempt to find a shawl for Taylor again, which we sort of succeeded at. We also found “Fairytopia,” an amazing land of Barbies and Bivins. Due to a stroke of luck, we found parking and were pretty much on time for the Opiate picnic. I got to meet Lindsay Jean finally, and of course saw a bunch of other people. Steve, Dan, and Ash played for a bit before the picnic, and then we all did the kumbaya circle thing and introduced. This year Ally had different people present Opies, and I got to present Adam’s Best All Around Male and Most Crushable Male (big surprise there!) I was kind of sad that I didn’t win any, since the prizes were so cool this year, but I didn’t really expect it. Of course, Ash beat me out for rock star, the one I really wanted. It was still a lot of fun though, and afterwards there was more music a la Steve and Dan, including Decembrists and Death Cab, which I played along to a little bit on the pink harmonica.
After the picnic, we gave Dan and all his instruments (plus Steve’s guitar) a ride, and then proceeded to the matinee. I realized I had the wrong ticket, but fortunately it was okay and they started late so the fact that we were running behind didn’t really matter. I had a floor seat this time, right on the aisle left center, and it was pretty good. The set was very relaxed, and included “My Heart is on the Ocean” and “Quiet” for oldies. I also really enjoyed “Only Son” and “Lakes of Pontchartrain,” and one of my favorite reels, “Cooley’s.” Afterwards we had to book it back to North Charleston, because it ended around six and the parking garage was absolutely packed. Fortunately we were able to get back downtown in time, wearing our comfortable shoes as per our friends’ mysterious suggestions. A ton of people were wearing prom dresses, and I felt a bit underdressed, but it was great to see everyone in their gowns. Lindsay Jean looked especially lovely, and Amber had on this great gold dress of her mother’s. Amber and I sat together, and it was a lot of fun having someone to make asinine comments at. I also sat behind Christie, Amy, Anne, and Alison. Sarah draped the “We <3 Hugh” banner from the balcony, much to everyone’s amusement.
The set itself was amazing, as is to be expected. I don’t think it was the songs themselves so much, but just the energy in the audience. It was good to have that “going out with a bang” feel, and it kind of made me glad that they chose this time to breakup rather than later on. There were some sad and touching moments, but there were also amazing performances of “Singer” and “Because of You,” and everyone went crazy for “Not Today” and “My Guitar.” I was bouncing in my chair so much that I may have pissed off the girl next to me. Amber and I kept doing silly dances and then comforting each other when tears were threatening. It was an emotional evening for everyone, especially when Amanda came out and revealed the new Jump, Little Children Scholarship Fund as a surprise to the guys, speaking through her own waterworks.
The encore, as always, started with solo performances. Ward’s song was a solo piece I’ve never heard before, with a chorus that went something like “Don’t ask me where I’ll be, cause I’m free, out here on my own.” It really resounded with me, I think, beyond the sense that it makes in Ward’s own context. I took it a bit sadder than it was meant, though, as I was (and am) kind of starting to freak out about the future. I have no idea after this week whether I want to stay in Charleston, and this song plus Cathedrals were giving me a bit of a panic attack. Fortunately, Jonny went next and delivered comedically as always. His song was a sort of a toast to the guys, accompanied by Mike Bellar, and he actually poured them drinks in the middle of it. My favorite part was the line “have one more, let me pour, then we’ll fall on the floor,” or something like that. Jay went next, proving how badass he is with an amazing new song that he played on the piano with string accompaniment. Almost reminded me of Billy Joel or something. Next was Evan’s contribution, which was a number from Cabaret. Bill surprised everyone by actually attempting to give a speech, and then surprised no one by utterly failing, but it was cute nonetheless. Cary did a great performance of “See You Next Tuesday,” one of Taylor’s favorite Cabaret songs, in a black and pink corset. After that, it was Matt’s turn, and he told a story, essentially the same old NCSA story, with a tie-in to the first Dock Street and stealthily placed thank you’s. Then there was a great moment where he was like “I can’t think of any better way to end ten years of Dock Street… actually, I can think of a better way. I think it would be great if we could all go out to the corner of Church and Market where we started out and play some songs.” And so we did just that, as soon as Jonny warned us that we were technically inciting a mob and Jay promised that we could all scatter and they’d take the hit if the cops came.
The busking, predictably, was an amazing moment. We all crowded into the market, some standing on tables, and watched as they played “Ocean Grace,” “Long Black Veil,” and of course, “Jump, Little Children.” At the end, Crystal presented the photomats we all signed with the picture of the bow from night two, and then it was utter madness as everyone said goodbyes and cried and hugged and all that. I saw Kitty and Kenny and stood on tables to corral the group, who finally decided to head to TBonz again after a brief sojourn at the theatre and a conversation with Maggie about cocktails in public and police officers. At TBonz, we again broke some fire codes with the number of people crowded around, including the usual gajas, some of Sarah’s friends, and Matt Evans and Hugh. I had nachos for a change, and cranberry juice. Ally and I had a zen moment at one point when she walked in as “Seven Nation Army” was playing and we both started air guitaring at each other, and I spent a lot of the evening trying not to freak out about leaving. I got lots of love from Hugh from being a North Carolinian, and lots of big hugs from my friends before leaving. And that’s that. We kind of failed on the toast this year, but it’s the thought that counts. Dock Street is over, Jump is over, and I suddenly have no clue what the fuck I want to do with my life. The scary thing is, the truest answer I can come up with now is “nothing.” I honestly can’t think of anything I’d be happy doing or anywhere I’d be happy living, but hopefully this too shall pass. So now I sit, in my eighth hour of sitting around in airports today, hoping that I’ll get home at some point tomorrow so that I can be in another airport at noon tomorrow, getting ready to go to Ireland. Only one word to describe this week…
Oy.
IMPORTANT!!!
Please do NOT call my cell phone between now and June. My father will be using it, but he doesn’t know how to check voicemail or read texts or anything like that. I will disable AIM forwarding, but any texts you send will probably never get to me, and any voicemails won’t be received for awhile at least, as an international call to check costs a lot. The best way to reach me is through AIM or email (judithavory@gmail.com). If you do not receive an email from me in the next week, you are not on my Ireland update list; if you’d like to be, please let me know!!
So…
December 27th:
So this was fun. The airline gods were again not working in my favor, or rather they were, but somewhat belatedly. Daddy and I drove home from Charlotte at eleven am and arrived at mom’s house at quarter to three. An hour before my flight, I got a call informing me that the flight was cancelled. I was put on the 7:45 to Dulles, but of course that meant I would have a half hour connection to switch terminals. Mom took me to the airport, where I found out I was actually on standby for the flight. I sat around for a nerve wracking hour, and finally got a seat near the front of the plane. We arrived a bit early, fortunately, so I did not have to spend the night in the airport. I got to Charleston at eleven thirty, and Taylor picked me up so we could go downtown and meet up with Kaminski’s Sarah. After some viewing of metal videos, we went to T-Bonz and sat with both Sarahs and ate cheese fries and chips. And that’s pretty much that.
December 28th:
Day One of Dock Street Ten began for us downtown, where we both had hair appointments with Nicole. We went to Sermet’s first to see if Ward was around so I could give him the money I owed him, but he wasn’t working so I just bought Taylor lunch instead. I must say that Sermet gets major props for vegetarian options. Okay true, you’re pretty much limited to salad, but the dressing is absolutely amazing, and I don’t miss the duck too much after all. Taylor had an amusing moment of magical powers in the restaurant… after we saw Danny and Mike out the window, she said “I hope I see Benji Lee this week” and two seconds later, Benji and Meg came walking down the sidewalk. Then she said she wanted to see a certain other person walk down the street naked, but it failed. Damn! The servers were talking about the Dock Street shows and asking each other questions, and we were slightly tempted to answer them, but didn’t.
After some brief King Street shopping and lounging around at Clara’s, we went over to Berenice’s. Nicole cut, curled, and dyed Taylor’s hair this great kind of purplish red, and gave me my goth haircut, but a little softer than I was originally thinking. I like it… very indie-kid. While Taylor was getting her color rinsed out, I walked over to Port City to check my email, and ran into pretty much everyone. First I crossed Liv, Lindsay, Geneva, and Bethany, then I ran into Angela and Ray, and then Ward showed up (and got his money). It was rather amusing. When I got back to Berenice’s, Seth was there with his moustache curled a la Jonny Gray, and Amanda Kapousouz had the appointment after mine. Small world.
After those adventures, we went back up to North Chuck (after running into a gaggle of Opiates plus Adam and Mary Ann). We changed (I fucked over the Grand Ball theme with my eighties punk outfit of black cocktail dress and black/silver fishnets with sneakers) and then went back down to Mary Ann’s apartment to wait for the show. We ended up arriving at the theatre ridiculously early, but it wasn’t too bad. There was mingling to be had and all that. I met some of the “freshmen” and saw a few friends. I was sitting in a box “stage Jonny” next to Viv and in front of Brenda. Stacey and Cierah and Cierah’s friends were in the box next to us, and Stacey looks like she’s going to drop that baby any second now. I think it’s going to come out looking like Stewie Griffin, honestly. Them big-headed boys!
The first night was a good set-it was fairly Dim & the Dark heavy, but they threw in Smiling Down for good measure, along with I Can Feel You and Sean O’ Flagherty’s. Another highlight was the reincarnation of an acoustic tour joke jam with improvised lyrics. “Years, years, years. It’s been years. Some years they renovate, some years they captivate, some years they excavate. It’s been years.” Amusing. I bought another copy of the DVD (mine was scratched and now in Kat’s possession) but no shirts because I never buy shirts.
After the show, Maddog and Taylor and I booked it to Cumberland’s. Luckily, we were early enough to get in, even though it was already starting to get packed. Melanie and Mona and Aran came in with us, and the Sarahs and Angela were already there, but it ended up selling out before Adam and Mary Ann came back from changing, and so Geni and Mary Ann had to sneak in the back (they let Adam in when others came out but they were cutting off unders). I met Ash Hopkins before the show, and saw some old friends as well. I found Cary in the bathroom restocking paper towels because Jonathon was afraid to go in. Ha! Cary started the set with a couple of original tunes and then Danny joined her for “Kudzu.” Her Jump cover was “Mexico,” performed country-style with Michael Robinson. It was, predictably, adorable. The next set was Bill Carson performing with Charlton Singleton (trumpet) and Kevin (upright bass, I forget his last name). He sang “Dim and the Dark” with Michael Flynn on harmonies, then “Copper Kettle,” “Hold You Down,” and “Only Son”-AND THEY ALL SOUNDED EXACTLY THE SAME!!! Oh, I love you, Bill.
Bain Mattox did a set next, minus two members of his band. The set was originals-heavy, including “Bleed Me Dry,” and “Time Bomb.” All the songs were from the new album, which he plugged, but I could handle that. His Jump cover was “All Those Days are Gone,” during which Justin just sat on the stage and talked to Rivers the whole time. After Bain, Michael played with a sort of makeshift band involving Benji and an unknown bassist and guitarist. I didn’t recognize the songs, but he played a Radiohead cover that got Emily, Bethany, and Liv rocking, and a cover of “Close Your Eyes.” Next was the rock portion of the set. Michael Trent played a set with “the Achievers,” which consisted of Danny on guitar, Bill on electric bass (actually rocking!), Ash on tambourine, and I believe Jack Berg on drums. They played some originals including “Keep Movement,” and then covered “Say Goodnight.” Sarah was gunning for “Body Parts,” but I liked the double-time version with Ash’s spastic tambourine clapping. The last act was almost the same people (the Bedrooms), and they weren’t that great, honestly. Their cover was “Vertigo,” which Danny completely blew the lyrics to, but oh well.
After the show I got to experience drunken Brent, watch Mary Ann get kicked out of her first bar (the doorguy noticed her inside without paying), and have Ally tell me drunkenly that she “loves my ass.” It was amusing. Oh, I also gave Amanda her scarf, which she loves, and saw Nicole again. Needless to say, by that point we were all exhausted, so we hobbled to the car, dropped of Sarah, and went straight to bed.
December 29th:
This was supposedly the “sleeping in day,” which sort of failed. We had French toast for breakfast with syrup and butter, which was good, and then proceeded to shop. We started at Walmart, where I bought Fellowship of the Ring and Return of the King on DVD (extended edition). Then we went to a jewelry store to find Taylor a shawl, but they didn’t have much, so we had lunch at Burger King. Mmm, veggie burgers and Icees. Amanda Mae got in around three, and we took paparazzi photos of her getting off the plane from the airport windows. On the way downtown, she flipped through the Urban Dictionary I got her and found the definitions for “tool,” “toolish,” and “toolbox,” respectively. The best was the example for the latter, something like “Matt is a mega tool. He’s not just a tool, he’s the whole box of tools. A total toolbox.” Ha!
We ended up at Mary Ann’s eventually, and then proceeded to Kaminski’s to meet up with Steve Fiore, who wanted to see Amanda as soon as she got into town. It ended up being Mary Ann, Taylor, Amanda, Adam, and I plus Steve, his bandmate Dan, and two female friends of Dan from out of town crowded around two little tables. I had key lime pie and we hung around for a little while talking about “good” bands and such. Taylor and I then ran back up to North Chuck to change again, and came back with Maddog in tow. This time we were much less early, but I still had time to see a few people. John, who I haven’t seen in forever, was in the audience below my box (stage Ward this time), and I saw a few others in the lobby. The set was more old-school this time, and quite enjoyable. Highlights included a particularly enthusiastic Pink Lemonade, John Reilly with Jonny on banjo and Ward on bass, Mother’s Eyes, and a personal favorite of mine, Mountains So Grand. There was also a very odd and amusing story involving the differences between Ward and Jonny, Bill Carson, and biscuits. The set looked especially good (props to Chad, Lauren, and “Rockstar,” haha). The Grand Ball stage included columns in a semicircle around the edge of the stage, and for night two lights were added from underneath, along with two chandeliers.
After the show there was a bit of a conflict because everyone wanted to see Matt, so they waited around while Sarah and I went to go get tables. Trouble was, everyone decided they wanted real food so poor Sarah is going to have to take some heat from her people at Kaminsky’s for reserving tables there. Fortunately we were able to get a bunch of tables together at Tbonz, and after an hour or so everyone finally came to meet us. I had cheese fries again, and I saw, but didn’t meet, Roger Davis, who is nothing like his brother.
December 30th:
This was far and away the longest “day of Jump” I’ve ever had, and one of the best. We got up early to attempt to find a shawl for Taylor again, which we sort of succeeded at. We also found “Fairytopia,” an amazing land of Barbies and Bivins. Due to a stroke of luck, we found parking and were pretty much on time for the Opiate picnic. I got to meet Lindsay Jean finally, and of course saw a bunch of other people. Steve, Dan, and Ash played for a bit before the picnic, and then we all did the kumbaya circle thing and introduced. This year Ally had different people present Opies, and I got to present Adam’s Best All Around Male and Most Crushable Male (big surprise there!) I was kind of sad that I didn’t win any, since the prizes were so cool this year, but I didn’t really expect it. Of course, Ash beat me out for rock star, the one I really wanted. It was still a lot of fun though, and afterwards there was more music a la Steve and Dan, including Decembrists and Death Cab, which I played along to a little bit on the pink harmonica.
After the picnic, we gave Dan and all his instruments (plus Steve’s guitar) a ride, and then proceeded to the matinee. I realized I had the wrong ticket, but fortunately it was okay and they started late so the fact that we were running behind didn’t really matter. I had a floor seat this time, right on the aisle left center, and it was pretty good. The set was very relaxed, and included “My Heart is on the Ocean” and “Quiet” for oldies. I also really enjoyed “Only Son” and “Lakes of Pontchartrain,” and one of my favorite reels, “Cooley’s.” Afterwards we had to book it back to North Charleston, because it ended around six and the parking garage was absolutely packed. Fortunately we were able to get back downtown in time, wearing our comfortable shoes as per our friends’ mysterious suggestions. A ton of people were wearing prom dresses, and I felt a bit underdressed, but it was great to see everyone in their gowns. Lindsay Jean looked especially lovely, and Amber had on this great gold dress of her mother’s. Amber and I sat together, and it was a lot of fun having someone to make asinine comments at. I also sat behind Christie, Amy, Anne, and Alison. Sarah draped the “We <3 Hugh” banner from the balcony, much to everyone’s amusement.
The set itself was amazing, as is to be expected. I don’t think it was the songs themselves so much, but just the energy in the audience. It was good to have that “going out with a bang” feel, and it kind of made me glad that they chose this time to breakup rather than later on. There were some sad and touching moments, but there were also amazing performances of “Singer” and “Because of You,” and everyone went crazy for “Not Today” and “My Guitar.” I was bouncing in my chair so much that I may have pissed off the girl next to me. Amber and I kept doing silly dances and then comforting each other when tears were threatening. It was an emotional evening for everyone, especially when Amanda came out and revealed the new Jump, Little Children Scholarship Fund as a surprise to the guys, speaking through her own waterworks.
The encore, as always, started with solo performances. Ward’s song was a solo piece I’ve never heard before, with a chorus that went something like “Don’t ask me where I’ll be, cause I’m free, out here on my own.” It really resounded with me, I think, beyond the sense that it makes in Ward’s own context. I took it a bit sadder than it was meant, though, as I was (and am) kind of starting to freak out about the future. I have no idea after this week whether I want to stay in Charleston, and this song plus Cathedrals were giving me a bit of a panic attack. Fortunately, Jonny went next and delivered comedically as always. His song was a sort of a toast to the guys, accompanied by Mike Bellar, and he actually poured them drinks in the middle of it. My favorite part was the line “have one more, let me pour, then we’ll fall on the floor,” or something like that. Jay went next, proving how badass he is with an amazing new song that he played on the piano with string accompaniment. Almost reminded me of Billy Joel or something. Next was Evan’s contribution, which was a number from Cabaret. Bill surprised everyone by actually attempting to give a speech, and then surprised no one by utterly failing, but it was cute nonetheless. Cary did a great performance of “See You Next Tuesday,” one of Taylor’s favorite Cabaret songs, in a black and pink corset. After that, it was Matt’s turn, and he told a story, essentially the same old NCSA story, with a tie-in to the first Dock Street and stealthily placed thank you’s. Then there was a great moment where he was like “I can’t think of any better way to end ten years of Dock Street… actually, I can think of a better way. I think it would be great if we could all go out to the corner of Church and Market where we started out and play some songs.” And so we did just that, as soon as Jonny warned us that we were technically inciting a mob and Jay promised that we could all scatter and they’d take the hit if the cops came.
The busking, predictably, was an amazing moment. We all crowded into the market, some standing on tables, and watched as they played “Ocean Grace,” “Long Black Veil,” and of course, “Jump, Little Children.” At the end, Crystal presented the photomats we all signed with the picture of the bow from night two, and then it was utter madness as everyone said goodbyes and cried and hugged and all that. I saw Kitty and Kenny and stood on tables to corral the group, who finally decided to head to TBonz again after a brief sojourn at the theatre and a conversation with Maggie about cocktails in public and police officers. At TBonz, we again broke some fire codes with the number of people crowded around, including the usual gajas, some of Sarah’s friends, and Matt Evans and Hugh. I had nachos for a change, and cranberry juice. Ally and I had a zen moment at one point when she walked in as “Seven Nation Army” was playing and we both started air guitaring at each other, and I spent a lot of the evening trying not to freak out about leaving. I got lots of love from Hugh from being a North Carolinian, and lots of big hugs from my friends before leaving. And that’s that. We kind of failed on the toast this year, but it’s the thought that counts. Dock Street is over, Jump is over, and I suddenly have no clue what the fuck I want to do with my life. The scary thing is, the truest answer I can come up with now is “nothing.” I honestly can’t think of anything I’d be happy doing or anywhere I’d be happy living, but hopefully this too shall pass. So now I sit, in my eighth hour of sitting around in airports today, hoping that I’ll get home at some point tomorrow so that I can be in another airport at noon tomorrow, getting ready to go to Ireland. Only one word to describe this week…
Oy.