massa always wins
well. that was -- nuts. and really fun.
so, on a semi-whim last night, i went to go see the twilight singers play at warsaw in greenpoint. i was in the front row and had a fantastic view of the whole thing. a great energy. the covers they play are amazing. they did a bit of "all you need is love", they did hyperballad, they did don't fear the reaper, they did outkast, they did martina topley-bird. it was all really great. greg has just the most fantastic voice, and his banter is hilarious. he was talking about having seen passion of the christ, and that he fell asleep 3 times during the 45 minute beating. "at some point, after the guys been beating you for a while, say OW." he also couldn't bring himself to believe that "judas was that big a pussy," because judas should be harvey keitel. and at one point, this girl in the front leans in to give him roses. and he kinda stops for a second, and thinks. and then leans down to get them. and the girl pulls them away! and he just gets this huge smile on his face and goes "well then, fuck you, bitch!" in this really good natured voice.
and so after the show, i just thought to myself "hey, i don't have anything better to do. i'm going to go sit by the bus and see if i can meet greg dulli." not really thinking exactly what the fuck i would have to say to greg dulli. i just have never waited by a bus for anyone since tori days, and i thought it would be fun. and the security guys were like, no no, greg's on the bus because there's a death threat against him (!! totally serious, apparently the banter with some girl in ireland got out of hand and now her new-york-based boyfriend told him the only way he'd get out of new york would be in a body bag), but the other guys will probably go out. and i met some cool girls from buffalo, and then i met bobby, the drummer, and then i was still waiting and this girl i'd met in the ticket line came up and said hi and introduced me to sully, the bass player. and there was this other girl with her, rebecca, who was so drunk that she looked like she'd had a stroke. but it was her birthday! so we all went down to this bar a block away, where i ran into kate donohoe (!! again), and i met some other nice girls from baltimore and talked to steve, the back up singer, but mostly chatted with sully, who's just a really good guy. the atmosphere was set very early on, when he goes, "you're tall." and we talked about that for a second and he goes "i don't like girls who are taller than i am." and i said, "well, then it's over before it even began, sully." and he laughed. so, platonic nature of the evening set, i decided i would stick by sully for the rest of the evening rather than try to get back to manhattan. i was actually really close to erik's place, i walked right past his block on my way up lorimer to the club, but i don't have his phone number so i couldn't call and ask to crash there.
greg dulli and the rest of the band management actually make it to the bar at that point and create a huddle in the corner around him and actively flout the smoking rules. i ended up sitting directly behind greg smoking a cigarette next to the sound engineer from warsaw, who, as i always say, is probably a good person, but also massively boring and kinda creepy old rock guy-y. but yeah, i had my brush with fame, because dulli turned around and smiled at me, and i said "hi, i'm maggie." and he shook my hand and said "hi maggie, i'm greg." and i smiled and said, "yeah, i know, hon," and rubbed him on his shoulder. the atmosphere was just really chill and relaxed. i was kinda grossed out by the fan girls that were absolutely slobbering over him. at one point, three girls were literally sitting at his feet. and i got to know one of the girls later, and she seemed really sincere about what an effect greg's music has had on her life, and i get that. but man, it must get so tired for him all the time. i'm sure part of him gets off on it, of course. basically he seems like the nicest prick in the world. :) the way he walks -- he stands up really straight with his shoulders back, leading with his solar plexus. very cock of the walk. but when he's just sitting, smiling, he seems like a totally sweet, charming...uh...rock star. with girls slobbering on him. and that made me glad that i never made any attempt to say anything real to him, because i like being, you know, the cool chick what stays above the fray.
so as the bar is closing, we're all supposed to go to an afterparty at this other guy named greg's loft. he apparently was a sound engineer when they were recording the first twilight singers album and got to play on one song and now fancies himself an official part of the band. i didn't love him, he seemed like a schmuck. so, me and sully and these two girls from buffalo and rebecca the drunk girl and some random old guy who didn't even go to the concert but just wants to hang out, set off for this party. only rebecca has come up with some completely false address to go to (11th and barry). well, first she falls out of the bar onto her face. she's gonna have one hell of a shiner -- it was showing up about 30 seconds after she got up. but yeah, so she keeps trying to call a cab even though the place we're going to is just across the park. so sully is like pulling her to get her to walk. she also keeps saying she knows where she can go score some blow if we'll just give her 60 bucks. whatever. she was out of her mind. so we get all the way across the park and sully finally calls bobby, the drummer, and finds out that the address we're going to is totally false and we're supposed to be at lorimer and richardson. and i go, lorimer? that's the street we were just on; that's what i walked up from the train. so, i have my handy dandy piss-poor map of williamsberg that i crudely drew myself 3 minutes before leaving the apartment and find that lorimer and richardson is, indeed, right back where we were. sully sees my map and goes "maggie, you are so my favorite person i've met tonight." so sully and i start shouting and waving to the others to get them to turn around but they're playing some kind of game, presumably entitled "rebecca the drunk girl steals everyone's cell phone and then falls down," so we just go back on our own. we get about halfway back across the park when jen, one of the girls from buffalo, calls sully and wants to know where we are, so we have to walk back and get them (except rebecca, who mysteriously disappeared) and then, eventually, get to the afterparty. which sucks. it's like 12 people and a couple of beers and a dark dingy loft. i stayed outside for a while talking to bobby, who's really funny. then a bunch of us walk over to a diner and get some food, and apparently jen got some guys across the diner to do a striptease for her. (i missed that particular happening.) so the girls from buffalo have to go back to manhattan because jen has to WORK in an hour and a half. (and she's actually saying, "so, this means i can gt half-an-hour of sleep..." dude, don't even bother.) so me and sully and these two girls from baltimore flag down a cab to go back to the band's hotel. sully instructs him to go to 3317 greenpoint avenue.
and the cabby takes us to queens.
yeah.
i was watching him driving and we got on an expressway and i saw a sign that said "long island expressway", and i kept thinking, "we're going too far east." and then i started seeing streets with high avenue numbers (queens) and then, finally, a sign that says "welcome to maspeth." and i've been making noise for a while in the back seat and when i see the maspeth sign, i just go, "ok, no, stop, we're totally in the wrong place." so he pulls over and just keeps saying "yes, yes, cemetary," because sully made the mistake of telling him the hotel was across from a cemetary and now he's apparently going to drop us off in one of the grand swaths of queens that houses corpses. so sully asks him to get out a map and he shows us where we are. and then they hand the map back to me and i find where we're going. the cabbie was on page 24. our destination? page 40. yeah. so i tell him that he's got to reset the meter cuz i'm not paying $8.50 for him having driven us to queens. and then he actually said, "it's not about how much money it is, it's about how you get there." and sully just goes "what the fuck, man?!?" and the cabby gets all grumpy and tells us to get out. which i have no problem with. we go into a deli and call a car service and get the hell out of dodge. the new cabbie gets us exactly where we're going quickly. good man.
we hung out with bobby and his girlfriend for a while, and then they went off elsewhere to do...other things. and then one of the girls from baltimore took a nap and the other girl (melissa) and sully and i went for a walk in calvalry cemetary, which is really quite lovely and it was absolutely gorgeous outside. sully also took us on the bus on a quest for sunglasses. we had to be really quiet so as to not wake greg, who had crashed in the back of the bus, presumably in a small puddle of marker's mark. melissa drew a fantastic drawing of the band for sully. the sully likeness was pretty crap, but the greg one was right on from the first few pen strokes and it cracked me up.
and then, crashing. their bus was leaving at 3, so i was awakened at 2:15 by everyone in the band either calling sully or knocking on the door to tell him that they're leaving soon. message received. and, minor fame brush again, dulli's outside the hotel with his sunglasses and his big fleece on, all bundled up and hungover, about to play ball with the band's manager. and greg was like "hey, i met you last night! how are you?" hee. rememberedness. ok, end of slobber.
and now i am home, just having done something really fun and generally pretty unlike me. but i was in control the WHOLE TIME. i never once felt like i was pressured to talk, or going crazy or anything. i was just cool, and happy. and now i am sleepy.
so, on a semi-whim last night, i went to go see the twilight singers play at warsaw in greenpoint. i was in the front row and had a fantastic view of the whole thing. a great energy. the covers they play are amazing. they did a bit of "all you need is love", they did hyperballad, they did don't fear the reaper, they did outkast, they did martina topley-bird. it was all really great. greg has just the most fantastic voice, and his banter is hilarious. he was talking about having seen passion of the christ, and that he fell asleep 3 times during the 45 minute beating. "at some point, after the guys been beating you for a while, say OW." he also couldn't bring himself to believe that "judas was that big a pussy," because judas should be harvey keitel. and at one point, this girl in the front leans in to give him roses. and he kinda stops for a second, and thinks. and then leans down to get them. and the girl pulls them away! and he just gets this huge smile on his face and goes "well then, fuck you, bitch!" in this really good natured voice.
and so after the show, i just thought to myself "hey, i don't have anything better to do. i'm going to go sit by the bus and see if i can meet greg dulli." not really thinking exactly what the fuck i would have to say to greg dulli. i just have never waited by a bus for anyone since tori days, and i thought it would be fun. and the security guys were like, no no, greg's on the bus because there's a death threat against him (!! totally serious, apparently the banter with some girl in ireland got out of hand and now her new-york-based boyfriend told him the only way he'd get out of new york would be in a body bag), but the other guys will probably go out. and i met some cool girls from buffalo, and then i met bobby, the drummer, and then i was still waiting and this girl i'd met in the ticket line came up and said hi and introduced me to sully, the bass player. and there was this other girl with her, rebecca, who was so drunk that she looked like she'd had a stroke. but it was her birthday! so we all went down to this bar a block away, where i ran into kate donohoe (!! again), and i met some other nice girls from baltimore and talked to steve, the back up singer, but mostly chatted with sully, who's just a really good guy. the atmosphere was set very early on, when he goes, "you're tall." and we talked about that for a second and he goes "i don't like girls who are taller than i am." and i said, "well, then it's over before it even began, sully." and he laughed. so, platonic nature of the evening set, i decided i would stick by sully for the rest of the evening rather than try to get back to manhattan. i was actually really close to erik's place, i walked right past his block on my way up lorimer to the club, but i don't have his phone number so i couldn't call and ask to crash there.
greg dulli and the rest of the band management actually make it to the bar at that point and create a huddle in the corner around him and actively flout the smoking rules. i ended up sitting directly behind greg smoking a cigarette next to the sound engineer from warsaw, who, as i always say, is probably a good person, but also massively boring and kinda creepy old rock guy-y. but yeah, i had my brush with fame, because dulli turned around and smiled at me, and i said "hi, i'm maggie." and he shook my hand and said "hi maggie, i'm greg." and i smiled and said, "yeah, i know, hon," and rubbed him on his shoulder. the atmosphere was just really chill and relaxed. i was kinda grossed out by the fan girls that were absolutely slobbering over him. at one point, three girls were literally sitting at his feet. and i got to know one of the girls later, and she seemed really sincere about what an effect greg's music has had on her life, and i get that. but man, it must get so tired for him all the time. i'm sure part of him gets off on it, of course. basically he seems like the nicest prick in the world. :) the way he walks -- he stands up really straight with his shoulders back, leading with his solar plexus. very cock of the walk. but when he's just sitting, smiling, he seems like a totally sweet, charming...uh...rock star. with girls slobbering on him. and that made me glad that i never made any attempt to say anything real to him, because i like being, you know, the cool chick what stays above the fray.
so as the bar is closing, we're all supposed to go to an afterparty at this other guy named greg's loft. he apparently was a sound engineer when they were recording the first twilight singers album and got to play on one song and now fancies himself an official part of the band. i didn't love him, he seemed like a schmuck. so, me and sully and these two girls from buffalo and rebecca the drunk girl and some random old guy who didn't even go to the concert but just wants to hang out, set off for this party. only rebecca has come up with some completely false address to go to (11th and barry). well, first she falls out of the bar onto her face. she's gonna have one hell of a shiner -- it was showing up about 30 seconds after she got up. but yeah, so she keeps trying to call a cab even though the place we're going to is just across the park. so sully is like pulling her to get her to walk. she also keeps saying she knows where she can go score some blow if we'll just give her 60 bucks. whatever. she was out of her mind. so we get all the way across the park and sully finally calls bobby, the drummer, and finds out that the address we're going to is totally false and we're supposed to be at lorimer and richardson. and i go, lorimer? that's the street we were just on; that's what i walked up from the train. so, i have my handy dandy piss-poor map of williamsberg that i crudely drew myself 3 minutes before leaving the apartment and find that lorimer and richardson is, indeed, right back where we were. sully sees my map and goes "maggie, you are so my favorite person i've met tonight." so sully and i start shouting and waving to the others to get them to turn around but they're playing some kind of game, presumably entitled "rebecca the drunk girl steals everyone's cell phone and then falls down," so we just go back on our own. we get about halfway back across the park when jen, one of the girls from buffalo, calls sully and wants to know where we are, so we have to walk back and get them (except rebecca, who mysteriously disappeared) and then, eventually, get to the afterparty. which sucks. it's like 12 people and a couple of beers and a dark dingy loft. i stayed outside for a while talking to bobby, who's really funny. then a bunch of us walk over to a diner and get some food, and apparently jen got some guys across the diner to do a striptease for her. (i missed that particular happening.) so the girls from buffalo have to go back to manhattan because jen has to WORK in an hour and a half. (and she's actually saying, "so, this means i can gt half-an-hour of sleep..." dude, don't even bother.) so me and sully and these two girls from baltimore flag down a cab to go back to the band's hotel. sully instructs him to go to 3317 greenpoint avenue.
and the cabby takes us to queens.
yeah.
i was watching him driving and we got on an expressway and i saw a sign that said "long island expressway", and i kept thinking, "we're going too far east." and then i started seeing streets with high avenue numbers (queens) and then, finally, a sign that says "welcome to maspeth." and i've been making noise for a while in the back seat and when i see the maspeth sign, i just go, "ok, no, stop, we're totally in the wrong place." so he pulls over and just keeps saying "yes, yes, cemetary," because sully made the mistake of telling him the hotel was across from a cemetary and now he's apparently going to drop us off in one of the grand swaths of queens that houses corpses. so sully asks him to get out a map and he shows us where we are. and then they hand the map back to me and i find where we're going. the cabbie was on page 24. our destination? page 40. yeah. so i tell him that he's got to reset the meter cuz i'm not paying $8.50 for him having driven us to queens. and then he actually said, "it's not about how much money it is, it's about how you get there." and sully just goes "what the fuck, man?!?" and the cabby gets all grumpy and tells us to get out. which i have no problem with. we go into a deli and call a car service and get the hell out of dodge. the new cabbie gets us exactly where we're going quickly. good man.
we hung out with bobby and his girlfriend for a while, and then they went off elsewhere to do...other things. and then one of the girls from baltimore took a nap and the other girl (melissa) and sully and i went for a walk in calvalry cemetary, which is really quite lovely and it was absolutely gorgeous outside. sully also took us on the bus on a quest for sunglasses. we had to be really quiet so as to not wake greg, who had crashed in the back of the bus, presumably in a small puddle of marker's mark. melissa drew a fantastic drawing of the band for sully. the sully likeness was pretty crap, but the greg one was right on from the first few pen strokes and it cracked me up.
and then, crashing. their bus was leaving at 3, so i was awakened at 2:15 by everyone in the band either calling sully or knocking on the door to tell him that they're leaving soon. message received. and, minor fame brush again, dulli's outside the hotel with his sunglasses and his big fleece on, all bundled up and hungover, about to play ball with the band's manager. and greg was like "hey, i met you last night! how are you?" hee. rememberedness. ok, end of slobber.
and now i am home, just having done something really fun and generally pretty unlike me. but i was in control the WHOLE TIME. i never once felt like i was pressured to talk, or going crazy or anything. i was just cool, and happy. and now i am sleepy.