Since it's taken me over a month to write about this fucking show, I'm going to ask that you give me some leeway regarding the facts. I believe we played a show at The Beat Kitchen, on Belmont Avenue here in Chicago. The show took place at night. I'd been excited about playing at The Beat Kitchen because the food there is very good for bar food and even good by non-bar-food standards, because it's not far from Lincoln Square which the neighborhood I happen to be living in, and because it's new to us, we've never played there before as a band (Andy played once long ago which you can read about here) and that's always a little exciting.

We played with My Business Failed in Three Weeks, one of the more enjoyable bands I've run into in the last year or so; and with Black Lipstick, friends from Texas who flew up for the weekend. The first band was odd and funny; the second band was somber and low-key. And then, of course, then there was the third band, which was us, and at this point I felt like I was playing for a room full of only my friends - though most of my friends failed to show up. That is how sad this rock life can be! Still, we charged ahead as a group, and I as an individual, I also charged ahead.

It turned out to be a good idea. By the time we'd played about two-thirds of the set, I started to feel pretty good; and by the time we finished, I definitely felt good, I was having fun, it was a good night. Then we started playing encores, and you know encores are so dumb, but still it's best to go through the ritual of it, leave the stage and come back, it's just better that way, it is; but here we left the stage, then went back for an encore... and we played for another fucking hour! Or I think it was an hour, it was right around that. I was in pain! We played until the place closed, and still there were a quite a few people hanging around - including one, a pretty one, who I was eager to embarrass myself in front of, and did. By then I was convinced that it had been a good night.

About our set: we played many old, old songs, many of which we haven't played in years, one of which - Shithead - we've never played onstage, ever. We played Into the Woods, which I never thought we'd play again; Wet Firecracker, Waiting on a Train, Party in Warsaw, other shit I never thought would happen. My arms hurt badly the next day but truly it was an enjoyable evening.