the dictators (nyc)

hello. this is my brain on 2.5 hours of sleep.

so, once again, the brighton bar pulled through and booked the fucking dictators. it's the dictators nyc because it's not technically the actual dictators, but it does consist of ross the boss and god damn motherfucking handsome dick manitoba. he's so fucking cool, you guys. well, anyway, i drove for 2 hours to go to this show. the girl that sylvain was talking to (remember when i said he was holding her hand while she was talking? and i was just sitting there? yeah, that girl) met up with me there (yeah we're facebook friends now what of it...but she said she would get me a cheap ticket in advance and also she's like really awesome) and introduced me to a dude in one of the opening bands (they were rad as well but i will get to that) and then we went in and hung out at the bar together. we talked forever and she said she'll come to philly for a show sometime. she actually didn't let me pay her back for the ticket because she was so impressed that i drove so far just for a show. i guess that's not a thing that people do much anymore but i don't like letting things escape me so i just fucking do it. i pay the consequences, for sure, but it's always worth it. she also bought me a shot because she wanted me to have a good time. as if i wasn't going to already! but yeah. so i was reintroduced to the bottle of fireball whiskey. we meet again, you delicious bastard. wait where was i? so we're hanging out and the first band starts playing and they were really awesome but i forget the name. then it was the disconnects which is the band that guy was in that she introduced me to. she warned me that they would be my new band crush and she was 100% right. it's kind of rare to find little local bands that kick as much ass and are having as much fun as those guys are so definitely check them out. he was like deep throating the microphone which is always a good time. and then frankenstein 3000 but you know i like those guys already, right? indeed. and meanwhile i am getting introduced to a ton of people because this chick knows everyone! and some other dude bought me a shot. i was like COME ON PEOPLE I HAVE TO DRIVE HOME but ok.

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wow, that is really rambly; sorry about that, but it pretty much gives you an idea of how exhausted i was that night. that's as far as i got friday night/saturday morning with talking about the show before i was like "oh shit i have to wake up in a couple of hourszzzzzzzzzzzz" so i will continue this now. except everything is really fuzzy because i didn't sleep much and i went to another show last night (which i will write about in a separate post of course). what i do remember is that the dictators are really just a fucking great rock and roll band. and you know, handsome dick manitoba is the man. i remember they did "the party starts now," "i stand tall," "who will save rock and roll," "baby let's twist" (that might be my favorite...), "faster & louder," and, of course, "two tub man." i would have been so sad if they didn't do that one! fun fact: i like to sing that song to my sister, although i'm not entirely sure how that started, and it doesn't really make sense to sing it to her. i just like that it confuses her i suppose. we'll be out shopping and i'll just be like "iiiiii drink coca cola for breakfast!!!" and she just rolls her eyes at me. the crowd was really into it, everyone was jumping and singing along and it was really just a good time. probably the most fun i've had in a while. they sounded great. i'm so glad i went.

i know these pictures are terrible, but i'm sharing anyway. they're still fun to look at.

so after the show, i saw my friend and his wife, the ones that i stood in the stranglers vip line with, and he offered to take my picture with handsome dick for me. so, i went over and asked him for a picture, and he said absolutely, and he put his arm around me. i mean, HE PUT HIS FUCKING ARM AROUND ME. it was unlike any other arm i've ever had around me. ever. my friend took the picture and dick says "i'm sorry, my paternal instinct kicked in." no kidding, man, he was squashing me so hard but it felt incredible. i have been told i've never looked as happy as i do in this picture, so there's that.

also the dude from the disconnects hooked me up with a 7", a t-shirt, and a sticker. and also a cassette and a button; i don't remember him giving those to me, but i guess he did? well, anyway, he rules and his band is my new band crush. so there you go.

ok, so then more stuff happened. i was talking to people and whatever and then i wanted to buy a dictators shirt, so i went over to the table and asked about a shirt. it had cleared out a bit by that point, i think, so it was a little less crazy. first, dick asked me "is that bela lugosi on your shirt?" and i was like hell yeah, man. and he seemed to approve. neat! so then the guy at the table with him was bitching about all the tank tops that they had, because no one buys them apparently. so i said "i'll buy one of those if it will make you happy." and the dude said "YES" so i said "gimme a small." and the dude said "dick will sign it for you, too." you know what dick says? "sure, i'll sign it, but only if you put it on first." HA! so i was like, ok, i'll go change in the bathroom i guess. because i'm not taking my shirt off in a bar. i came back out and he looked super happy and he wrote my name and HDM underneath. then i started talking to him about doing a show at the record store i work at. he ended up giving me his email address, so, you know, BOOYA. then the girl i was there with came over and we all talked a bit about whatever.

then i drove home. and i got home around 5:30am. normally i wouldn't care but i had to work in the morning. so i got 2ish hours of sleep. i would have taken saturday morning off, but i already took off friday night so i could go to the show in the first place. ah well. these are the sacrifices i make; totally worth it! go check out handsome dick anytime you get a chance. i wanna hang out with him all the time.

walter lure

if you had asked me 10+ years ago "who is walter lure?" i would have stared back at you blankly; meanwhile i knew by heart all the words to songs like "chinese rocks" and "born to lose." i never really paid attention to people's names until more recently, when i realized that these old punk dudes are out playing shows as themselves. working at a record store has also helped with that. so, walter lure was in the heartbreakers with johnny thunders; naturally i wanted to see him play a solo show at the one and only brighton bar.

oh, so a few months ago i went to this strummerville thing at the bowery electric in new york. i'm not sure why i didn't write about it. i saw jesse malin in january, and as he was talking to me, he mentioned the strummerville show he put together and said i should go. so i did. because that's the kind of person i am. but seriously, i fucking love joe strummer and the clash and i saw that there were going to be a bunch of cool people performing: h.r. from bad brains, ivan julian from the voidoids, bob gruen (the photographer), obviously jesse malin, and also walter lure. i'll do a whole post about this sometime, probably, maybe. but anyway walter lure did "i fought the law" and i honestly wasn't impressed. which was disappointing to me, because i wanted to like him, but it really bothered me how he kept saying "and the law won" when there are not supposed to be words there. you know what i mean right? here, watch the video. so yeah. everyone only did one song, sometimes two, and that was his one.

but i still wanted to see him again! i figured that might have been weird for him, maybe he was having a bad night, maybe they didn't get to rehearse (a lot of people were reading notes as they performed; everything was a little haphazard but overall a lot of fun. i'm not trying to shit talk, honest), maybe he got stuck doing a song that he didn't know that well? who knows. so me and ryan (show buddy extraordinaire) went out saturday night to see walter lure and the waldos. ryan claims that he is not a punk fan (he thinks they can't play their instruments; i have so much to teach him) but he loves the new york dolls, therefore he loves johnny thunders, which is how i got him to go to this show with me.

we ended up loving every opening band. curtis suburban, rama amoeba, frankenstein 3000, and ingrid and the defectors. at one point, before the show started, i went to the bathroom and when i came out, ryan said "holy shit, marc bolan is here." um. what? "no seriously. wait until you see him. it's marc bolan." i finally did see who he was talking about; the singer/guitarist from rama amoeba (all the way from japan you guys!) looks like fucking marc bolan. the hair. the shiny suit. we were both really excited. they were a ton of fun to watch, too.

anyway- so walter lure! the dude who drummed and sang for curtis suburban was drumming for him too, which made me happy because he's really fucking good. so, the girl who used to love this guy without knowing who he even was got to hear him sing/play "chinese rocks" and "born to lose." you bet your ass i was singing along. i also got to hear "pirate love" and "too much junkie business" and "all by myself." seriously, it was so much fucking fun. i'm really glad i didn't let that weird clash song ruin his rep for me, because i would have missed out on a fantastic night. it was fun to turn and look at everyone watching him, too. i love going to shows like this because the people there are usually out of their minds with excitement (obviously this includes me as well).

before the show, he was wandering around, and i found myself standing next to him at the bar. i was alone. he was alone. i looked at him and then looked away as he looked at me. i had no idea what to say to him. it kind of looked like he wanted to laugh, and then he walked away. so after the show, ryan approached him and asked him to sign my poster for me (brighton usually gives out show posters to the first bunch of people to show up; i still have my hugh cornwell one from the first time i was there). and then i grew some balls and asked for a picture with him, and he said sure. then i said "i don't have a flash on my phone, we'll have to go over to the stage. it's too dim here." he rolled his eyes at me, but he was smiling, and i followed him over to the stage. he sat down, and i squeezed in next to him, and he put his arm around me. it's actually turned out to be a really great picture. i thanked him, we shook his hand, and then left.

i really appreciate opportunities like this because i wasn't born yet when these bands all got their start. no, i'll never see johnny thunders perform since he died a month before i turned 5 years old; i'll never get to see jerry nolan (drummer for new york dolls after original drummer billy murcia died, and also for the heartbreakers), since he died the year after johnny. but i got to see walter lure, which is pretty fucking special. he looks like he's still having fun, which is enough for me.

like a motherfucker, y'all.

Hugh Cornwell Adventures, Part 3

ahhh, the story continues. hugh cornwell told me that he would be playing at the ramones birthday bash in may and wanted me to accompany him! fantastic news! but...the date was may 19 and i had tickets to see elvis costello, and, sorry hugh, but elvis will always be my #1. perhaps if i didn't already have the tickets in my possession i would have gone, but alas. i will write about the elvis show in another update, because hoooly shit, it was fantastic. even though i missed out on this:

richard lloyd from television came onstage and played guitar on 'get a grip' at the end
which worked a treat, sounded very velvet underground

GOD DAMN IT. oh well. um.. so. yes. basically, i check his touring schedule religiously even though he'll tell me if he's going to be in the area. but i saw that he was touring the east coast in the fall before he told me about it so i picked one of the dates in jersey, since he wasn't coming to philly. it was the one at the brighton bar in long branch. in one of his emails, he told me

look forward to hanging with you again in n jersey
I think debbie from blondie will come to the show in long branch as she lives near there
she came the last time we played there

UM WHAT. DEBBIE HARRY? that sealed the deal. no way was i going to miss this. 

so, uh, long branch is really fucking far away from where i live! ha. but the drive was definitely worth it. i got there and i was on the list (i like saying that. "i was on the list." it makes me sound cooler than i am). i texted hugh again (hehe. i like saying that too. it never gets old.) and let him know i was there. of course he didn't see it in time. i was standing inside near the back when i saw him walk in, and as soon as he saw me he came right over and gave me a hug and said into my ear "oh, it's a shame, you just missed debbie. she left about five minutes ago."

how to deflate me in five seconds: that was it.

oh well. i still have the whole night ahead of me. a debbie-less night. but still! a night.

we go out to the van, since there are opening bands playing and it's really loud inside. kind of funny though, if i was one of those opening bands, i'd be sad that he didn't stick around to watch. anyway, i brought with me the newest bunch of songs my band had recorded. it was a rough mix, but still sounded really good (to us, anyway). i suggested listening to it, and he was all too happy to put it in the van's cd player. 

now, you know you're doing something right when hugh cornwell, of the stranglers, who had ten hit albums and twenty-one top forty singles, tells you your band's songs are "ambitious" and that he really likes them. he complimented my drumming and in that moment i was so proud of myself and my bandmates. then he regaled me with stories of getting his visa and such and how it's a longer process when you have a criminal record. that's no secret, by the way, he wrote a book about the time he spent in jail called inside information, which you can find in his autobiography, a multitude of sins. and so on. then fish popped in the van and said hey. when one of the roadies came in to try and get some sleep, we decided to go back inside. i left the cd with him.

now, i get to hang out with hugh and his band in the dressing room. it was the size of a closet. i'm not kidding.  it was cramped with about six of us in there. hilarious, and just a little bit sad. when clem burke came in and graced us with his presence (and i swear i'm not being facetious when i say that because i look up to him so much, you don't even know), hugh said "this is chloe, you remember her, from phoenix?" and then i started thinking shit, i've seen them in 3 different states now, they're going to think i'm insane... and then clem smiled at me and said "of course! how ya doin', doll?" which immediately quelled my fears. nothing can make you feel bad when clem burke calls you "doll." 

the next hour or so or however long was pretty fun. fish offered me a yodel. you know, those cake things? i didn't take it, but still. the offer was there. i held the guitar tuner for hugh while he tuned his guitar up. i heard them working out the sound effects for "toiler on the sea," off of black & white (there were seagull noises being thrown in). clem sat next to me and changed his shoes and drummed on the wall and said something about bruce springsteen writing "born to run" in this town. i guess my reaction was not what he was expecting, because he looked around and then said "she's not impressed." ha. 

anyway, so then i stood there and watched the show and saw clem drop a stick (which happens to me a lot and it was comforting in a weird way to watch a role model do something stupid, just like i do) and they did one long set, instead of the 2 they had been doing. i got to hear a ton of songs i hadn't heard them do before ("school mam" "toiler" "no more heroes" etc.) and i had an amazing time.

that's pretty much it; haven't seen them play since then. but expect this story to continue because no way am i missing a show if (or rather, when; in the spring, i've been told) they come back.