It all started after work Friday, when the Sepatown Film Society convened in Ann Arbor for the Dirtbombs [wsg 25 Suaves and the Scars] at the Blind Pig. I might well have been screwed if I hadn’t coughed up for advance tix for Electric Six earlier this summer at same venue — line around the block, place totally packed, people turned away! — but I kept calling the Pig and they kept saying that I’d be fine at the door. So I compromised and went to the Eight Ball an hour before doors opened at the Pig and grabbed a hard ticket.
Then El Jefe and I went to get some dinner. We were both glad to be back in the old neighborhood [we all spent a lot of time in downtown Tree Town before the jobs moved us away]. And it was a particularly pleasant night for a walk. Still, we were hungry and thirsty. I’m not sure what possesses me to choose Arbor Brewing over Grizzly Peak every time, but I do.
Arbor Brewing, no joke, was out of half their beers! They’d had a tasting or something the night before, and all the old favorites, gone. Even the non-wheat ones. I had something with hints of raisins and black liquorice. I forget what, might’ve been a bitter. Not really a big Pale Ale guy, and it seems like that was all they had.
After dinner we headed back to the Pig and met up with Billion$ and staked [stook?] out our table near the door. We’re old men and we like to sit down [although I actually felt quite a bit younger once I saw the rest of the audience], though we hate paying cash. The Pig may look like a bar with all the beer signs all over the place, but you can’t start a tab.
Still not sure why the D’bombs didn’t pack the place like E6. They don’t really sound like each other, but I consider them both well-respected members of the imaginary DTW rock scene. On the other hand, the Six have a major-label deal. But it’s overseas and their second album still hasn’t dropped here [though it's easy enough to find if you want it]. But Jack White has sung with them and the nonsense sing-along “Gay Bar” was turned into a Bush-Blair parody, so all the kids who pay attention to Internets know them. Whereas the ‘bombs audience felt smaller and more… sophisticated, maybe? Yeah, I’ll take “older.”
The ‘bombs were awesome. Not sure how a band can take the same stage and sound so much better than two other bands — I don’t just mean musically, I mean Mick sang clearly enough to hear words and the guitars, drums, and bass were all well balanced and none overpowered the other. The board guy was ace. Ace.
Encore ended about 1:30am and we headed over to South U, where many still milled about despite it being July. El Jefe proposed a change of venue — I’d been pulling for Pancheros but we ultimately headed over to Pizza House, originator of many morning, noon, and nighttime orders in the dot com bubble days. With about two hours to go until they closed, bless them, we grabbed some appetizers and kibitzed further. Jeff got us back to W’oaktown about 3:30 and I was in bed by four. That’s a big deal for us old folks in the suburbs.
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