About 30 minutes out of Brooklyn I
started going through my mental checklist. Guitars? Check. Newly
pressed copies of A Life In Transit?
Check. A vintage suitcase full of anti-capitalist zines? Check.
Jacket? Uh. Well it's been unseasonably warm. I'll be OK without a
jacket. Sleeping bag? Check. Multiple kinds of pickles? Check. Pen
Pen? Oh crap. Maybe I should turn around. The jacket was one thing.
But going on tour without my travel penguin? We're doomed. But never
one to be discouraged by the slings and arrows of outrageous
forgetfulness, I remembered that among the many totems of my
perpetual travel is a tiny stuffed Mario. I don't remember where he
came from. Only that he's been in my backpack at least since January
2008. This is Mario being selected for this journey.
I got
to the Meddlesome Lab about an hour after Seth asked me to show up,
but the opening act hadn't gotten there yet either, so everything was
fine. We are not responsible adults. None of us. In fitting with the
game of “One Degree of Greg McKillop” that is my life, Maya, who
was doing merch for Wood Spider plays in Speaker for the Dead.
Because obviously. It would honestly be weirder if there wasn't
someone at the show who didn't
play in Speaker. This is Mario and a Gnome who may or may not play in
Speaker for the Dead.
The
show was a pretty great start to this final leg of my tour. I've been
coming to Rochester periodically because there's been this legend of
the Great Rochester House Shows. I've never actually experienced one.
Usually it's been Mediocre But Well-Intentioned Bug Jar Shows. Seth
kept apologizing “usually there's more like 50 people at these
things...” I don't know where you'd fit them. Everyone fit that
rare spot in the Venn Diagram of both being great musicians and great
people, and the reality is as I begin this final stretch of shows
before I cross the boundary of Don't Trust Anyone Over 30, it was
incredibly encouraging to perform with artists older than me who are
still touring, still playing and organizing DIY shows, still staying
true to their ideals. Maybe growing up punk is possible. And then, immediately after performing, I got the text from my dad: my sister went into labor, and I have a new niece. Life can be pretty great sometimes. This is
Mario with teeth.
This is the theme music to Mario 2. It's 10 hours long and seemed like the appropriate choice.
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