Adventure #96: Rochester, NY

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.

Adventure #19: Fall 2010 Tour (Day 4)

Adventure #19: Fall 2010 Tour (Day 4)

I made it to Rochester around 2:30 with my brand new free tire (always Always ALWAYS purchase the Road Hazard Insurance) and picked up Rosy at the train station. She had the day off so took the train up from Brooklyn to spend the day adventuring around Rochester with me. It turns out there's not a whole lot to do on a rainy Tuesday in Rochester. Go figure. This is Pen Pen waiting for the train.

We headed to a little coffee shop to get some tea, lunch, and internet. I was hoping I had a message from the booking guy at the Bug Jar letting me know what was going on with the show. Still no word. So we looked to see if there were any cool museums or attractions in Rochester that might be open. We decided to head to the High Falls and see the old mills. The sign on the door for the museum read the following:

CLOSED

Monday and Tuesday Closed, but often Open in the Afternoon (call 325-2030)

Wednesday Thursday and Friday Definitely open 10 am – 5pm

Saturday Really Really Open 12 noon – 6 pm

Sunday Favorite Day to Be Open 1 pm – 5pm

Seriously. Unfortunately this was one of the Tuesday Afternoons that it wasn't often open. So we wandered around the premises and looked at the little historical plaques. This is Pen Pen deciding not to go over the falls in a barrel.

Afterwards we headed to the graveyard to see the tomb of the leading suspect for the Jack the Ripper murders, Dr. Francis Tumuelty. You know there's not a whole lot to do in a town when one of their attractions is the tomb of someone who might have been an infamous murderer. Maybe. We drove around the cemetery in the rain. Robert Smith would be proud. This is Pen Pen disemboweling Victorian prostitutes, possibly.

We found a cheap hotel with no history of bed bugs a few miles south of The Bug Jar called the Towpath Motel. Of the comparably priced ones, they were the only one with a free continental breakfast. Easy decision. It was run by a friendly elderly Indian man who told us he'd give us his “best room.” We made dinner, watched an episode of Caprica and I scoured the internet for any information about the show. Nothing. This is Pen Pen enjoying a bounteous feast of microwave Indian food in a palatial hotel suite.

The Bug Jar opens at 8, so I decided to head over right away and see what was going on. The place was pretty much empty when we showed up. I asked to speak to Paul Burke. I was told he probably wasn't coming. I explained that I was supposed to play. They had no information about it either. Apparently Paul Burke had gone AWOL on them so they scheduled a DJ for the night. I explained that he had gone AWOL on me too, but I had come all this way to play. The owner and the whole staff were understanding and said I could still play a set once the bar gets hopping. I can't say enough about how friendly and generous these people were. Rosy and I killed some time playing pool. Neither of us are very good, but we both like playing. We ended the night 2-2. Around 11, there were still hardly any people there. We agreed that if no-one else showed up, I'd play at 11:30. So I got up and played a set of mostly new stuff to the 10 people at the bar, all of whom seemed to really enjoy it. The highlight was the drunk hardcore guy with gaged ears and covered in tats who got up on the stage with me right as I started playing “Let's Get Lost” and said he was going to stage dive. I told him this was my quietest song, and maybe he should wait it out. Also there wasn't really anyone to catch him. It wasn't a great show, but everyone there had a good sense of humor about it, so it actually ended up being a great night. So thanks and no thanks Mr. Paul Burke. I ended the night doing shots of Jameson with the owner and playing one last round of pool. We got back to the hotel around 1 and passed out so Rosy could get up at 4:30 to make her train back to Manhattan. Show #4: Slight Success. Next up: Toronto. This is Pen Pen hardly losing at pool at all for once.

This is a song I wrote this one time. You should download it and share it with your friends.

What can you do by nathanleigh