Time won’t save our souls
Time won’t save our souls
Time won’t save my soul…no
I’m walking down the street towards Slim’s, fully aware that a) I am exhibiting full blown addictive behavior and b) this absolutely certifies me as having BRMC stalker status.
This would be my 3rd BRMC set in 30 hours.
But I did find $5 on the ground before getting up to Slim’s.
It’s 9:45p, and the fact that only venue security is outside is a key indicator that the band is already on. There is some confusion as to whether they went on at 9 or 9:30, but once they clarify it was 9:30 and I’ve only missed about 15 minutes, I forked out my card for the ticket.
The place was packed, but I walked to the back, around the bar, and about two songs later I’m up close to the front. The first song to play once I can see well is my newly beloved ‘Aya’, which begins and then ends about 30 seconds in when Robert doesn’t join in on bass. Once he’s up and running, they start the song over.
I’m on my own tonight, and being further back and away from the pure intensity gave me some space to think. I’m kind of going into review mode…I haven’t even started the previous evening’s piece, but I have a lot of what I want to say bouncing around in my head. Because it was my ‘big’ birthday, and I was able to spend it with two of my favorite bands, they’re really personal. I’m standing there watching the set, thinking about some of the things I know I’m going to write about, and I am reminded of a thought that I have periodically: the fact that I openly write about my slightly crazy ways, my true feelings about things, and my erratic emotions might kind of work against me. While I get emails that make me feel good about sharing such personal stuff, in the sense that people empathize with it, I also think that it drives some people away. Which brings me back to the ongoing issue- it’s hard to find people who accept me for me.
I’m kind of lost in thought over the music, when Robert is chatting with his tech between songs and says, “well, I think we are getting shut down…..it’s good to be home.” I’m horrified! I bitch and moan and read about the Slim’s noise ordinance issues a lot, but I’ve never been at a show that’s been threatened. This ironically led into ‘Punk Song’.
I fell in love with the sweet sensation
I gave my heart to a simple chord
I gave my soul to a new religion
Whatever happened to you?
Whatever happened to our rock’n’roll?
Then the guys switched to their acoustic material to be a bit quieter.
Luckily, the cops left and they were able to resume playing the louder songs.
During ‘Conscience Killer’ the song started to sound funny, and then stopped. Peter had busted a string, so they just cut the song short.
Right then, Jello Biafra emerged from the center of the crowd with his ladyfriend in tow.
I noticed at this show that I can almost sense what the next song is going to be before the first note is being played. This is a surefire sign that I’ve seen these guys enough lately to be able to sense the energy or setup of the different songs. It was like I could hear them before they even began.
Once we got to ‘Red Eyes – Reprise’, which I was afraid I had missed, I let the feeling of ODing on BRMC go away. It was worth it to come just to hear that song again.
But tonight, the last few minutes of seeing the guys play ‘Open Invitation’ really did me in. So beautiful.
On and on
I’ve been waiting on the open invitation
Your silence show me no relation
In the rising cold
Don’t you feel alone
I’ll be standing with your sorrow
All you left me’s gone away tomorrow
And we may never be here again
Before leaving, I went up to Peter’s guitar tech to tell him thank you for what he did last night, that it meant a lot to me and really made my birthday.
Who knows if I’ll see you again
Maybe at SXSW.
Setlist anyone?
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