Take No Lip From Punks

This was a silent Saturday, a Saturday when both Mindy & I could sleep as late as we wanted. For me, sleeping late is anything past 8am. For Mindy, I am guessing, that would be anything past 10am. The only hard coded morning event on either schedule was Mindy’s 11am haircut. I was up around 8am and still feeling queasy. As it turned out, I did most of my sleeping last night on the sofa after tossing and turning in bed. I was insanely thirsty too and must’ve drunk three or four full glasses of water through the night. Whatever was ailing me, was obviously dehydrating me too. Mindy was up before 9am. There were a handful of events that needed to take place today. For one, I had to bake two pies for tomorrow’s Wright family TG day feast. Secondly, I intended to hang that last set of icicle lights and finally put that project behind me. Plus, there was still the unfinished outdoor winterization needing completed. Most notably, the deck furniture cushions & umbrella needed stowed, and the fountain needed dismantled and stowed. These smallish tasks would’ve already been completed had I not been battling this ongoing queasiness. Lastly, something I’ve been looking forward to for about three months, Mindy & I would be going to see the Muff Bros/Money reunion show this evening at the Newport. Sick or not, I was determined to go. After taking a Tagament and some Acetaminophen I felt pretty good. In kind, it helped make my run more pleasurable. It was cold but also very sunny. Mindy was off getting her hair cut and running a handful of other errands. I had the home all to myself for a few hours. During that span of time, I started work on both pies. I sprinkled in a couple brief naps, too. I couldn’t finish the chocolate pie until Mindy got back. We needed another can of evaporated milk. I opted to forego the substitution thing this go round. Since I had some idle time, I hung the last set of icicle lights from the garage gutter return. When done, I powered everything off the timer. It was official. We were lit for the holidays. J Mindy got home around 3pm. She had another car load of stuff to carry in. I got immediately busy on the chocolate pie and finished just before 5pm. As often happens during stay-at-home vacations, the days are starting to slip by faster and faster. Where had the day gone? Darkness was setting in and I still hadn’t finished the yard winterization. I was ready to collapse. Not to be denied, I found my way to the sofa where I stole an hour’s rest. Meanwhile, I hadn’t yet showered, but needed one badly. That was my next task. The steaming hot shower felt incredibly good. It brought my tired body to life. Mindy took one after me, mostly just to rinse/wash those tiny hair clippings that inevitably remain after a haircut. Doors at the Newport opened at 8pm. I wanted to be there then. Neither of us had eaten much. In fact, the only thing I remember eating was some of the chocolate from the pie filling. Mindy really wanted to stop and eat first. Unfortunately, even though I was hungry, my appetite just wasn’t there. We decided to wait. We took 315 to Lane Ave to High St. Neither of us could readily recall the cross street for the Newport. It was further south than I remembered it being. All though we didn’t know it at the time, we parked for free in the student union garage. The doors had yet to open as we approached the historical venue. I hadn’t seen the inside of the Newport for several years. I’m going to guess that the last was when me, brother Glenn, and Joe Dooley went to see Todd Rundgren. If correct, that would’ve been Xmas time ’95. Mindy ran into an old friend waiting in line outside. After waiting less than five minutes the doors opened. I was a little surprised to find that they only accepted cash for tickets – no credit/debit cards. I was even more surprised to find a sign at the bar stating the same – cash only. It’s not uncommon for me & Mindy to be cashless. Lucky for us, we each had a cash stash. The place was largely unchanged. After a little sight seeing, I greeted Rusty Ranney, a guy I grew up with, who was managing the light show. Rusty now owns Live Technologies, a nationally recognized, full-service live events production company. Talk about somebody who made their life’s passion into a very successful business. I was happy to see that t-shirts commemorating the event were available for $15. I’d probably buy one, but not right away. I thought that I recognized the kids manning the t-shirt stand. They looked just like Tom Weisend, the band’s founder, guitarist and singer. Yep! They confirmed that Tom was their daddy. We were expecting my old buddies, John Vereb and Joe Dooley to arrive anytime. They showed after another ten minutes or so. Rusty had already confirmed for me that Steve Sines wouldn’t be part of the show. He apparently never followed through on contacting John D. as requested. For this I was bummed. The show began around 9:00pm. They opened with an old Money tune and then played a bunch of stuff off their newest CD, Money Killz. I wasn’t familiar with any of those songs, but a couple had that same Muff Bros sound that I loved so much. For readers that don’t know, they were big in Columbus in 1980 about the same time as the Godz & Rosie. Without question, they were the big three. I’d guess these guys are a bit older than me by a few years putting them in the early 50’s. They looked great and sounded good. At the outset, Tom said they’d be playing some Muff songs during the second set. That’s why I came! During break, I ran into an old friend, Amy Adams. First, I spotted a guy wearing a CompuServe jacket so I asked him if he worked there. He said he didn’t but that his sister once did. Who’s your sister, I asked. Amy Adams, he replied. I’ve known Amy for 20 years. He ushered Mindy & I over to her whereabouts. It was nice to hook-up with Amy. Her ex-husband, Mark Adams, became a very close friend of mine when the two of us worked together at Time Warner. He eventually left and went to CompuServe. He and Amy got me on at CompuServe. Sadly, Mark passed away last summer. Until tonight, that’s the last time that I had seen Amy. However briefly, Amy used to date Tom, the guitar player prior to meeting Mark. I’ve digressed... The second set was incredible! I loved every minute of it. The only thing that would’ve made it better would’ve been seeing/hearing Steve Sines doing the vocals like only he could. However, I must say, Tom did a damn good job of it. They played many of my Muff Bros. faves, Starmaker, With These Eyes, No Lip from Punks, and an old Tubes tune, White Punks on Dope – great show! I bought a t-shirt (cash-only) on our way out the door. Both of us were now literally starving. We passed the new Apollo’s (just north of the Newport) as we came in. We promised to stop in for a gyro if they were still open afterwards. They were. I assumed this was the same Apollo’s only relocated from 25 years ago after spotting what looked like the old owner but 30 years younger through the window as we walked to the Newport earlier. Inside, I confirmed as much. We laughed about it some, as did two of his buddies, who also worked there. Perfect campus evening – Muff’s concert and a gyro. Just like old times! We crossed the street to the parking garage and headed for home. I mentioned to Mindy as we headed off that I felt a sense of wholeness/completeness after seeing the show. Sometimes, it’s the little things. Musically, the only thing that could top this would be a Pink Floyd concert. Speaking of which, rumor has it that it just might happen in ’09, albeit without Richard Wright, who just recently passed away (Sept ’08).