Jenny, Zach and I ran some errands this afternoon (including Zach's first christmas shopping of the season...), and one of the errands was to stop by Waterloo Records, down at 6th and Lamar. I noticed last October that Waterloo IceHouse (next door, and where I spent pretty much every Thursday evening of my last 2 or 3 years of college listening to The Hudsons) had closed down and was being replaced by a new diner, but it was still a bit of a shock to walk past that very familiar spot and see a completely different place there instead.
Already feeling a bit nostalgic, I then walked in and first thing I saw was a big display of a Bob Schneider Live at the Paramount Theatre double-CD set. This is yet another piece of Austin culture/college memories that is near and dear to my heart, as Danyelle and I used to go see The Scabs play all.the.time, back before they "broke up" and started demanding $20+ covers for their shows. In fact, we'd get there hours ahead of time just so we could be right at the front of the stage at Antone's and make eyes at the guitarist (who, oddly enough, kinda looked like Willy Wonka). Then the horn section from The Scabs joined a salsa band called La Tribu, and that became another weekly staple in my schedule (and where Danyelle and I earned the nicknames of "the Salsa Queens", something she apparently still gets asked about to this day when she goes out in the Austin salsa dance scene-- I don't have many claims to fame, I'm quite proud of that one). Anyway, so there's the CD set and I'm looking through the song list and it's such a perfect mix of Lonelyland and Scabs songs together in one piece and then I see Tarantula listed, which was a Scabs song but also played by La Tribu and was one of my FAVORITE songs to salsa dance to, and I was SOLD.
And you'd better believe it was the first song I played when I listened to the CD, and man what memories it brought back. I don't like to think that one has a single set of "glory days" and then they're gone, because frankly that's pretty depressing. I think there are many things about my life now that I will look back on incredibly fondly, and I think I still have many more "glory days" (and months and years) to live yet. But those nights of dancing and music and friends and fun were pretty amazing. I can't help but smile when I think back on them.
The other day Zach and I were debating our New Year's Eve plans, and to be frank we might not do a whole lot. We may not even stay up much past midnight. I just don't know if I want to deal with the bar scene, with going out and spending a bunch of money, with then dodging a drunk drivers on the road driving home, not to mention suffering the consequences of all that lost sleep the next day. Clearly, we've gotten a bit more boring over the years. And, really, I'm ok with that. There are many phases of life, and this is one of them and I'm very happy to be where I am. But it's also fun to listen to this music and remember, to revel in the memories of that past phase.
i always find that an unnecessary deal is made of NYE plans. that it often gets ridic when you don't have much planned because there's the endless question of, "what are you doing for NYE? what do you mean NOTHING?!" my thought has been: as long as you're having fun with whomever you're with, then you're golden.
ReplyDeleteMarcy, it's spooky how alike you and I were during our college days, going to concerts and getting there early so that we could have eye contact with the band, grab set lists, maybe meet the band after the show, etc. And I am in the same place as you: part of me feels bad that I don't do that anymore (for Frank and I, one NYE tradition was going to see Poi Dog Pondering concerts in Chicago). But we're parents of young children, and I suppose there will be another time and place for staying out late. Perhaps in the future, we'll be those creepy old people in the back of the bar at those concerts! :) Hope you had a great holiday!
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