memfree's Journal: mail to friend & a relative (2 msgs mixed into one)

Thanks for the mail -- long time no talk! How've you been? Cutting to the chase, here's my long tirade of recent events:

I went to D.C. this weekend to see "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds" in concert. The bastard won't play Philly. Grrr.

The show was awesome. One of the best live shows I've ever seen. I brought [friend] (in tow), and he agreed with that assessment. More on that later.

The Smithsonian's Natural History Museum was awesome, too. We only had a few hours there (got into D.C., checked into the hotel, did the museum until it closed, ate, and saw the show). We covered the things *I* wanted to see: Cambrian fossils, ice age skeletons, meteorites (chondrites, iron, and tektites), vulcanism, and a teeny amount of insects.

We'd have stayed longer and seen more, but they kicked us out around 5-something. So, it was off to find dinner.

We then went to an Ethiopian restaurant near the club that a barrista recommended. The food was simply outstanding. I was very hungry, so that may have influenced my take on the meal, but even [friend] agreed that -- despite too much incense in the air, and music that was too loud -- it was better than any other Ethiopian restaurant we've tried.

I've only had Ethiopian food at three other places, but the one in D.C. (on U St. between 13th and 14th) was hands down the best I've ever had. The only sticking point was the utter lack of communication between us and the staff. They didn't seem fluent in English, and the menu was not descriptive. Despite trying to order two vegetarian entrees, we received a single sampler platter. Luckily, it was huge -- big enough for two people to split -- and every single thing on it was fantastic.

Next, it was off to the club. I'd heard that there are a few stools at the upper bar, so I wanted to get there early to avoid hours of standing during the show. Unfortunately, it was raining. I'd left most everything at the hotel -- including the car -- and was unprepared for the weather. I knew a storm front had gone past on Friday, but hadn't noticed that D.C. was going to get rain on Saturday from a different front.

After an *hour* of standing outside with no more protection than a T-shirt and slacks, I inherited an umbrella from a guy who went to get beer. About 5 minutes later, the rain stopped. We got to go in after being queued up for 90 minutes. Sure, I could have arrived later, but I really wanted to get a seat, and the house was sold out, so I didn't see a late arrival as a particularly valid option.

The line started moving. Most folks headed for the stage, and I headed up the stairs. On the first balcony, there were no chairs, so [friend] suggested we head up to the second balcony. Dripping wet, chilled to the bone, and feeling very tired, I immediately agreed. We went up, and found the barstools. Yay!!! I told [friend] to hold the seats while I looked for earplugs (in case of deafening volumes). As I turned my back on [friend] to ask the bartender for ear protection, [friend] seems to have been aimlessly looking around.

As the bartender almost instantaneously replied that earplugs were only sold on the 1st floor, I turned to see that [friend] was not only *not* saving me a seat, but absently looking PAST a couple who were taking the stools I had waited so long to attain. I snapped at [friend] for the negligence, and he took it badly. There were exactly two stools left -- far from the center (unlike the ones we could have had), and crammed uncomfortably close together (as everyone else had already spread themselves out).

I took one, and [friend] decided he'd rather not sit with me. I didn't mind. I was too wet, cold, and annoyed to care. That turned out to be a really good decision. The first band was very bland ("Neko Case and her Boyfriends"). I don't think I would have been in the right frame of mind to enjoy the headliners if I hadn't had the chance to sit. As it was, I got to enjoy a couple drinks and some cigarettes while chatting with the folks sitting next to me. They'd driven SEVEN HOURS to get to the show. As much as I wanted to see the band, you probably couldn't get me to go THAT far.

"Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds" took the stage and proceeded to impress the hell out of me. Nick played with the audience -- pointing out individuals and making faces at them, shaking hands with those down in front, etc. They did highs and lows, did fast and slow tunes -- did tracks ranging all over the band's almost-20-year span, quiet numbers, and hard ones that shook the whole damn house.

I have never been to a show with such clear vocals. Given that Nick is a balladeer, the well mic-ed sound let him really shine. I was also impressed that I could hear him so clearly *even* from my remote seat.

Now, the club is not so big that the upper balcony is that far away. I rejected going to the NYC shows because the only available seats were for the upper balcony -- but that was at the Beacon Theater where everyone has to sit, and the seats go faaarrrr back. The D.C. club (named "9:30") is fairly squat in its design. There aren't any places where you're that far from the stage.

However, according to [friend]'s report, the lower balcony is the worst place for audio. The problem is that the lower balcony is narrow -- little more than a cat-walk for the section parallel the stage -- and has a 5ft wall that is the bar to the upper balcony at its end. The effect is to create a flat space where the audience member is stuck between noise coming from the speakers and an immediate reverberation directly behind them. There is no space for a die-off echo, it just hits you front and back.

[friend] stuck to that location (standing) for both bands, and reported that it did funny things to his insides. He claims standing there was close-to-but-not-quite a 'brown note' location.

Others suggested that up front can be bad if you happen to be in front of the speakers, but: 1) I wouldn't take such a spot, and 2) I'm sure they're just complaining about volume -- not low frequency reverberations that mess with the body.

Anyway, the show was wonderful. As noted earlier: one of the best either of us have ever seen. We were wiped out by the time it ended, but still so excited about it that we walked the mile-or-so back to the hotel.

We got to bed around 2AM, woke at 8:30, and had a crappy breakfast at the hotel before taking off. We went back to the same museum around 9:15 because I wanted to do the rest of the minerals, and insects, but the doors don't open 'til 10AM, and we didn't want to wait, so we just took off.

Getting back to Pennsylvania, we stopped off at a mega-movie complex and caught Spider-man. The movie was pretty danged good. I mean, it was exactly what you'd expect from a Hollywood Super-Hero movie, but for what it was, it was way better than Superman, or the Batman sequels. When the initial Batman came out, I did enjoy it more than I enjoyed Spider-man, but now that so MANY movies have had that 'Batman-esque' look/feel, it doesn't seem as special as it did at its debut. I doubt Spider-man will age any better, but it truly is a decent movie if you go in understanding the inherent limitations of such a genre flick.

Afterwards, we went into Philly, had dinner, and caught a benefit for ActionAIDS. It was a so-so torch-song singer with a single pianist for accompaniment. Not horrible, but nothing I'd see if it weren't for charity. I made it home by 10PM, and was in bed by 11.

I've no idea why I overslept on Monday morning, but I did. Stayed at work late last night to make up for it, and will probably do the same a couple more times this week. Now, I am wanting to take a day trip back to the museum. Maybe have dinner at the Ethiopian place again.

Let me know if you end up heading down that way any time this summer ... and let me know if I can tag along :-)