HO-LY SHIT, life decided to be good to me for a night!

So I went after all. But I walked in about 15 minutes into their set. (FUCK!) This time, Addison played on a STAGE, at a place with a decent SOUND SYSTEM. Granted, it was CBGB's, the only remaining Notorious Asshole Club in new york, but fuck, it's going to be shut down in a couple of months anyway; might as well take advantage of every opportunity to be outsnarked by the employees that comes my way.

I spoke to the band again after the show, and my, they are a friendly bunch. Never before in my life had anyone been glad to see me. Hell, I'm not even greeted like that by my FRIENDS, much less bands. (Well, I have once been thanked for coming to a certain show, redundantly -- about five times in a single minute -- by an unnamed singer of a certain unnamed band I love, but somehow I got the feeling he only did it because he had nothing to say to me and felt obligated to intiate some sort of verbal exchange with me because I had been a devoted fan for about as long as they'd been a band and he saw it impolite to ignore me.) It's flattering; it's nice that this band cares about their fans. And if that hadn't already filled my gratification quota for the rest of my life, I was invited by the film major who's documenting Addison on tour to sit behind the merch table, where I spent the next two hours or so. Go, me. After a while they all just sort of scattered in different directions, and for a bit I sat there uncertain of what to do, feeling awkward. Oh well.. I still got to feel kinda important.

They were only still around because the damn club wouldn't pay them unless they stayed all the way through the last band's set. So they were essentially held captive. I guess CBGB's doesn't treat their bands too well either..... I was in the most advantaged position; I had my natural free will to leave as I pleased but was permitted to stay if I chose. Ah, the luxury of option. I elected to stay and be a burden on them until a little after ten.

I think they spent most of their visit to new york looking for a place to stay. This band was unhappily displaced in an unfamiliar city where they have NO fan base. Well if I thought my living arrangement was miserable... these guys are sleepin' in a fucking van close to every night and they had a huge fucking dilemma. They kept asking people to point them toward cheap trashy motels to stay the night. GOD, I was dying! If I lived alone they could totally stay at my apartment for as long as they needed. That'd be AWESOME. Ah, if only, if only!

I guess new york wasn't too kind to them. I understand that they were warmly received and showered in hospitality in some of the towns they made stops in, but new york is just kinda shitty when you don't have too many friends living there. I don't suppose they're too eager to return to NYC, like, EVER, but on the off chance that they do in the next couple of months, there would be much rejoicing on my part.

To think I almost missed that for the sake of adherence to my petty little principles. Aw hell, I'll sacrifice my principles for a band I love enough any day.
After Wednesday night, I made tentative plans to go see them on Thursday, but remained largely undecided for most of yesterday morning. Inevitably, my uncertainty resolved itself into a decision. Ah, the ultimate dilemma: being torn between your fanatic unwavering devotion to a band and your unrelenting disdain for the club they're playing. What to do, what to do... As the day wore on, it became ever the more definite that I would cave despite my violent opposition to the thought of ever entering CBGB's again, until at last I made an impromptu decision to go. After all, I guess I could put my integrity on hold for a night. Surely I could stand to betray my principles for a night. (hey, why not? If I did it for Locksley....) If they're only here for two nights, I sure as hell ain't gonna miss one of them even if it means I'll have to go to ::shudder:: CBGB's again.
So I spent the afternoon scrambling to get my affairs in order. Given all the things I did to clear Wednesday night, what was going to stop me from clearing Thursday? I had to rearrange things last-minute, make adjustments to my schedule, push things out of the way, excuse myself out of obligations with imaginative elaborate lies..... and damn right, IT WAS WELL WORTH IT.
Boy, what an experience, what a consecutive two days, what a week. What measures I take for the sake of my beloved bands. (I'd totally do it all over again, too; no regrets.) Clearing the two dates was like planning out some grand bank heist scheme; it involved missing other shows, re-scheduling my week, re-scheduling the remainder of it again spontaneously the following day, calling people up and saying, "gee, so sorry this is on such short notice, but my sister's graduating that night."
Gee, so glad nobody I associate with knows me well enough to know I don't have a sister. Suckers totally fell for it. ha. haha.
For bands, life can wait. For bands, I can postpone/wriggle out of my responsibilities. For bands, I'm willing to stop my world. (Especially local LA bands that have begun touring the east coast only recently and don't spend as much time here as I would like)
Hellllls yeah, I've got my priorities in (some twisted form of) order! Bands come first, life comes later. Always. Because damn it, do I love my music and my shows. Should I ever be stricken with some debilitating disease or immobilized at the hopsital in the middle of undergoing, like, knee surgery or something, I'd get up and be like, "hold, doctor, I gotta go to a show, be back in a couple o' hours."