PSSSSSSSH-FUCK THE SOX!

Perhaps some expect me to brag/boast about the Cubs total AWESOME FUCKING SWEEP OF THE SOX this past weekend...but I'll take the classy route and say, "nice games gents...you got beat like a red-headed step child" but didn't complain nearly as much as your fans. Bravo!

Now, onto the deets (that I can recall) from Saturday Night spent in the West Loop RAWKIN' to the Drive-By-Truckers. In the interest of brevity, I'll dial it down to 3 incidents that are either A) unique to living in Chicago, and/or B) a sign I need to accept the fact that I am not as young as thought/think I was/am.

MarK and I arrived via bus at 6Pm or so and immediately sought out beers. In our travels we ran into a mutual friend from high school who by his own admission "drank at least 10 beers already".

Fuck. I should have abandoned his drunk ass but being a Virgo I decided to "babysit" (stupid sense of duty!) this 29 year old man so he didn't get arrested or beat up. And he did everything he could to do both.

Sensing the inevitable I decided to take him on a mini field trip to find me a flask of whiskey (this is my little tradition when I see the Drive-By-Truckers live).

A security guard pointed me in the direction of a bar off Lake Street. OMG - this bar was a fucking time capsule from the 1960's. Vintage Al Green was rocking from the speakers and the bartender (gorgeous woman) said:

Bartender: "What can I get you honey?"
Me: "...uh...(blushing) that flask of Jim Beam..."
Bartender: "...'dat all you want want...?
Me: "..."
Bartender: [swaying to old Stevie Wonder]: "..."
Me: "yes. Thanks...I need to tend to my drunk friend"

My dumb/drunk friend decided to hi-five EVERY girl on the way back, including a bunch of Chicago Cops (against my will/protestations). An hour later the Truckers took the stage and opened with "Let There Be Rock". I called it! Woot!

But after drinking a lot more beer (my friend MarK scored VIP access/unlimited beers) we left just before the Truckers exited stage left. Since neither of us drove, we took the Madison/#20 bus to Western Ave, meaning to get on the #49 bus. Which we did. But we got on the Southbound bus. UGH.

While MarK macked on some random girl I rested my eyes and was awaken approximately 30 minutes later by the automated CTA bus voice: [BING] "33rd and Western".

Me: "FUCK!"

We got off at 35th/Western/Pershing...AKA McKinley Park, which is not the best place to find yourself stranded at 2AM...especially if you're donning a Cubs hat.

Somehow, I managed to not get shot/stabbed/robbed which might suggest I can hold my own in rough hoods, or, more likely, the random gang-bangers that were present left me alone for whatever reason.

Finally, MarK and I caught a northbound bus around 3AM, got back to his place around 4AM, and had a smoke. We both passed out in various chairs...but an hour or so later I was awoken by the presence of another person.

Mark's Roomie let some drunk friend of his in and when I awoke about 6AM...dude wanted to drink and smoke a joint! The Fuck! I declined both offers, but I watched an episode of "Curb" and "Sopranos" with this stranger.

And we laughed, like the drunk fuckers we were/are...

DRIVE BY TRUCKERS - THAT MAN I SHOT

There are few things that get my motor running more than a certain band that hails from Athens, Georgia - namely, THE DRIVE BY TRUCKERS. My not so mild obsession has been in relative hibernation as of late, however, with the arrival of their new record, "Brighter Than Creations Dark", that dropped last Tuesday, all bets are off the table.

That being said, it took me some time to warm up to the new songs. Though well crafted, many of them are not the "barn-burning-I-wanna-fuck-shit-up variety" that I love them for.

On my drive home from work yesterday I was patiently working my way through the album, and thinking, "oh, well, this is nice" or "I see they are on a bit of a country kick here". Then, track 12 rolled around, and WHOA! I fell in love all over again!

This is the track that revved my engine: "That Man I Shot". Perhaps it's an exaggeration, but to me it sounds like gasoline on fire. It's also rather relevant in this time of war...

mp3 codes | Drive-By Truckers MP3s

That man I shot, He was trying to kill me
He was trying to kill me He was trying to kill me
That man I shot I didn’t know him
I was just doing my job, maybe so was he

That man I shot, I was in his homeland
I was there to help him but he didn’t want me there
I did not hate him, I still don’t hate him
He was trying to kill me and I had to take him down

That man I shot, I still can see him
When I should be sleeping, tossing and turning
He’s looking at me, eyes looking through me
Break out in cold sweats when I see him standing there

That man I shot, shot not in anger
There’s no denying it was in self-defense
But when I close my eyes, I still can see him
I feel his last breath in the calm dead of night

That man I shot, He was trying to kill me
He was trying to kill me, He was trying to kill me
Sometimes I wonder if I should be there?
I hold my little ones until he disappears

I hold my little ones until he disappears
I hold my little ones until we disappear
And I’m not crazy or at least I never was
But there’s this big thing that can’t get rid of

That man I shot did he have little ones
That he was so proud of that he won’t see grow up?
Was walking down his street, maybe I was in his yard
Was trying to do good I just don’t understand

Whew! Intense, no? That one line in particular "I hold my little ones until he disappears" is like an uppercut.

PS - I still want to drink Jack Daniels with Patterson Hood and his fellow Truckers before I die. Let's make this happen!