I didn't know a meetup was under discussion. I can potentially do either time but am presently unwilling to commit to either.
Also, since this seems like the most likely place for Bostoniangirl to show up, I'll drop a note here to say "Hi BG, I saw you the other day and tried to say hello, but you were too busy 'helping customers' to notice. I hung around until your co-workers began to look at me as if I were creepy."
Unlike the proposed tonight at 8, either one of these next week is probably fine for me.
Brock, I think you weren't aware because someone started an email discussion using the list of people who had said they would come to the previous one.
Either next week would work for me.
I vote for Tuesday.
Thursday I'm seeing 'Spring Awakening' in NYC. Sex and rock 'n' roll in turn of the century Vienna!
I vote for Tuesday, too, as a gesture of solidarity.
Let's DO this!
I'm going to be in Boston tomorrow. I will have no free time, but will think wistfully of y'all.
You can't even sneak out for twenty minutes to do a a half dozen jaeger shots with me?
My plan lands at 2:30. I have a meeting from 4-5 at my hotel. I have a focus group to watch from 5-8. After that, our new PR firm is taking me for some expense account dining. My flight the next morning is at 8, and I will be expected to carry a full load, child-care-wise, on Thursday night.
On the other hand, I may have a video shoot in Boston the following week. If I do, it'll be Thursday.
10: so you only have 5 hours for heavy drinking between the dinner and your flight? Seems like plenty.
Breaking: The Impotent and Frigid Pride Committee has split, so the Impotent Community and the Frigid Community will each hold its own parade this year. Individuals are welcome to march in either or both.
Sex and rock 'n' roll in turn of the century Vienna!
Are you sure about that? I don't recall any explicit reference to Austria, and there are several contextual clues to suggest that it takes place in Hessen.
I wonder if the musical does justice to the Hogwarts-esque naming of the teachers: Herr Sonnenstich, Herr Hungergurt, Herr Knochenbruch, Herr Habebald, Herr Knueppeldick, Herr Zungenschlag, Herr Fliegentod, et al.
12: I assume the parade routes will be as divergent as is practical?
Also, before Emerson totally sidetracks things: are we any closer to consensus, indecisive bostonians? Tuesday? North End? No? Where? Charlie's Kitchen Harvard Square 8:30PM Tuesday? Some other time, place?
You're right, KR. I don't know where I got that idea.
From what I've read, there are only a couple of actors playing the adult roles, so I don't know how differentiated they'll be.
Charlie's has cheap gift certificates (60% or sometimes 80% off $25 with minimum order of $35) at restaurant.com, don't know if it applies to drinks or just food.
It's a bargain and has good beer (two qualities notably lacking in the last place I (accidentally) suggested), which is why I mentioned it. On the other hand, it can get somewhat crowded.
Tuesday's good. Charlie's is good (probably better than the Kinsale, for all purposes but mocking). Let's do it.
I resent Sifu's interference with my attempt to sidetrack things totally.
Let's do Tuesday, at 8pm. I like Charlie's Kitchen, but I'd be open to something in the North End too.
And then if Chopper is actually in town next Thursday, he should definitely let us know.
Tuesday at 8 ought to work for me. The next morning is my first day of school (eeeeee!) so I can't stay out too late, but seems like enough interest to make it worth making an appearance.
I nominate Sunday afternoon at Antonio's Cafe. It's not in Boston, but it is within walking distance of my house (a longish walk, but nonetheless), so I could drink as much as I want.
mrh, if you're reading: have you noticed that the Penalty Box has become a hipster bar?!? It even has a website. I was shocked a few months back when I started to drive by and see healthy-looking young people going in and out instead of the usual toothless old folks smoking on the corner. I guess if it can happen to the Safari Lounge, it can happen anywhere.
JL, I have noticed that. I've never been to the Penalty Box (some friends went in its previous incarnation and were too scared to ever go back) but I'm now sorely tempted. Meetup!
That's certainly handy for me to get to. I haven't been there since seeing a ridiculous metal show upstairs about a decade ago.
Wait, has JL hijacked the meetup and driven it to Pawtucket? Damn, I knew we shoulda got an alarm for the meetup.
The Penalty Box is in Boston, unless I'm thinking of someplace totally different.
The one JL's linking to is in Providence. Nice try, Rhode Island.
Bastard!
Geez, look at that yuppie-ass joint. What kind of soulless corporate drones are these Rhode Islanders?
On the other hand it has plastic beer cups.
The true penalty box is inside everyone one of us.
"I liken the Penalty Box to being my 'Giving Tree' by Shel Silverstein. It gave me everything as I grew up and asked nothing in return and I used what it gave to me and then left it."
Wow, that's some bar. I don't even feel like this about my mother.
33: how often has your mother gotten you rip-roaring drunk before a Bruins game?
Never. I knew my childhood was missing something. Apparently, that something was beer.
Does it have plastic cups, Ben?
That's between you and your god.
NOTHING gets between me and my God. I drink straight from the keg.
On the other hand it has plastic beer cups.
So does Jacques Cabaret.
Now that is a fine establishment. My friend has been trying to get me to go to her drag show there.
Last time I went Mr. Lady tackled me over a table: that's what I call a drag show!
Last time I went a woman put a $10 bill in my bra.
The bachelorette parties there are terrifying.
I can imagine. The lesbian drag stand-up comedy was pretty goddamn intimidating, and that didn't even involve any tackling.
Years ago I saw Space Humpin' $19.99 play there, a show which featured drag performances as a warm up, a caged gorilla, and the words "HARD" and "CORE", respectively, written on the ass cheeks of the band's thong-clad drummer. It was METAL.
Geez, look at that yuppie-ass joint. What kind of soulless corporate drones are these Rhode Islanders?
Yo, the current incarnation of the place may be awful, but the Penalty Box has straight-up cred. It started as the bar next to the Rhode Island Auditorium. The Rhode Island Reds played at that now gone establishment (hence the hockey-oriented name of the bar), Brocken's own Rocky Marciano boxed there many a time, and Jimi Hendrix played there (the poster being by, I'm pretty sure, The Mad Peck. Sadly, North Main Street don't rock like that no more. So while I'm surprised at the change over at the Penalty Box, I'm not going to hate on it. Except I do wonder what the emerging old derelict bars are.
Seems to me that old derelict bars don't emerge but very slowly.
Hockey, despite the cancerous growth into palm tree places, first in the late sixties and again in recent years, retains a wonderful oldtimeiness in the Northeastern cities. The old NHL cities, Chicago and Detroit, Boston and New York, support this effortlessly. What I'd be interested in finding out is whether expansion cities similar to the originals in having a yellow snow ethnic character, like Cleveland and Buffalo, foster the same atmosphere or whether it really does need to have been grandfathered in.
44: Brocken? What the hell is Brocken?
It does sound like a good bar.
The Silhouette in Allston is the one dive bar in the Boston area I'm reasonably sure is still a dive bar. Thank you, local Ecuadorian drunks, for keeping it real!
Cleveland should work, though it might take a couple generations of social immobility to take.
I hate to break it to you, but those Ecuadorean drunks are saving up for boob jobs.
Boy, I would never have expected that of those dudes.
Did any of you Bostonians go see this band at P.A.'s Lounge tonight? Because you should have.
It's the constant pressure of the free market. First, you start wearing a little lipliner to get construction jobs. Then you start worrying about whether your complexion will get you deported. Next thing you know, you're pouring concrete in a duct-taped corset.
50: No, but my brother did drag me to the Dropkick Murphys last weekend, who performed a wonderful parody of Bostonianhood.
50: no I did not. I waited in line for about twenty minutes outside a club until I realized that I can not fucking stand waiting in line outside clubs, and went home. I should have gone here.
A frightening image that may or may not involve duct tape but definitely involves a corset
55: Aw, benny-boy, you're as thin as a rail. You really should eat something.
I don't mean to interrupt a lovely procession of nonsense, but will or won't there be an unfogged presence at Charlie's on tuesday? I'd prefer Thursday, but I've not committed to show up so I don't get a say.
Jimmy Carter Says Yes, foolishmortal. Jimmy Carter says yes there will.
History's greatest monster, indeed.
On the third listening, I've become convinced that this blog now has a theme song.
You can't fuck with the Carter Administration, can you? No one can. Carter was the shit, the bomb, and the Man. Where he shit, economically useful sunflowers blossomed. The women he fucked were cured of false consciousness. The man was righteous, and required a serious load of bullshit to dismount him. Such a load was available.
Brocken? What the hell is Brocken?
Hey, that's Massachusetts, we're not responsible. But Brockton's big time now--they have their own Foxy Lady club and everything.
Brock,
Sorry I didn't see you. I'm really kind of clueless about a lot of things. Perhaps, LizardBreath and I are alike in this respect.
What day of the week was this? Was a tallish blonde woman with glasses there who walks like she has a stick up her butt. That is my evil boss.
Re Tuesday.
My schedule on other days has been in flux. But I always work from 7:30-4 on Tuesdays. I do have a permanent commitment on Tuesdays from 6:15-7:30, but if people are willing to stay out later, I'd be glad to join you around 8.
I could be free on Thursday or I could be working, and I won't know until tomorrow or Friday. I am never free on Sundays. In the past I might have been free on a Saturday evening, but now it looks like I will be working every Saturday night for a while in addition to my usual Sunday night. You could all go some place on Charles Street and visit me on your way there.
The plan is Tuesday, 8:00, at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square. Lurkers welcome, as always.
w00t. Thanks for taking charge, mcmc! I'll see you all there.
I always seem to miss these, but the timing is oddly perfect.
JL, that's some excellent RI history. I didn't even know there was a Rhode Island Auditorium, much less on North Main.
Thanks, mrh. There's a great book on the development of Providence that has tons of pictures and maps, I think done by the RI Historical Society. It's out of print now, but you can find it in most libraries around the state. I'll try to remember the name. While the RI Auditorium was just before my time, I know it well from stories, as well as a lot of the vaudeville theater that used to exist in the Providence area, because of family history. But it's just another reminder of how past use affects future use. North Main wasn't always the wasteland it has been for a few decades; the Penalty Box is in that way a reminder of the past and a sort of hope for the future.
God, only a drunk person could have wrote that last sentence. Not to mention only realize now what 46 was talking about in mocking the mention of "Brocken."
My grandfather swam across downtown Providence during the '39 hurricane; that's about all the Providence history I know.
Is there much swimming there now?
We're still on for tomorrow, right?
I will too, but I'll be a bit late. I can get the 66 at Brigham circle, and that will probably be around 7:45.
Shall I get a certificate from restaurant.com? I don't know if you can use more than one, but we can at least get $25 worth of victuals for $10, and perhaps $50 for $20 or $75 for $30 if we can use multiple (need to call to see if it's good for alcohol or just food.)
Never mind, they're already sold out for the month. Should have grabbed one on Saturday when I checked.
I'll do my best to be there. Is parking going to be ridiculously difficult?
Not if you take the T, no.
Otherwise, uh, no! No way. Nah.
There are multiple garages right by Charlie's if you feel like paying somebody money.
And if you don't, where are the garages then, Sifu? Huh? Where?
Same place, but utterly closed-off and mysterious.
I'll be there (via T, yay).
Personally, I only park in Harvard Square when I'm already spending serious money on a nice meal and dressing up and whatnot, but if you have to (instead, of, say, parking at the south end of the red line?), there are garages around.
mrh--park at alewife. You can park in the shopping center parking lot, if you're really cheap.
SP--Damn. Please explain the restaurant.com thing and hwy you didn't get these coupons before.
If you're feeling lucky, there's a stretch of street parking on Mass Ave N of Harvard Sq.
Restaurant.com- pay 40% of the face value of a print-your-own gift cert. for various restaurants (plus sometimes they have discount codes that make to only 20%), but the certs have somewhat harsh restrictions, like minimum purchase or no using more than one- Charlie's is no using them Thurs-Sat, which works out for us. They replenish their supply first of each month, but I guess Charlie's is one of the most popular ones, so they're already gone- I had checked on Saturday and they were available, but I wasn't yet certain we were on for Tuesday so I didn't grab any.
We could bring some crayons and forge one.
I did grab one- they had one listed on ebay. Didn't get the further 50% off discount, but saving $15 isn't bad. Can only use 1 per visit.
Sorry Brock couldn't make it, and we missed you, mrh.
Sifu and Nathan sang karaoke. We couldn't get Arthegall drunk enough to participate. He had 5 beers; he claimed that he needed 5 in him before he would be drunk enough to do it.
Sadly Diana Krall was not one of the choices available.
There was a guy who sang "raspberry beret" with great gusto, and arthegall thought that two guys chose a song which was categorically the worst karaoke song ever.
Sorry I missed it, but moving is a bitch and a half. Given that karaoke was involved, I think I dodged a bullet: I have a beautiful voice that is mangled upon contact with melody. I suppose I can poke Tweety next year.
Right, so, you know what? I'm glad I didn't sing anything. Because apparently Blume is an actual country-fied singer, in disguise. Seriously.
She was easily the best singer out that. It was a bit ridiculous.
The only false note of the whole evening was the (non-Mineshaft) faux-punks who thought it'd be cool to sing "My Way" really loud and really off-key. You should be glad you missed that, BG.
"out that" s/b "out there". damnit.
Anyway, it was a ridiculously fun evening.
My head hurts. Why does my head hurt?
I have an Ah-Ha song stuck in my head. Why is there and Ah-Ha song stuck in my head?
WHAT DID YOU PEOPOE DO TO ME?
See Sifu, I saved you from having Baby Got Back in your head.
At least that ties into the buttsex thread, though.
I second 93.1, by the way. Mineshaft: should you meet Blume, MAKE HER SING.
Aww, thanks guys.
Which did you end up going for foolishmortal, Inman or Union?
I have to assume that the faux-punks are kind of the point of karaoke at a place like that. Otherwise it's just mysterious.
But: a good time was had!
You guys know that the faux-punks were doing a Sid Vicious imitation, right? I think it explains why Nancy went all Stabby on him. Or do I have that backwards? Ick. I have a hangover.
Holy shit I had no idea there'd be karaoke. I was tied down at work. But if I'd realized there was karaoke I would have found a way to make it happen.
After 6 beers or so I cease imitating a rock star and actually become one.
Curse the MBTA, sounds like I missed the more exciting songs. (Sorry, Sifu.)
I think it was the other way around, mcmc. Unless you believe the conspiracy theories, and it wasn't actually him.
Speculation as to what Brock's karaoke song would be?
Wow, I thought Blume was a man. But if you'd ask me why, it would be because of George Segal.
I think it was the other way around, mcmc.
That makes sense too: a person who would sing like that would do anything.
Re Brock: I bet he'd do a great version of "Hells Bells".
102: We had no idea there would be karaoke, either.
(For future reference: 10pm on Tuesdays, upstairs at Charlie's Kitchen.)
And then Sifu kicked it off, with Take On Me.
