Oh What a Night

So I'm going to change the names of the people I mention in here just for their own privacy, though no one at work knows I keep a blog. 

Last week I was invited by a couple of coworkers to see a No Doubt tribute band and a Sublime tribute band in the city. I've never seen a tribute band and am, admittedly, pretty skeptical of them but was game anyway, simply because I take every opportunity to go out here and experience all that New York has to offer. 

The three of us had agreed to meet ahead of time at Madeleine's apartment in Chelsea for bloody marys before the show. I brought the really cheap vodka (Georgi brand), Kim provided the celery and olives and Madeleine had the mary mix and some delicious little snacks to share. So we hung out a couple hours, sipping marys, gnoshing on chips and hummus, looking up stuff on youtube and waiting for Madeleine's friend to come by so we could all go together. Brian arrived, had a drink with us, then we all bundled up and headed out into the snow for the club.

When we arrived, the No Doubt tribute band was already into their second song. We purchased our tickets and stepped into a dark room with some seating in the back of the club, a large floor, and a bar on either side. There were probably 50 or 60 people there, and many of them were in the seats in the back, so there was plenty of room to mill about and get a good spot right at the stage. They were a six piece, no horns. A drummer who was playing shirtless, his lips thickly smudged with black lipstick like Adrian Young used to do. There was a female bass player, two guitarists, a girl on a keyboard and then the frontwoman, a girl with long, bleach blonde hair, a black bustier, black striped pants and shiny red docs with zippers up the sides. I stood there, trying to adjust to the idea of watching a band, a group of people who were really into their performance and music, playing another band's songs with such enthusiasm. Towards the end of their set, to prep the crowd for the Sublime tribute band, the No Doubt band performed "I Saw Red," a song originally by Brad Nowell of Sublime and Gwen Stephani of No Doubt. For this song, the keyboardist grabbed a mike and walked to the center of the stage, singing Brad's parts with the Gwen-like girl. Why don't they just have the guy from the Sublime tribute band come out here and sing with her? I wondered. In any case it was a pretty good performance and afterwards we bought a couple beers and waited for the next band.

The frontman for the Sublime tribute band looked very much like Brad. He had shaved, dirty blonde hair, was pudgy, and wore a wife-beater. There was also a keyboardist in this band, as well as a drummer and bass player. No horns again, although Sublime was really just composed of the three guys. Still, there were a few songs that required a trumpet but were just filled with guitar instead. 

I have to admit they were fabulous. "Brad" sang just like Brad. Every song was perfect. We were all dancing and having a great time, Madeleine and I shouting along to each song. At one point, Madeleine whispers something to Kim, who starts laughing, then she whispers the same thing to Brian, who's laughing too, and pretty soon the three of them are dying of laughter. The performance was loud, so in order to be heard we had to scream at each other. Looking over at them, I shouted "I want to hear funny things!" and at the very moment I yelled this, there was a break in the song, so everyone heard me, including the band. "You didn't expect that break did you?" "Brad" asked me, laughing. I was completely embarrassed of course, but instead of looking sheepish I started singing back to them on the stage. "Load up the bong, crank up the song, let the informer call 911!" "Are you Lindsay? You look like Lindsay!" "Brad asked me. "No, I'm D______!" I called back, and then they resumed playing. It was pretty funny. We really enjoyed their set, even though we did have to fight for our little space with this girl who was completely in love with the bass player. I was standing right in front of him the whole time, and throughout the show she was desperately trying to get his attention, including buying him beers and placing them on the stage and touching his foot when she had the chance. "She does know that these guys aren't really Sublime, doesn't she?" Madeleine joked with me. Seriously this girl was acting like John Lennon was on that stage. At one point a friend of hers lifted this girl up and she got on stage, but was immediately escorted off and was almost removed from the building. "Don't kick her out. Let her stay," the band insisted. Okay. She got to stay. 

After their set, they went back stage of course, and then went onto the floor, talking to a few people. We approached them and introduced ourselves and talked with them a bit. "Are you guys from California?" I asked "Brad." "Yeah, we're from San Diego," he replied. "I'm from California too!" I gushed, and we chatted a little about the weather at home and San Francisco. "So where's the party at?" "Brad" asked us after awhile. "Trailer Park," Madeleine said, and gave them directions. They told us they would meet us there, so we bundled up again and braved the snow once more as we headed to the bar. On the way we mused a bit about the show and agreed that they probably wouldn't meet us at Trailer Park.

But they did. We'd been sitting at the bar for about twenty minutes when they walked in. We had a drink with them, talked a bit more. At one point however, "Brad" puts his hand on my leg. "You wanna hang out after this?" he asked me. "Sure," I replied. They didn't know where they were going but he put my number in his phone and then called me so I would have his number. "I'll call you in half an hour and let you know where we'll be," he said, and then they took off. I was really surprised at all this, but did want to go out, so Kim agreed that she would go with me and act as my "wing man" she said, and Madeleine headed home. After a bit of going back and forth on the phone with "Brad", including him saying something like "...all on us--drinks, hotel..." I stopped. "Hotel?" I said. "What did you say?" I couldn't understand him because there was a lot of background noise on his end, but I knew I wouldn't be going to a hotel with anyone. "You guys gotta tell me where you're gonna be otherwise my friend's gonna go home," I told him. "Let her go home," he said, and went on, saying something about accommodating me, but again I couldn't hear him well. 

Finally he calls me again and tells me the address of a karaoke bar, so Kim and I hail a cab and meet them in midtown. They bought us drinks and we all stood around talking casually. Not much was happening except that Kim and I were getting drunk. However, at one point as I was returning from the bathroom, I saw "Brad" with his hands on Kim's waist. I wasn't upset; what I felt immediately was some embarrassment and surprise. When I approached them they parted, which didn't matter much to me anyway, it was just now I was feeling like a third wheel and it was awkward. After another drink Kim and I decided we were going home, and "Brad" walked out with us. I simply said good bye to them when we stepped outside and was on my way to 42nd to catch the train, assuming they were going to hang out with each other. Once I saw a street sign and noticed I was going in the wrong direction, I had to walk back and pass them, which was pretty embarrassing. They were still standing outside of the club, holding each other and here I came along again because I was walking in the wrong direction. 

Frustrated to find the subways closed in a few places, and still battling the snow that had been steadily falling for hours, I finally just grabbed a cab to Penn Station to hop on the train from there. I was feeling sick as I stepped on the train and at one point was trying to breathe slowly and stay calm because I thought for sure I was going to throw up. I was even trying to plan how I would throw up, hoping to vomit right at the moment the train was pulling up at the next stop so that I could stick my head out and heave on the station platform once the automatic doors slid open rather than in the car itself. But the nausea passed somehow and I fell into a deep sleep, waking up drowsily three stops past my house and realizing vaguely my mistake at the fourth stop. When I discovered what I did, I was very annoyed with myself. I had to get off the train and walk to the opposite side of the tracks to wait for the next one to go back down four stops to my apartment.

I didn't get home until around 4:30 am. I fell asleep immediately, only waking up briefly at 6:30 to call Kim and wake her up for work. Later on in the afternoon, hung over and lying in bed again, I received a text from Kim. She felt really bad. "Did you guys make out or something?" I text her. They had and she felt very guilty. "I'm such a terrible friend right now and an awful wing man!" she wrote. But in all honesty, I told her, I wasn't angry at all. I told her I thought I should be, but really I was just a little embarrassed and surprised, surprised because I'm not sure when all of this occurred. If I'd really been upset, I would have told her and I wouldn't hide it from you guys either. I'm not ready to date anyone and wasn't particularly attracted to this guy.

It's like I told her at the end of our texting, it was just that last quirky detail to cap off a strange and eventful night. This particular part along with the other unexpected details of the whole night made for an unforgettable story, which is what I'm always hoping for every time I step out the door.