Monday, September 16, 2024

Spinal Tap moment going to see Spinal Tap


 LAST WEEK THE Ratskellar in Quincy showed "This Is Spinal Tap" as part of a year-long film series. Spinal Tap is my favorite band and favorite movie. Ever. I was very excited and even though I've seen it a hundred times, I was looking forward to it.

Friday night I headed to Lux, the fabulous new cigar place across the street from the Ratskellar. After a nice stogie and chat with Alex, the owner, I went into the bar and was all fired up.

"Where are they showing the movie?" I asked the bartender.

"Over there," she said, pointing to a side room. "But it was last night."

Heavy sigh ....

Look. Not getting dates right and forgetting stuff is par for the course. I am not making fun of memory loss or dementia - it's an issue that's hitting home right now for a couple of reasons. But I'm very good at simply being a dumb-ass and forgetting, or not looking closely enough at the actual date of the actual event.

I blame my late sweet mother, God bless her soul. She was always forgetting things and getting us lost on road trips. Or, as my father likes to say, "I have a good memory. It's just short."

Last week I was chatting with a guy I play in a band with, Adam Yates of Prospect Road. I said, "I'm really looking forward to having this Saturday off." He said, "Yeah, but we have a gig Saturday. Remember?" 

Of course I remember! Not. It's on my calendar, of course. But why should I bother looking at the calendar every time?

Because it's saved my life more than once.

I'm very sorry about missing Spinal Tap. It's about an English heavy metal band that goes on tour and everything that could possibly go wrong goes wrong. The first few times I saw it, including 40 years ago in a Grand Rapids theater, I fell out of my chair laughing. But now I tend to cry because it's all so true, even though it's meant to be a farce.

I've gotten lost trying to find the gig or even the room we are playing. I've lost bandmates over dumb arguments. I've had drummers spontaneously combust on stage or die in bizarre gardening accidents. Hey. It happens. 

Earlier this summer Prospect Road played in Quincy. We were doing the song "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, all two chords (F to G). But our bass player, Filbert Sievert, had his low E string knocked out of tune. So he played it lower. I was in one key, our poor singer was in another, and Justin was wondering what the fuss was all about. Three different keys all at once! It's not easy to do,  you know.

I have a million other Spinal Tap stories, but I'd have to remember them. And there isn't enough room here to tell them all. 

 


No comments:

Post a Comment