St. Patrick’s Day

So, it’s St. Patrick’s Day and I’m not in Minneapolis.

This is the second year in a row that’s happened, after more than a decade of seeing the Boiled In Lead show at First Avenue every year. And, for reasons which I don’t know if I’m allowed to mention, I suspect that things may be very different next year.

Of course, for the last couple of years the Tim Malloys, who have been second on the bill, have actually been more fun to see than Lead, which is just a natural consequence of the Malloys playing together all the damn time, and Lead playing 3 gigs a year. And seeing the Fabulous Lorraine and her boys open the last time I went was a lot of fun too.

I feel like I should be in First Avenue Right now, with a Guinness in one hand, and ear plugs in my ears, right in front of the big speaker stack at stage right, enjoying the show and communicating with Maria Pinkstaff via hand gestures. I should be a little tired, and more than a little buzzed from an afternoon fighting the crowds at Kieran’s, or wherever the Malloys were before, but happy.

Of course, for things to seem right Steve Brust would have to be down in the front center, visible primarily as a hat above the crowd. Shannon would have to be dancing somewhere down there. Liz and Andy would be around somewhere, probably not too far from where Betsy was holding court. Jane would be seated at one of the good tables with David standing nearby, and Lorraine would be circulating from the back of the stage through the crowd, buzzed with manic energy from her opening show. For it to be just right, Will and Emma would need to be there. Gwenda would need to be around, probably at a table on the second level, near a bar (and let’s put Christopher there too, and maybe Richard and Barb, and Kelly and Gavin, who weren’t ever part of the Big Show thing, but who would fit right in).

I’m making myself pretty morose here.

I guess I have a good excuse for drinking today though, what with it being St. Pat’s and all.

Here’s a little Tim Malloys flavour for you, in a photo that I think captures the essence of the band

(You can click through to a larger image–sorry about the quality, I can’t find a print, so that’s scanned from the plaque-mounted one that I literally pulled down off the wall.)