We hadn’t had a PLOJ in a year. Possibly over a year. That’s just frightening. I think it’s better for everyone if we get this tradition back together, dust it off and try to get it back together all regular as clockwork. If only because I was looking at the calendar and soon we get into the Roman numeral category of Ls and stuff. Last Saturday we had PLOJ XXXVII which means the NEXT one is the XXXVIII special!
PLOJ XXXVII was amazing. It started off slow. It started off with everyone lost, frankly. John Thayer’s address (that’s Nomad to many of you) is on the beaten path but the actual PLACE is just a little bit off of it and I have NEVER had to answer my phone so many times during any other gig, PLOJ, funeral, whatever. Eventually a sort of pheremone trail or something was laid down and people seemed to be finding their way better, but the 38 Special’s going to be a little more cautiously organized. Maybe we’ll even generate some freakin’ signs.
Even I had had to call and double check where I was and then when I showed up I was all afeared that noone would come but me and Heather and my mom. But about two hours after the event begun, in true musician style, we had a really full house. I’m always flattered by the number of people that come out for these things and the sheer talent that shows up. A lot of local names show up, really amazing writers that quiet the raucasity of the overall jam.
The food was great and finally broke from tradition and made Puerto Rican black beans and rice rather than my usual tabuleh, we had cookies and vegetables and pasta salads and chicken and Heather’s Awesome Squash Stuff… I missed the fact that we didn’t have any devilled eggs but since at the height of the night we were REALLY packed into Thayer’s basement that might’ve been truly awful.
Andy grinning at PLOJ XXXVIII while Brennan looks on in the background and Maggie totally looks at the camera funny. It was great to have a PLOJ with string swings on the walls. Helps with the guitar stand situation – never DO have enough of them at ANY PLOJ. To the right: Poor Sharif – this is one of the main reasons I like using my OWN equiment for my open mic! No fucker comes along and spaghettifies my cables. Now, I know that TECHNICALLY “spaghettify” is usually used in reference to what happens to matter approaching a black hole (i am NOT uneducated!!!), but here I’m using it with slightly different intent and relying on my clever, clever readers to deal with the change in usage.
In any case, a really good night with some wonderful surprises – Greta Ehrig, Suzanne Brindamour, Adam Day… a guy named Ken that we’d met in Ohio showed up with his saxophone and really blew us away with some beautiful solos. I think one of my favourite moments of the night was jamming back and forth with him on Argonauts, holding the same note and then slamming back into it. If we ever FINALLY get Slight Departure recorded, that man has a place on it.
And of all people, I was the one who had to leave by 1am because I was the one who had work in the morning? Sigh. But it was awesome. XXXVIII Special should be Saturday March 1st or theraboots. Yay!
