Bringing the Drama

Ryan Adams road trip 2008 Night 2, 10/17/2008

so the morning of the ATL show, i drove up to Birmingham to meet up with my friend Susan and then drive to ATL. in order to waste time, i ate at a Subway near her house (have y’all tried the chicken pizzalorio [pizaloria, pizzaiola?] yet? it’s a $5 foot long and worth every penny). then i sat in my car, read my Bible, sent texts, then called someone to gush about the show the previous night. i could not stop thinking about the new songs. Susan called me to let me know she finally got home, i met her at the house, and we left, with what we thought was PLENTY of time to get to Atlanta. little did we know how things would change.

i drove her car so that she could catch up on sleep, and everything’s going fine. traffic is moving well, i was on my way to another Ryan Adams show, what could go wrong? i’ll tell you what could go wrong! traffic came to a stand still somewhere around Anniston, and for the next hour, we were basically stopped. STOPPED! i must say on my drive from home up to Tuscaloosa the previous day i saw two 18 wheeler wrecks, one in which the truck had flipped off into the trees in the median, and another where the truck had turned over spilling what looked to be bags of rice. both of these accidents were on a sunny day, last Friday was kind of dreary. i figured with the traffic stopped, there must be something major. after an hour, we finally got moving, and the way the interstate was set up, the three lanes merged to two for construction. normally this is not a major deal until there is an older man in a white minivan who is stalled in the right lane. STALLED IN THE RIGHT LANE IN A CONSTRUCTION AREA! this man appeared to not know the rules of trying to move your car off of the roadway when we passed. i blew the horn at him. Susan called the stalled vehicle in to the highway patrol so they could maybe GET HIM OFF THE ROAD! as we went further down the road we saw a massive accident of i think two 18 wheelers which was pulled off into the median. the traffic going the other way was at a crawl, but eastbound I-20 was moving smoothly. we deserved it!

because of the traffic mishap, we had to skip stopping at Jeff and Adriene’s and went straight to the venue. we stopped for Chick-Fil-A at the same exit we were getting off at, and got to the parking lot at 8:20 (or something like that). we made our way inside, and i stopped at the merch booth to get my poster. while in line i was able to weigh in on a conversation about the new songs with the people in front of me. i thought they were cool, until the couple in front of me decided to buy 2 shirts, and have to check sizes on each, and then kind of also think about getting a poster, but then not, then rethink if one of the shirts they got was the right size OMG JUST BUY YOUR STUFF AND MOVE! it was 8:32 by this point, i was trying to play it cool and not freak out, but these people, seriously were pushing on my nerves. the guy behind me had been making comments to me about if i was going to be able to buy my stuff and move ASAP when i got to the front, and i told him i was ready. i also bought a shirt, and i knew the size when i got to the front. also, the guy asked me if i was on the Archive, which i told him i was. we exchanged user names, but i honestly forgot his. his g/f (i guess?) kind of rolled her eyes at us. i thought meeting people from the internet was not considered weird anymore? i made my way to my seat with about a minute to spare.

the show started and the band sounded spectacular. the venue was an open air ampitheatre which seemed to have been built recently, so the acoustics were great.

they started with Born Into A Light and kept rolling with a fantastic Cobwebs. when i first had heard that song, i didn’t really know what to think, but after seeing it live i really started to love it. the show kept building though, Bartering Lines was insane. Wonderwall was AMAZING! i was a little distracted in Tuscaloosa for this song, because ‘that’ girl got up twice DURING the song, but in ATL, all the people around me were staying in their seats. it was awesome. after they did Off Broadway, Ryan said something about his voice going out, and he was sorry, but they were going to do their best. this was the last show of the US headlining tour, i was hoping they were going to play extra long, so the voice thing didn’t sound too good. the weird thing was, then they played The Sun Also Sets, which is a hard song to sing the way he does live. i didn’t understand, but i appreciated the effort to give us the full experience. between songs Ryan mentioned the voice thing, which after being repeated, i started to feel the show was going to be cut short. after Shakedown, he finally apologized for what seemed like the 20th time, and said he felt humiliated, but he was not going to be able to go on. i felt bad for him, because he kept apologizing, and his posture was just one of defeat. when he said that was it, the band kind of looked at him puzzled, and reluctantly followed his lead and left the stage.

Susan and i figured maybe he’d go drink some tea with honey, or the band would convince him to come back on and sing quieter songs that wouldn’t be so taxing on his voice. he had sung the regular songs without changing the setlist in spite of his voice issues, which made me wonder why he did that. people started booing. and then it got louder. we were going to wait until they started taking everything apart though, which they hadn’t yet. i figure it was about 10 minutes or so before the houselights came on. the roses on the backdrop were still lit though, and we figured once they turned those off that would be the end for real. the people booing kept saying things like they wanted a refund, or that they should have known this would happen. i was more sad about what could have happened than what should have happened. they had sounded so great, i was disappointed for it to end like that. about 15 minutes after the band left the stage, they turned the roses off, which signaled our time to leave.

Ryan Adams road trip 2008 Night 1, 10/16/2008

i left last Thursday for Tuscaloosa and arrived in time to eat dinner with two of the people i had had lunch with in Birmingham last month. the restaurant was taking FOREVER with our food, but we were able to scarf down our food and make it to the show with about 7 minutes to spare. none of us had been to the theatre before, so we made our way through the throng of people who were trying to get that last mixed drink or can of beer (they had CANS of beer) before the lights went down. i bought my poster for the night and made my way down to the 2nd row.

the first set was good, and i really liked the new songs, especially Born Into A Light and Sink Ships. my friend David had gone to the Dallas show, and told me how much he liked Stop, but when they played it i didn’t really like it that much. the organ they used sounded like a baseball organ, and i couldn’t hear the lyrics very well. upon hearing the studio version (legally!) i have changed my opinion. it’s so heartwrenching! btw, i thought the steel guitar during Shakedown was brilliant.

the people next to me did not show up until the 3rd or 4th song. how does that happen? if you have 1st or 2nd row for a show, why would you show up that late? it was a guy and a girl, and the girl kept climbing over me to go get another drink, and when she’d come back, she’d try to pretend fall on her b/f(?), but she also kept falling on me. i didn’t get it, but i guess after the 6th time, she apologized, as if at that point an apology meant anything. i didn’t ask them about their tickets, and once everyone stood up and moved up front for the 2nd half, they were gone.

about the moving up, when the band came out for the 2nd set, Ryan said something like if it was okay with security, everyone should come up to the front and fill in the space between the front row and the stage (which was probably 10 feet). of course as soon as he said that, everyone did, i just moved further towards the middle of the 2nd row. i’m kind of over the standing amongst a large group of people if i don’t have to.

one of the highlights of the 2nd set was Meadowlake Street. the way it started off so slow and soft and then crested with the entire band was amazing. they also played Note To Self, which was one of my favorites off of Rocknroll, and i loved hearing it live. Cold Roses also was great, esp when Ryan hit his guitar pedal for the last solo. they ended with Crossed Out Name and that was it, two and a half (roughly) hours later. seriously great stuff.

you can listen to any and all of the Tuscaloosa show here.

so i know i need to type about the Ryan Adams shows from last week, but today i went to the doctor for a followup to the MRI i had done Thursday. he looked through all the pictures and didn’t see a labrum tear, or at least not one bad enough to require full on surgery. he said he saw something that was a little suspect, and told me to keep doing therapy (at home and the gym, not going to PT) and if i still had pain after a month or so, to call him and he could do a quick outpatient scope and fix the damage. my shoulder has felt light years better than it did a month or so ago, so the PT and being smarter about how i move it have definitely worked.

btw, the MRI on Thursday was actually an arthrogram. because labrum tears are hard to see in a regular MRI, they injected a dye into my shoulder so any tears would show up better. i had to go an hour early for them to inject the dye. the radiologist deadened the area then put some blanket type things up over my face so i couldn’t see the needle (which was probably a good thing, because i think it was probably pretty big). it didn’t really hurt, giving blood probably hurts worse, and i don’t think it’s that big of a deal. i had to wait an hour after they injected the dye before the MRI could be done. after the hour passed, they walked me back to the truck where the machine was. they laid me down on the bed thing and put my shoulder in some kind of contraption to keep it still. one of the nurses gave me earplugs because she said the machine was loud (and it was, so i was really glad for the earplugs). they moved me back into the tube and started the test. i was supposed to keep as still as possible which wasn’t too hard, although i was keeping my eyes closed because there was about an inch or two from my face to the wall of the tube. i think i may have dozed off, i have no idea. i think it lasted about 30 minutes before they moved me out of it. the nurse said a couple of the pictures came out blurry, but she said everything else went fine, and the number of blurry ones was no big deal. she said she took about 120 images. after it was over, my shoulder felt pretty stiff and sore, but nothing too bad. i went home and packed, then headed up to Tuscaloosa. more on that tomorrow.

also, today at work i saw an article on a plugin Mini. kind of expensive at $850 a month now, but hopefully soon i can get a car that requires no gas and i can plug it in overnight to use in the morning. combine that with eventually having solar power to produce electricity, which would also charge the car, and you have a completely self sufficient system going. the road trip aspect of plugin cars needs some work though. a range of 150 miles wouldn’t have done me any good this past weekend. if they can get the range up to 500 or 600 miles, they’ll have something.

so on my way home tonight i stopped to get my haircut for the first time since June i think. i’m going on Ryan Adams Road Trip 2008 starting tomorrow. it’s going to be awesome. i’m not sure if it can approach last year, especially Dallas, but maybe that’s my way of keeping my expectations down. anyway, about the haircut….i stopped by the haircut place by my house. they take forever, but they’re right close and they do a good enough job. there were 4 people in front of me on the sheet and only two ladies cutting hair. it took a little over 30 minutes for my name to be called. i thought about walking out and just going back tomorrow, but then i’d go “i’ve already been here for 15 minutes, it’s gotta mean something!” there were a couple of people there getting their hair washed AND cut. if you’re a guy, and your hair isn’t complicated, you do not need to get it washed! i think his sister was getting her haircut. i noticed she had blonde hair, but it wasn’t really blonde, it was DYED. she took off her rubber band to let her hair down so the lady could wash it and cut it. HAIR DISASTER! her very dark roots were showing. i noticed the blonde wasn’t really blonde, but more like a pale yellow. AWFUL. i wanted to make a comment about it, especially after i learned her brother was the one that dyed it, and he is a hairdresser! WTF?!? a cruel joke on her i think.

this year’s RA Road Trip will begin in Tuscaloosa. i’ll be hitting up the show tomorrow night with a 2nd row ticket. the people next to me will be people who bought their tickets off ebay, or at least from a broker. i kind of want to ask them about it, but i’m just hoping they’re not annoying people who think Tim McGraw wrote When The Stars Go Blue. (cleanse your ears by watching this version if you’re into covers, or the original).

i’m spending the night at a friend of a friend of a friend’s house. my friend CJ was supposed to go to the show in Tuscaloosa also, but she chose Mexico. she gave the tickets she won to two of her friends who i met in Birmingham. one of the guy’s is staying the night in Tuscaloosa at a friend’s house, and i’m staying there.

on Friday, i’m meeting up with a friend in Birmingham and going to the ATL show. we have 4th row tickets. it’ll be the final stateside show for the Cardinals before they had across the pond (and to my friend Chrissy) so hopefully it’ll be “we’re done with this part of the tour let’s play 4 hours” craziness! two shows in two nights. after hopefully being able to watch the GT/Clemson game in peace with Jeff and Adriene, i will venture home to hopefully end up back at my house by midnight. should be a packed weekend, but i wouldn’t have it any other way.

so the trip home wednesday was fortunately uneventful. there was a bit more traffic than normal, but i was able to stay on I-59 and not have to exit and take my alternate state highway route. there were tons of La. residents on the road obviously, and a few who thought it’d be okay to drive 65 in the left lane. i exclaimed “we’re never going to get home at this rate!” a few times. with the additional cars on the road, the slow drivers in the left lane caused a long line of cars to form in the left lane. also, there were several power and tree trucks caravaning in the right lane, which made the slow left lane drivers even more bothersome. no matter, because there were no accidents or screeching halts.

i stopped at the Picayune walmart to get groceries since i knew the walmart near my house was not open yet. several hundred other people had the same idea i did, so the grocery stop took a little longer than expected.

it’s been nice being home. i’ve done some cleaning in preparation to possibly hosting a Saints party on Sunday. my neighborhood is still under a boil notice (boil water before drinking or cooking with it) which i am hoping gets lifted today. something about the water treatment system got messed up, so i keep checking the parish website for updates. the water thing is the only thing not back to normal. i heard that my neighborhood only lost power for 3 hours on Monday, so that’s awesome. i didn’t lose any food in my fridge, which is a far cry from Katrina.

the only damage to anyone’s house that i know of are my friends zach and faith. they had a tree fall on their house. they were renting the house though, so they just have to move their stuff out and the owner is going to get the house repaired. i say all of that like it’s no big deal, but i know personally that it’s a big deal. fortunately they won’t have to be the ones getting the repairs done.

i went running yesterday and it was insanely humid. it had rained earlier in the afternoon, so i thought it would be nice and cool. it was cool enough, but the humidity made it pretty miserable. i only had to dodge one tree and one power line along my usual 5k route. the weather is supposed to clear up somewhat this weekend, so i have high hopes.

i’m going to finally go home tomorrow. my sister called and said i had electricity back. the water has not been deemed safe to drink yet, but i can deal with that okay. problem is, EVERY other parish except for Orleans is allowed to go back tomorrow. I-59 is only two lanes wide. i have mapped out an alternate route to get back without using the interstate. we’ll see how it goes. i may be calling people to “go into the map” to direct me back because i don’t have a GPS. i’m hoping to be able to clean out my fridge and go to the store to restock. hopefully walmart will be open tomorrow or thursday. i don’t really have much food at the house, so i definitely need to get to a grocery store.

today i was able to get some free chick-fil-a (we got coupons at the game) and the CFA milkshake i had been craving all weekend. birmingham is not such a bad place, so it has now entered into the options for moving.

i’ll post more when i can. hopefully i’ll have internet back too.

my sister called me this morning to say she was able to go by my house, and it is fine. the power’s still not back on, and i heard there are state troopers at the LA/MS border keeping people from entering the parish (ie county). the local governments asked if people could stay out till at least tomorrow for them to assess damage and fix things like trees in the road or downed power lines. my plan was to maybe try to go back today, but if i drive 4 hours just to be stopped at the border, i would not be very happy. besides, with no power, i can’t do much plus i had to go to the store, so there’s not much food. if i can get back tomorrow i’ll be able to clean out my fridge and go from there.

i made it back to birmingham Sunday afternoon and got back in time to go to church with cj. the church meets in a fantastic old building. it was pretty awesome.

today involved lunch with a group of people i didn’t know, hanging out with someone i hadn’t seen in 6 years, and a birthday party that involved guitar hero. oh, and keeping up on Gustav. i talked with my sister who had stayed, she’s okay. her apartment is okay but without power. she has since moved to my aunt and uncle’s house which is nearby because it has power. something like 85% of the parish (or county) has no power. i’m not sure if i’ll go back tomorrow or not. i asked my sister if she can go by my house (which is REALLY close to her apartment, why didn’t she go by today?!?) tomorrow morning and let me know what’s up. i was able to check my utility company’s website and find out my house doesn’t have power. i’m not THAT worried like i was after katrina, but i guess in this case no news is not necessarily good news.

my parents are having a great time in Tuscaloosa. they had evacuated initially to get up to birmingham, but after drama with traffic (6 hours just to go about 80 miles to start off!), they called me when they got to the tuscaloosa area. i told them to get off the interstate and take a break, and after that, just go to hotels and try to find a room. my mom was trying to reserve one, but i had heard on the radio last week that just going to hotels sometimes helped. they found a room about 15 minutes after we talked, so were all excited to finally have a place to go. my dad called me this afternoon to tell me they found a Five Guys and had a delicious burger. i had told them how fantastic Five Guys was after i had eaten at one in Florida on the youth retreat. they are probably going to go back on Wednesday.

as far as i know, no one i know has had damage to their house. the storm definitely was not nearly as bad, and all reports were of less than expected rain and winds. miraculously, the storm had weakened before it made landfall. i was watching a local news feed over the internet, and saw how the storm was coming in this morning. it was cool to see flood wall additions to their jobs. at lunch, they had a tv on CNN which when i was watching showed a reporter in the middle of a rain squall holding an anemometer upside down. i couldn’t hear what he was saying but it might have been “OMG! you won’t believe how strong these winds are!” i think they wanted levees to break or something. the headline on their website earlier today was a lot different from local websites. oh well, Gustav certainly did not disappoint me!

with all the drama of the past couple of days, i’m surprisingly doing okay. the game yesterday was awful. horrible. a nightmare. Clemson’s defensive and offensive lines got manhandled. still though, it was fun hanging out with friends, going down to Gameday, and watching football on 20 different widescreen tvs. also, i was able to get out of the GA Dome without getting into a fight, which unfortunately does not extend to all Clemson fans. some people should just not be drinking at a football game.

as far as Gustav, i just got a call that my parents are leaving. most everyone i know is spread across alabama. i’m going to stay in birmingham until i can get back, which looks like probably Wednesday. i’ll update things when i can. if i get another extended vacation from work, i’ll probably go traveling or something. it’s weird to say i am not freaking out, but having already dealt with a major storm, a glancing blow from another just doesn’t seem as bad. please keep the whole situation in your prayers though.

yesterday at work was pretty good. i’ve been working on this one calculation for about a week and a half, but i’m still not well versed with the analysis world, so i was having to ask a lot of questions. yesterday afternoon, i was finally able to get help from my supervisor and it was like the light came on. i was able to get what i needed to done and send out an email before i left with the results i found. it was kind of awesome.

also yesterday, i was getting directions to birmingham to meet CJ later today in preparation for Clemson/Bama tomorrow. i plugged in the addresses on google maps, and noticed a little camera icon by my address. i clicked and MY HOUSE IS ON GOOGLE MAPS! apparently the google mobile drove through and snapped photos in my neighborhood. (i wish Paris was my neighborhood) i saw that they pretty much did the whole NOLA metro area. i thought it was pretty cool.

i need to go finish getting some stuff together. i have my stuff ready for this weekend, but i’m also going to be bringing some stuff over to my aunt and uncle’s in case that Gustav guy shows up while i’m gone. the models are shifted more to the west, but i can’t completely trust them. still, i feel a little better than i did yesterday or a couple of days ago. just hope i can get home early next week.

also, today marks 3 years since katrina. i don’t feel nearly as weird as i did the two previous anniversaries, and in fact it seems like such a long time ago. the attitude with Gustav’s mostly “we know what it can do, we’re doing what we have to. however, we also know how bad things could get, and we’re ready for them.” it’s kind of cool to see people have confidence and not in a panic.

TOMORROW IS GAMEDAY! OMG WTF BBQ!