A comeback? I've been here for years

Seems like, as I get a little older the recovery process from a weekend of partying is taking longer. Sunday used to be deemed my recovery day...and now it's spilling into Monday as well? Oh god, when I'm, *gasp*, 28 will I be rendered useless until Wednesday? I still made it into work yesterday and all that stuff but I just wasn't tip-top. It wasn't necessarily that I drank too much or stayed out too late. Although that was a part of it, it's just like my head was tired. I've been thinking a bunch. I hate it when I do this. (wait, do I?)

My old friends and ex-band mates Joe and Amanda of The Like Young really really impressed me Saturday night. Not to say that they haven't before, but there were a few perfect moments at this show that I won't soon be forgetting. To start, there's always excitement surrounding a record release show. That fresh-from-the-factory-record feeling is pretty fantastic. And it's only once or twice a year (if that) you get to see a band experience it. Coupled with the fact that they're wheeling on a new label and totally excited about the future was comforting to me. The release at hand is the Timid 7" EP. I enjoy the B-side.

Seeing Joe pedal-hopping put a smile on my face. He and I used to spend a ton of time in his parent's basement in front of his 4 track. Joe was always the sort of guy that would come up with a distorted tone that was just slightly heavier than the one he previously had, but more constructed and refined. I don't think he ever stopped experimenting. I saw what appeared to be 2(!) Big Muff pedals at his feet. Now I could be totally wrong here, but I saw 2 large metal boxes down there. One, of course, outdoing the other. Then there are his 3(!) amplifiers. Just go seem them live.

And who needs stage banter while the snare drum is being replaced when you can just fold onto your knees and let your guitar just fucking moan for a few minutes? Might sound like a mistake right now, but there, it made complete sense and worked as a messy and really unintentional segue into the second half of their set. Now don't get me wrong. This is not to say that TLY are reliant upon their stacks of squealing amplifiers, stompbox tendencies or ability to wreck a drum set. What's important here, thank god, are the songs. And it's the lyrics to those songs. You're witness, whether you care to be or not, to someone working on some heavy-duty situations. There's major frustration plopped right in front of you, and then there's not, because in the span of 2 minutes it's been resolved. Or has it? This is not really for me to decide. I don't think the lyrical content in some of their songs is setting out to pose the problem and then wrap it all up by song's end. Maybe they're saying that what life is throwing at us is simply not going to stop. And the emotions we feel about this life are certainly not simple. Maybe in the next song we'll figure out another tiny element and get a little happier and secure. But we really can't guarantee anything. I think this is true and fine and right. I guess hearing lyrics about a girl you never met or how your paycheck from your shitty job is going to buy you a six-pack and a rattlesnake just isn't doing it for me any longer. I'm concerned about the girl that you did meet. Let's here about her. What did she do that was right/wrong? What lesson did you learn from your mistakes? What's real?

See, I'm just giving credit where credit is due. Seeing people important to you making strides in what they do best just puts this huge smile on my face and inspires me to do the same. It's sad to see loved ones wallow in unprogressiveness even while being prodded by those around them to snap back into what they once were. I'm guilty of the above. I've been standing still, hands in pockets, just looking around but not actually seeing anything for way too long now. I've had the inspiration and successes of those close to me fall on my dumb, deaf ears. I've swept them under the carpet and I am apologizing (to myself) right now. The important ones are ones that make "stuff" happen. Note to self: make some stuff happen. Those who are, and have always been, thank you so much.