China Cats

[Drunk Monk]

Didn’t take the best ones

Dancing too hard

[Drunk Monk]

Happy New Yeaf!

That was fun. Had an unexpected partner in crime, my prodigal iaido bother. E had a lot of drinks beforehand. And at set break. Man, every time I hang out with this guy, the D in DM surfaces like spirited sequel. 

Had a few at the Red Room to catch up. We hadn’t spoken face2face since he left the dojo and broke up with his gf. He decided to join m at CC even tho he’s never been to any dead shows or knows the scene beyond some deadhead friends. It was kinda fun to turn him on. Beyond the insane amount of whiskey we put back DM had some chocoshrooms & edibles and we made a night of it. What fun when the drugs kicked in. Hat a drunken crawl downtown. 

Had a blast even with the nooB in tow. He was having quite the sun

[Drunk Monk]

I passed out mid-post this morning and don’t remember where that last sentence was going at all.

Looking back, here’s the tally:
NYE 2016, 2022, 2024
Halloween 2023, 2024

They have more shows coming up at the Vets on Jan 31 & Feb 28 (my birthday). I’m sold on these. They’re reasonably priced and a mellow scene, plus walking there and back is awesome. 

The red room warm up was fun. Had 3 shots of tullamore. A table next to us noticed my stealies and asked about the show (out of towners). Another table asked for us to take their picture and it turned out to be a friend or my accomplice (he writes for the sentinel so is well connected in the Cruz). A hawt gal overheard dm mention chocoshrooms and sat down at our table to chat about them. One of her friends was the son of thr owner of Green yoga, where we we practicing yoga while out studio moved (they lead pot yoga sessions and myco hikes). 

At the show, a woman asked me if I was Michael Kang (from the band String Cheese Incident). That happens occasionally. He’s younger and bears a slight resemblance, mostly because we’re both Asian. 

First set felt a bit slow. Hartle had come from a previous gig across town and it took him a bit to get back into his China Cats groove. The oil and video projections were delightful. I would’ve gone up to front of stage but my accomplice is tall, 6’ 2” maybe, and I felt it better to be further back so he could get a larger view. I just sank into the music, telling him that his was my church (and it is sometimes). He’s knows I worked for the band and he’s experienced, not necessarily stoned, but beautiful. When the treats hit, he was as in the groove as any virgin to the dead scene.

During set break, we headed to the Rush Inn, a dive bar, and got more whiskey - tender’s choice because their selection was weak and domestic. Ended up with Jim Beam & 4 Roses, but the treats had kicked in and it didn’t really matter what it was at that point, just that it was more.

Second set was more lively ending with a high energy Shakedown. The ballon drop happened fast without a countdown. I think the overran their jam out of Truckin. I was disappointed that the went to Golden Road, UJB and then Sug Mag, but I’m a traditionalist that way. 

The stumble home was calming. My accomplice wanted to rage on to the next party, but I was done. I enjoyed the holiday lights of my neighbors, the quiet, and the cool crisp sea air. 

Yuki greeted me when I got home, clearly distressed. I hydrated, nite cheesed, and comforted him. i got home sometime between 1 & 2 and there were still a few fireworks. I’ve talked him down from fireworks like a dozen times now so he trusts me with that. 

Still got my wristband on, even though it’s a cheap paper one. Still recovering. I’ll cut the band when I feel back to normal.

[Drunk Monk]

Kinda bummed that I bailed on tonight’s show because the rain is fairly mellow. But I’ve been dealing with a lot lately and I was exhausted tonight. 

Next show is on my birthday…

[Drunk Monk]

I coulda sworn I posted here last night. I thought I posted for my birthday too. Both great shows. So fun to walk over, dance & stumble home. 

The vets hall is mile away. I logged 6.5 miles yesterday, minus 2 for there and back again and a generous 1 for yesterday’s errand means 3.5 miles of shaking my bones. I’ve decided it’s spring training for the April show season coming…

[Drunk Monk]

Slightly OT
@ Grateful Sunday @ the Crepe Place. Matt Hartle of China Cats is the lead, backed by drums, keys & bass. Nice scene. I did these back at Michael’s on Main before it burned down. Crepe Place is a 4 block stumble from my bungalow. I’d do every one of these if they weren’t a $10 cover.

[Drunk Monk]

Well that was disappointing. Not nearly enough dead tunes. Maybe a half dozen (I missed the opening waiting to pay my bar/dinner bill so I’m not sure). The keyboardist, who was talented, was more into 70s hits. They delivered a nice Oye como va, but some of the other covers weren’t doing it for me. The drummer was decent; she had strong jazz sensibilities. The bass was flat but he did wear wrist sweatbands ala Phil. The place was packed. Got chatted up by two women at the bar and a dude in the back who claimed he worked for Bill back in the day. Spent second set with my head under the stage right speaker, right next to keys. I gotta pull back - been doing so many shows lately and it abets my tinnitus. I should’ve plugged - I plugged for Shakira but only with disposable foam - I have a pro pair molded to my ears but it flattens the bass so I’m not fond of them. But they would’ve been better for Shakira & tonight. Hartle squeezed off a few soaring jams, but not enough to satisfy. I did like the drummer a lot. 

If I go again, I’ll skip dinner & the shot (they do have an interesting Irish whiskey shelf - a lot of lesser labels I didn’t know). I had the cheese crepe appetizer and it was good but not that filling. Embarrassingly I’ve forgotten what the whiskey was - had a cute name too. I can eat and get lit at home, then stumble there and save like $30. 

Stacy almost went but I’m glad she didn’t. The crepe place does have gf crepes but they’re rice flour based and those are worse than tortillas. Been trying to find buckwheat ones like in France. 

This concludes a 4 day holiday. Monday will suck, like it does, especially after days off.

[thatguy]

I always get the steamed artichoke, and sometimes the chowder. It's a filling combo.

--tg
PS: I saw a video online of Hartle's band doing Heaven by Talking Heads. Last month I saw a talking heads cover band called Crosseyed and Painless and I think it's the same keyboard player.