Great story from last night...

[mdjabber]

So I went to the Vic in Chicago last night to see Railroad Earth for the first time last night...they were good, didn't blow me away. I expected more, partly because a guy I ran into has seen them NINETY times and referred to them as "our generation's Grateful Dead..." Aight, I took it with a grain of salt and no need to debate it here. If you love them, I'm pumped for you...just not a band that really hooked me...

ANYway...halfway through the first set, I go to the men's room. Dudes are waiting for the urinals and I immediately recognize that this is one of those situations where I know I won't be able to pee next to anybody (I have these moments every now and then dating back about 20 years), so I opt to wait for one of the two stalls, both of which are occupied. In the meantime, a line has formed behind me with two other guys. One of the guys, Mike, looks at my Phish t-shirt and asks,

Mike: "You going to Curveball?"
Me: "No...to be honest, there are only two bands I really travel to see. Tedeschi Trucks...and SPAFFORD, baby!!"
His eyes light up.
Mike: "Duuuude...Crystal Bay, two song first set!!"
Me: "Yeah man...great show, I was supposed to go, had a ticket (blah, blah, blah)."

Now I look over and none of the urinals are occupied and the three of us are standing in line for the stalls, so...ya know, a little awkward and I figure now would e good time to address whatever elephants may have walked into the room. So I say "By the way, I'm just peeing so I won't be long."

"Oh, all good, I'm just doing some blow."
"Oh...haha...ok."
"Well, I got nothing to hide."
"Hey man...more power to ya."

(Beat)

He says..."That Crystal Bay show, man...I was listening to it today. That Virtual Bean Dip...I mean, just because it's 45 minutes doesn't mean it's good, but it was great."

"Yeah, it was solid...I actually loved the LTLO and It's a Bunch even better."

He takes out his phone and shows me that he was listening to IAB before he walked into this show.

I suddenly realize that if I can't pee in one of those urinals NOW that they're all unoccupied, that's just sad. Meanwhile, there's a bathroom attendant who is looking at us like we're a bunch of weirdos. I ditch the stall line, Mike raving about Spafford the entire time as I begin to do complicated math problems in my head so I can pee without distraction.

Finally realized I was in there for about 10 minutes and when I got back to my spot, my friends had smoked an entire joint without me.

I'll engage in Nerd talk anyWHERE, anyTIME, with anyONE!