2002-03-06 - 2:15

Baby, don't you wanna go?

Since I'm in much, much better spirits tonight, I'd better fire off my post-Chicago update, while the trip is still somewhat fresh in my mind.

Everything went smoothly on Friday. Frank dropped me off at the airport and Customs didn't give me any grief. With the total absence of a line and being dropped off a bit early, I ended up having some time to kill; but I finally started reading The Castle, after buying it ages ago.

The flight in was uneventful and I made it to my hotel around 3:00. My only question on the way in was why the cab driver was saying "enough Chicago." I mean, I just got off the airplane--how could I possibly have had enough of Chicago? As it turned out, though, the hotel in which I was staying also goes by the name Inn of Chicago, which made a lot more sense.

With little time to explore before the first concert, I decided to walk to the waterfront area, which was very close to where I was staying. (Perhaps the Maritimer in me is always drawn to the water, with Lake Michigan substituting for the sea.) That wasn't tremendously exciting; but I'm always happy to get out for a walk in a new city. I snapped a few pictures, snagged an overdue meal, and got excited for the concert.

I decided to walk to the show the first night, to see some more of the city. I figured it would take me somewhere over an hour, and it ended up being an hour-fifteen. I got there in time to hear X Mars X and start working my way to the front for Rollins.

I've already written my real concert review (back up an entry for the links); but there's more to say about the shows. For starters, it was a very friendly crowd. I ended up chatting with a few people and making friends via the mosh. It's cool how you can get along with people in the midst of seeming chaos. Even though we never really exchanged words, I think that the big skinhead guy with the thick glasses and I were getting along. He at least looked out for me when my leg went a bit wonky.

Yes, I had problems again, although they were nothing like my injuries at the Slayer show. I just had to step out of the mix for a song. I was still moving, though; and I was back in full force before long. I already listed some of the concert highlights in my review: the opening was incredibly intense and the "Thinking Cap" speech had me feeling tremendously happy to be in the middle of that club at that moment. Of course, the whole night was awesome; but only rarely did I consciously think, "how cool is this?!"

The encore was the funniest part of the evening. Hank came back and noted that the crowd looked tired. As people began to protest, he responded, "I see your eyes looking droopy. I know. It's okay--you don't have to apologize to me. I understand." You would have had to have been there to hear his voice as he said it--all the spoken word shows have turned Hank into quite a comedian. He went on to say that because the crowd was tired, the band was going to slow it down for the encore. ("But you should have seen the encore we had planned for you--wow! Don't worry, though . . ") And, of course, they proceeded to rip into another full-on assault that demanded whatever energy I had left.

Afterwards, I stuck around for a bit chatting with a couple in their thirties who hadn't owned any Rollins CDs since Black Flag. They were funny. After feeling old at some recent concerts (I think that most of the audience for The Misfits was 17), it was an amusing twist when the woman clearly thought that it was cute that I was only twenty-four. It was cool to talk for a bit, even if some guy did intercept a question the woman was asking me by saying, "even Moby won't know that." (Heheh. Everybody loves the bald head.)

I came out of the club drained and my legs were especially feeling it. One foot must have taken some wear and my leg muscles were definitely sore. (And by muscles, I don't so much mean actual muscles--I'm referring more to the series of elastic bands that connects my frame. But those elastic bands were still sore.) Fortunately, I only wanted to walk as far as the drug store, to buy Gatorade and cab it the rest of the way. I also discovered that you can't walk a block down that street without two cabbies honking at each other, so I had no problems getting back to the hotel.

Saturday, I decided to give myself a break before the concert, which still left a lot of daytime free. I decided to hit the Art Institute, which I loved. I enjoyed it more than the museums I visited in Houston and Toronto last year. I really liked the photography and some of the African art was very cool. Naturally, I didn't care for everything; but there was a lot there that I appreciated.

After a long stay there, I walked back to the hotel, as an impressive snowstorm started. I stopped by the bridge to watch the huge flakes fall around me. It was a beautiful scene; and I took a few more pictures.

Learning my lesson from Friday, I rested before Saturday's show and stretched out before I left. That decision was prudent, because the Saturday mosh was even more frantic. I'd say that there were a few people I didn't care for in that crowd, and the crushing was excessive at times. Overall, though, it was another fun group of people; and I had an absolute blast. I don't know how many more songs I could have survived, though, since I was going pretty hard.

Oh, and I was also looking directly at the camera when a flash went off, so there's some possibility that I'll be in a picture for the live album. If the live video shows the crowd very often, I should be in that, since I was usually within five people of the stage (sometimes closer). I was even close enough to catch some Mother Superior stickers that Jim Wilson threw into the crowd, which is funny because in Montreal, I got one of his guitar picks.

Saturday's show also seemed to have more girls at the front of the crowd, which was cool. You have to respect any girl who holds her own in a mosh; and it was cool to see some of the same girls hanging in all night. Some of them were awfully cute, too.

The snow still looked amazing falling at night, during my quest for Gatorade. I thought about getting out with the camera again; but being stationary for the cab ride to the hotel cooled me off and my enthusiasm faded. I settled for staying in, counting my bruises (quite a few, actually), and watching The Andy Dick Show.

Sunday's return to Ottawa was straightforward. The only notable point was the Customs guy who searched my baggage was also a Rollins fan. He thought that my choice of reading material (Kafka and Nietzsche) was what he would expect from another Rollins fan. Heh.

So, that was Chicago. I suspect it may not have been an exciting read; but it was an awesome time for me. The Rollins concerts rank as some of the best shows that I have ever seen; and I was content with how I spent my free hours. As the first truly cool event of the year, it was an experience that lived up to all that I was anticipating.

J.