Cry of the Banshee & Road Trippin

Friends,

Last night I spent some time crammed into the Sugar Room listening to Charlie Parr. It was a good time. I got to see Luke D. & Colin dance, which is a sight to behold. I have seen this before, but it was a much more satisfying experience in a public place. Bronson said he that when he was an old man, he wanted to have an acid-farm in upstate New York and kind of live like Ginsberg...something about Bronson with a crazy-person's beard and no hair made me happy...plus, I liked the idea of being a Ken Kesey, Merry Prankster, type person...I could have Luke D. & Colin on my bus so they can dance and sling poetry for the freakouts. Plus, the waitress at the Sugar Room last night was one of my current students...and not one I have a particually good report with, so that was fun too.

Also, Jorge was there, and we inevitably started chatting a little about Carbondale. Which got me thinking about The Bourbon Knights (a "pirate swing" band, though eclectic bar band of awesome would be more appropriate...they play originals, Pogues covers, AC/DC covers, blues standards, it's a wonderful hodge-podge), and the drunken good times I had at Hangar 9, which was my bar of choice while I lived and visited there...where I cut my drinking teeth on potent Long Islands and one-dollar rails on Tuesday nights.

Jorge also dropped something on me that I hadn't thought about it a long time. City Museum. That place is essentially a jungle gym with caves and mazes and slides and all sorts of stuff to climb around on (there is also craft stuff, an actual museum, and an aquarium among other things). Yes, it sounds like a children's play place...and during the school year field trips are taken there regularly...however, the place is open until 2 a.m, and alcohol can be purchased there. Also, the stuff, the climbing around stuff, is reinforced for adults...and not average adults either because I've climbed my fat-ass around on that stuff too and felt completely safe doing it. Jorge mentioned how he'd like to go again, and I can't help but think other MFA'ers would love some adult-sized jungle gym...I know Colin & Luke D would be down...Jessica B. would sure like it...I wouldn't be surprised if Danielle would want to live there (that is an option by the way...they have lofts in the building for sale too).

Maybe some kind of trip is in order...and St. Louis is only about 2 hours away from Carbondale...shorter if you don't mind speeding. Maybe some kind of trip is in order? I don't know when, or how it could be afforded (especially with AWP NYC & a potential Fargo trip)...but I can't see why it would be a bad thing...they got some pretty sweet graveyards in St. Louis too (General William T. Sherman and Kate Chopin are buried there). I have to say, I'm very tempted.

I'm going to leave you all now with a Bourbon Knights video of them playing a punked out version of the pirate-song classic "15 Men."



Viva los Bourbon Knights, Saint Louis, City Museum, Road Trips y Mustache!