B365V3.12 - Osmosis

So I finally finished the first of my two vacation books.  Mind you I did very little reading on vacation, there was too much exploring to be done, my reading ended up on the planes to and from Vancouver.  As a result much of my reading has taken place on the bus to and from work.  At least until I got close to the end, then I just got it in my head to power through the last chapters and finish it.  The book in question is "Trouble Boys The True Story of The Replacements.

Now back in my later high school years, when things were written on papyrus and ditto machines were all the rage (remember that ink smell) I became a fan of the band, or as much of a fan as one could be living in the sticks, knowing the only station in the wilderness that gave them any airplay at all was the short lived but oft remembered WXXP.  So while others at my high school would be listening to Bon Jovi and Van Halen and the like and a festive occasion would be to drive to the mall so they could sit in the parking lot in their mufflerless truck, that wasn't my scene.  For starters I have never been much of a commercial music radio fan, and second we were too poor for me to own a muffler, let alone a truck.  So while I would occasionally here things about their shows, we were to poor for me to attend a Pittsburgh performance when they came to town.  Mind you the stories that would be told, weren't ones that would impress me, the band getting so drunk before the show that it would affect their performance, I contented myself with the idea that if I did see them live and that was the result, I would have felt cheated.

The band eventually broke up, I figured I would never see them but they got back together about a year and a half ago and Pittsburgh was one of their stops.  I soon as tickets were available I went out and bought one, one of the small perks of being promoted at work is that if something pops up that I am interested in, I usually can put together the funds to make that something happen.  The Pittsburgh date was fast approaching, I was getting geared up for the show when the agency I bought my ticket from called me, saying the show was cancelled, something to do with an illness in the band.  I hopped onto Facebook to confirm the bad news and their it was, on the venue's website (Stage AE, for those not in the know), but their was a disclaimer that the date would be rescheduled as soon as possible.  Knowing the band's history, I wasn't sure if I could take the excuse seriously or if this was another one of those fuck you's to their audience that they were so famous for doing, but looking at the touring schedule I couldn't see how they would squeeze Pittsburgh back in in the near future, they had maybe three remaining dates in the US, then they were going over to start the European leg of their tour.  About twp weeks laterr they turned into The Replacements of old, and the band broke up again amidst another bout of internal pettiness and jealousies after a show in Portugal.

So I am reading the book, which was unveiling intricacies as to how the band would sabotage themselves just as they were on the cusp of something bigger.  Whether it be drugs and alcohol, internal squabbling, or intentionally having shitty shows based on their reaction of the crowd, the band was its own worst enemy.  I had the words from the book still ringing in my ears as I went out Wednesday night to see the Living Color show at the Altar Bar.   There is this thing I like to call osmosis, where if I dedicate to much of my mental energy into something, it tends to bleed over into into other facets of my life.  An example would be if I get too immersed in someone else's blog I might find myself trying to write like them (especially if I think they are clever or witty) and after reading about how often The Replacements would be their own worst enemy, I was looking at the show as to see how professional the band's acted.

The lead singer from Byron Nash and Plan B, the opening act of the night, came out before the doors opened to greet the waiting fans, which was cool of him and highly unexpected.  A quick rundown on the band's that night, Byron Nash was good, the singing was a little weak but man could they all shred on guitars.  They had a jazzy R&B feel to them but overall I enjoyed their set.  Ill Willis was a generic punk band, nothing awful but nothing spectacular either.  What was more annoying was they seemed to bring all of their friends and family to the show and they were annoying enough persons that they ruined any goodwill I might have had for the Ill Will people's.  Next up was Kaleido, based on their posters at the mercy table they looked like a knock off of No Doubt, save for the lead singer, Christina Chris's is hotter than Gwen Stefani.  Listening to them play was a pleasant surprise, I liked them enough to pick up their CD at the show and have been annoying Brian in the office the past few days with their music.  Lastly was Living Colour, they were the antithesis of everything that I was reading about The Replacements.  They were engaging with the crowd, which was somewhat sparse with a Penguins playoff game, a Pirates game and a Trump rally that same night.  They took some jabs at the Trump folks, which was not a turn off for the crowd by any stretch.  For as old as the band is, they sounded really good, unlike some bands who change members and stay past their sell by date, working the county fair, rib festival circuit.

But then my musical tastes have probably reached their own sell by date.  My Pandora station, which can be linked through my Facebook page for those not in the know, is a cycle of 80s alternative and R&B and I just did finish reading a book on The Replacements after all.