Stockholm Syndrome

After three days of basically not leaving my house because I'm scared of the rain, I was going a little batshit. Stina was taking the brunt of it, and by friday night she fled. Well, that is, after a couple episodes of West Wing. Oh sweet jesus, we love the West Wing. I had a couple hours till my show and I couldn't handle being at home at more, so I headed to the sanctity of the sausage joint.

As I've befriended the shop keepers, I've learned some fascinating thing about their home life. They have 2 dogs, a cat, and several salt water fish tanks - basically a small zoo. The cat, Okie, thinks its a dog. As a kitten, he nursed on one of the dogs. Now Okie wags its tail and tries to bark instead of meowing. Its sounds pretty freaky. He will only drink from the dog water bowl. If the dogs go for a walk, Okie has to go. If left behind, he will destroy things out of displeasure. Okie gets put on a leash and they are a pack.

I then went to the Independent to catch the Stockholm Syndicate show, which was a benefit for Wally (the drummer) who's undergoing cancer treatment. I arrived mid opener (Ronkat's Katdelic Revival), and they were smoking. I was definitely digging it - high energy funky sounds with a solid front man. They spun the dial to 11 when they brought out Eric McFadden. Good freaking times.

I take in the crowd during the set change, and I'm not seeing too many familiar faces. That is, until I notice that I'm standing right next to old hippie dude. So I strike up an overdue conversation with him. He's a lawyer and ex-dead head. Last year he attended 188 shows. To be fair, a lot of them were on the same day - he'll go to an orchestra concert, to a rock show, and then hit up the boom boom room for a bonus set of music. He gives me hope that I can one day be the older hippie dude. That's what I want to be when I grow up.

Stockholm Syndrome take the stage. They are fucking good. Serious rock and roll. Fronted by Jerry Joseph, Dave Schools (widespread panic) on bass, Eric McFadden, Danny Louis (gov't mule) on keys, and some other hot players. I got some sweet relief for my cabin fever, and got some boogie on. They went through a range of material, and it was good. It finally dawned on me what an amazing bass player Dave Schools is. You should listen to a show of theirs

I've been streaming shows of archive.org all week. Its better the internet radio - I've been listening to all sorts of great bands. The recent Steve Kimock lineup with Robert Walter has been pretty hot. After hearing Trey talk about the halloween Vegoose show with Phil Lesh - BAM - streaming that shit all day. Some soundboard Dead complements the morning rain perfectly.

Yes, I truly love the internet.