Life Lately | Liquid Courage

 

I haven't done one of these life update posts in awhile, but something so cool happened last weekend at a show that I couldn't not write about it. Plus, I really like how the photos from said show turned out. 

I saw a band called Yellow Ostrich on Saturday, at the annoying narrow and poorly lit Barboza, underneath Neumo's. I've literally been to Barboza twice - once to see Jack Conte and once when I tried to see the Young Evils at Capitol Hill Block Party last summer. It's a bit claustrophobic, but sometimes you just gotta deal for some good music. And it was some real good music on Saturday. 

I only recently started listening to Yellow Ostrich's stuff, but I have fallen in love with it. "Marathon Runner" is catchy as fuck, and the whole new album Cosmos has been played at least a dozen times in my car so far since Saturday. It's great.

I found them by complete coincidence. I was scrolling through Tumblr one night, like I always do when I'm hella bored, and searched all the We Are Scientists boys - "Keith Murray," then "Chris Cain," then for old time's sake, "Michael Tapper." And lo and behold - a bunch of posts about Yellow Ostrich came out under the Michael Tapper tag. 

I never got a chance to see Michael play with We Are Scientists before he left the band before Brain Thrust Mastery came out in 2008. The guys have had so many rotating drummers since then that I've never really gotten so attached to a drummer (except for Danny Allen of course). Michael was one of the original Scientists, and one of the people that has inadvertently had such a big impact on my life. It's weird saying that, because I hadn't met him until Saturday.

The show was phenomenal, and it's what made me buy the album. It's so good you guys, I'm telling you. But after the show, and one Whiskey Ginger, and made myself stay and talk to Michael. I was not leaving without talking to him. After he finished packing up the band's gear, I walked up to him.

"Michael, hi, I just wanted to say hello before you left."

"Well hello."

"I've been a fan of you since way back in the We Are Scientists days - "

(His face lights up)

"- and I've never gotten to see you play, so I was really excited for tonight for multiple reasons."

"Really? That's great!"

And then at that point I forgot how the rest of the conversation went, but when we said goodbye, we simultaneously said, "have a good night!" And I waved like the silly girl that I am. I did actually introduce myself by name and shake his hand too. I'm not a barbarian.

And then in the car I almost cried. It was such a surreal experience meeting him. It would be like meeting the author of Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh. That book had such a huge impact on my life, and With Love and Squalor and We Are Scientists has had such a big impact on my life. It's weird to think about. It's something huge, and knowing that I finally got to meet Michael just warms my soul a little bit. I'm proud of myself for not chickening out when he disappeared upstairs. I waited around. And I made myself do.

So what does Whiskey have to do with this, honestly? I've been drinking it a lot more lately (not too much though, trust me), and it's honestly helped me come out of my shell. I'm not advising you to get drunk to meet people, but if you're someone that thinks way too much about hypothetical consequences like me, have a drink or two. Chill out. Take some risks. Talk to people. Just in the last three months I've met and made connections with more people at shows and through the Seattle music scene than I had over the last two years total. I'm pretty sure. And I'm pretty sure the little amount of Whiskey that I've introduced into my social life has helped that. I'm hoping that it'll help me with a particular endeavor this weekend that could end one of many ways, but at this point I don't really care. Who knows what I'll do when the time comes, but hopefully that Whiskey will stop me from over thinking it.

But again - always drink in moderation. If you're shy and uptight like me, 1-3 drinks (depending on your tolerance) can make you that much friendlier and at ease in social situations, but anything more than that can make you a sloppy mess. You want to be fun and laid back, not a damn embarrassing fool. 

What was the moral of this story? Welp, I had a drink, it gave me the guts to talk to someone I admire a whole lot, and it didn't suck. Success!

That was a weird post. 

Here's to liquid courage!