Since the fates conspired in my favor to see Wilco last week, last night they decided I shouldn’t finally see Ted Leo. You see, I found out about the Wilco show walking past Radio City Music Hall one night, and it was already much too late to buy tickets. The hipsters had gobbled them all up like hungry, hungry hippos. But then a few days later a friend of mine, who moved out of town earlier than she expected, needed someone to take her tickets. I said I’d do her a favor and buy them from her. That’s the kind of stand-up guy I am. But then I realized I have class on Tuesday night. Wilco was on Tuesday night. I’d have to leave class early but that would still make me late. So the fateful day approached, October 5, and I resigned myself to only seeing most of the Wilco show. But then my class got cancelled! I had the whole night free now to see the show in its entirety.
Fast forward to last night. Now rewind to the blackout of 2003. Ted Leo is giving a free concert at South Street Seaport. Beautiful summer day. I’m literally minutes from leaving my apartment when the lights go out and the honking in the streets begins. At least I wasn’t stuck in the subway trying to get down there. But I figured I didn’t miss anything. I mean electric guitars sound pretty crappy unplugged. But somehow the show went on. Then a year later he did another show at South Street Seaport. I wouldn’t miss this one. I would get soaking wet in the process. Some minor hurricane had floated by, almost canceling the show before I got there. So I rocked out with my umbrella, which kept me dry and dripped on all the teenagers surrounding me. But the show was ultimately called short before Ted Leo electrocuted himself.
So it’s understandable that I was extremely excited to finally see him last night as part of the CMJ Showcase at the Knitting Factory. It’s a great venue for intimate performances and it was only 12 bucks. But like I said, the fates wouldn’t make it that easy. I knew there were two opening acts and that the doors were at 8. Nothing out of the ordinary there. Problem was actually at least two opening acts, five to be exact. So do the math. Ted was going on at 12:30. And that’s if these rock stars were prompt. No way that was going to happen. And if I wanted to stay for the whole thing I would have left around 2, gotten home at 3 and wake up at 7:30. I didn’t even know who the opening acts were and it’s hard to get into a band that hasn’t even been mentioned to you, let alone vouched for by someone. So I left without seeing any bands, bitterly rock blocked by the powers that be.
The last laugh though was when I woke up this morning with a mirror image stamp on my face from the one I got on my hand at the door of the concert I didn’t see last night. Almost literally a slap in the face
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