The Manic Mechanic

Last night was a chance at something different here at Mayhem Acres, especially for Jeff. He had tix to see Dream Theater in DC, playing at the Warner Theater. Jeff got home and napped a bit, we had a quick dinner and then headed into DC. After cussing the usual DC traffic lights and cabbies, a trip around the Obama's place, I popped into the parking garage, found the perfect Mini Cooper-sized parking spot no one else could use (the Smart ForTwo nearby was hogging a full-sized spot all to himself) and we headed in. From leaving the house to getting our butts into the seats we experienced probably the most hassle-free trip to see a show in, like, forever.

One has to consider that I had snatched Jeff from rural Pennsylvania almost 11 years ago, a shy, country music-loving, Republican-raised and exceedingly polite country boy, and I have, well, been corrupting him ever since. Now, I know what Jeff is most likely to enjoy outside of his usual tastes, and, truth be told, he's a little bit more rock-n-roll than he will let on at times. He likes Rush a lot, gets into a lot of the prog and metal stuff that wafts around these parts, and most of the Dream Theater stuff he's listened to he really liked. The only fly in this particular ointment was the opening act, a thrash outfit called "Trivium." Now, don't get me wrong, I loves me all kinds of metal, but the stuff that consists mostly of pissed-off Cookie Monster growling and blast beats does not rank that high. Jeff, on the other hand is like, "what are you getting me into here?" Anyway, the band got on stage, and once they got into their schtick, the two of us were laughing our asses off. I was showing Jeff how to make Dio Fingers and when to present them. We made it through the headbanger session and enjoyed Dream Theater, complete with their new drummer, Mike Mangini. Sadly, we cut out a little early to beat traffic because Jeff was spent from being on his feet since 4am and would have to repeat the same the next morning. A quick scoot home where I poured him into bed ended our diversion for the month. It would have been easier if the show was not running so late. I guess we are both getting old.

One thing for sure, I need to take in more metal concerts. My tinnitis, an often annoying condition that spoils my enjoyment of music (and sound in general) get not only blasted away, but in the peace and quit of Mayhem after Midnight, I could hear so many tiny sounds around the house normally masked by the racket. Completely counter-intuitive. I guess it's the same as taking an old musclecar out of the garage and blowing the carbon out while having some fun.

We can rack up the Warner Theater as another good venue to see various shows. Small place, classical theater architecture, wonderful staff. Tomorrow they play host to Weird Al Yankovic. There's someone that's probably a blast to see live.

Here's something for prog-rock aficionados as well as detractors. A pictorial study of 18 of the most outlandish progressive rock album covers. While some of the commentary is decidedly mean-spirited, in some cases it's not that far from the truth. My main reason for posting this is because I have a personal connection to one of the bands represented here. Kudos to anyone who can figure it out.