8.17.2008

WVRockscene goes for the gold @ the Parrot

They say be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.

It's this statement that best describes my trip to the Parrot Friday night, with much anticipation of catching the new Dig-Its lineup. I'd been bemoaning the fact that, when I go to catch a band I like and get footage and/or pics, I usually just sit there by myself with a camera held up for the duration.

But as usual, it's early; there's hardly anyone there whenst I arrived at around 10:30. After ordering a pitcher (an ominous sign) and settling in at the bar, I fixed my eyes on the big screen TV, which featured Michael Phelps just beating that guy by like one-one hundredth of a second or something.

USA! USA!

Well, a minute later none other than Mr. Ledbetter strolled in with his Black Knots shirt on. It's a shirt I've been wanting for a while now, with their white logo on black. We talked about his new job, the benefits of being in a union, The Concept, and what is up with a new project he's involved with; he said it sounded something like Portishead, with his girlfriend singing and his friend from Rose City Mick on drums. Sounded promising.

About this time Meuwl and B-Rude starting doing their thing onstage. I'm pretty sure that they talked about smoking and some such stuff. I was, to put it mildly, tying one on at this point, getting Josh a Jagerbomb and myself going for the gold -- Cuervo Gold.

Well duh duh dah daah! Now I'm professor rockscene. I'm able to approach people like The Big Bad's bassist (nice guy), pour him a beer out of my pitcher of PBR, and do the same upon meeting Dig-Its drummer Bob Caution. We've talked a lot online and over the phone, and I've caught The Dig-Its a few times previously at the Parrot, but never had been introduced proper.

We talked for a few minutes about the band and his cat, and he introduced me to his mom as something like "the only guy who ever gives us any media coverage," or something like that. As Sarasota went through their rockin set, I began to lose it; I bought Dig-Its and Sarasota shirts and returned to my base at the bar -- The Dig-Its were getting ready to play.

They opened up with "Better Days" off their latest CD "Know It All" and by this point I think people are starting to stare. I got footage of the band, but by now I was fast approaching blackoutville. I had acquired what Christopher Hitchens recently (in his approaching old age) described as CRAFT Syndrome (Can't Remember a Fucking Thing).

So to sum up, I "forgot" the shirts and a memory card (w/Sarasota footage) from the camera at the bar, and ended up making an ass of myself in public and then in private. But, I did have a great time talking and having a few drinks with some cool people. Almost like I'm in a video for Dig-Its tunes "Another Shot" or "Mama Tried" -- well, at least that's how I imagined it.

The Dig-Its: “Better Days”

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