by Jake Espinoza
My wife pushed me as she yelled, “Get up. It’s time to walk the dogs.”
It was 6:30 AM on a Saturday morning. The Muchas Gracias receipt in my wallet had “3:50 AM/Oregon Burrito $4.40/ No Salsa ” printed on it. I didn’t have a headache or nausea, but I was exhausted and smelled like a combination of Jameson, Marlboro Mediums, and Pabst Blue Ribbon.
I took a shower and brushed my teeth before crawling into the bed in our extra room two hours earlier, but everything about me still reeked.
After the show last night we went to Alex Kruse’s house, drank beer, bummed cigarettes from the one person who thought to stop by the store on the way and listened to Kruse’s new album with Luckyiam of the Living Legends “I Love Haters”. After hanging out for awhile I began to realize nobody at the house had any intention of leaving before the sun started coming up. This wasn’t going to work for me. I knew I had to walk the dogs in a few hours.
I didn’t drive to Kruse’s thanks to a strong recommendation from the bartender. To get back to my car I did what any normal person does when they need to get somewhere in a hurry. I ran.
I’m not sure how far I ran, but the hills of South Salem were not my friends on this night.
I got to my car sober, tired and hungry.
This was actually my second run of the night.
I live about two miles away from the Triangle and after the show I decided to walk home. On my way I passed another person walking on the same side of the street as me. The major difference between myself and this stranger is that I was not high on Meth. As we passed, Methman asked me if I had a problem. I told him I did not and continued walking.
I made it about half of the way home before I changed my mind about being ready to go home entirely. It was my first time going out on a weekend all summer, and I decided I owed it to myself to make the most of it.
So…I turned around and ran back to the Triangle–stopping to walk only a couple of times.
On the way back I passed Methman again. But this time he did not have the same tough guy attitude. He seemed to have assumed that I changed my mind about having a problem because when he turned around and saw me running at him he started running away from me and quickly ducked down a side street–hiding behind some bushes.
It was kind of similar to the scene in “8 Mile” where Eminem’s car dies while being chased by police.
He was coming down from his high. The paranoia was setting in.
Unlike meth, the show itself was a lot of fun.
Salem came out and had a good time. Wax Trap did an amazing job getting the party moving early on. Lessin, Kruse and myself performed throughout for a crowd in Salem that was unusually happy to be at a hip-hop show.
While performing in Salem I generally ask myself, “What the hell am I doing with my life?” This encourages alcohol consumption. By the time I’m performing I’m generally a bit sloppy–leading the few people in attendance to ask, “What the hell is this guy doing with his life?”
This was not the case on that night.
I came prepared. I was slightly buzzed but not sloppy while on stage. People were excited for the show, and I enjoyed it.
The crowd earned an overall score of 8.5 last night. They were responsive to call and responses, maintained high energy throughout and sang along with the parts of songs that they knew. The only thing that honestly held them back from being a perfect 10 was the small bubble of empty space they left in front of the stage.
That imaginary bubble is awkward. I hate it. But I’m use to much more awkward circumstances in Salem.
Thanks to Da Booth, Lessin, Kruse, the Great Staff at the Triangle Inn, Bonique for working the door for us and everyone that came out and had a great time with us!
#OutHereSLM
