I was on the verge of tears as I held onto the iron railing at our usual balcony spot at the 9:30 Club last night. Aaron and I had seen them every year since we had been together, but last night was going to be different; they were saying good-bye to us.
I can say whole-heartedly that Sleater-Kinney is my favorite band. This summer they announced that after their tour ended in August they would part ways (an "indefinite hiatus" as they say in the biz). Aaron bought tickets to their August 1st show the second they went on sale. They sold out in 19 minutes.
The show was going to be awesome and I was excited; maybe the crowd would be different than last time, too. The first time we saw Sleater-Kinney, the audience was full of normal folks like us, just there in jeans and t-shirts and not 'done up,' if you will. We were singing and rocking along with fellow students, there was a large LBGT showing, and even some of our former professors were there. Summer 2005, the demographic shifted, the crowd was younger and laiden with Busted-Tees and strange mod-like gear; everything exuded eye-liner and hipsterness.
Last night, everything was back to normal; the 9:30 Club felt comfortable (even our old professor was there) and I was ready to see my girls one last time. That is, until it happened.
The Rogers Sisters just finished their (horrible) set, when a 9:30 Club staff member took the stage and made the announcement: Another staff member had noticed smoke billowing out of a grate near the front of the club, the fire department was called and they discovered that one of the club's main transformers was teetering on the edge of disaster. The Fire Marshall ordered the building shut down and the audience evacuated.
I stood there, stunned. No. What about saying goodbye? I want to see Carrie move with her guitar and yell in her Carrie Brownstein voice, hear Corin's ups and downs, shake my head with Janet while she's kicking the drums. This can't be happening. We stood there until a staff member told us we really needed to get out. They said something about rescheduling-- how could they when the tour (and the band) ends in a week?
Aaron reassured me, "That transformer's No Rock n' Roll Fun."
The show is rescheduled for tomorrow, the girls are playing New York tonight and coming back to play DC. I'll get to say goodbye after all.
Sit down, honey, let's kill some time.
Rest your head on this heart of mine.
Tell me, honey, cause you look so blue...
Just how did they, did they get to you?
I'm gonna spend it
Yours and mine.
Someone's in the kitchen
Cooking hearts over the stove
Don't lie to me, never say goodbye to me
I don't want to be here alone
Someone's at the front door
Selling Band-Aids for our sores
You can bleed it, as long as they don't see it
I'm not going to be ignored
Come on darling, let's hang around.
Let's wreck their precious, their perfect town.
If it's all a dirty shame,
I'm gonna do it night and day.
Did you ever get the feeling
That you don't belong
Said the teacher in the classroom
I think there's something wrong
But your desks are too heavy
And your walls are too white
Your rules are all wrong
And it's either run of fight
But I'm still running
I'm still running
Sit down, honey, let's kill some time.
Rest your head on this heart of mine.
Come on darling, let's hang around.
Let's wreck their precious, their perfect town.
If it's all a waste of time
I'm gonna spend it
Yours and mine.
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