Don't Lean On Me Man

We're back on I-35 now heading south back to Dallas. Just crossed the Red River which marks the Texas/Oklahoma border and we'll be home in an hour or so.

Had the best time yesterday!! We got into Oklahoma City mid-afternoon and got the last room at the Super 8 which was not as nice as the one we had in Atlanta, but it was spacious and had a cool tv and a coffeemaker. However, it smelled very strongly of mildew and was right next door to a B-rate used car lot, so it was fun fun fun.

We were lucky enough to have a few hours to just lounge around before we had to be anywhere, so we watched the Travel Channel for a while and showered and primped and all of that good stuff. Ryan and Nathan got to our hotel around 7 and we all left for the Boar's Head, our favorite club in Oklahoma which is in a strip mall next to Famous Footwear and Bed Bath & Beyond. It was good to see them again - they're two of the guys I met up at the Flaming Lips show in March that stayed the night at my apartment - and they're so funny. Very dorky and sarcastic, perfect for us to hang with. I found Rick, Buckcherry's manager, under their tour bus and asked him to throw us on the list, so that was taken care of. We found out that Buckcherry weren't going on until 10:30, so we headed next door to the Furr's Cafeteria for some food. Yum! Amanda's corn was chewy and my macaroni and cheese tasted like macaroni and butter. Some toddler in the line pretended to point a gun at me repeatedly too. Ah. Oklahoman hospitality.

Inside of the club, we got to witness two of the greatest local acts in OKC. First was 36 inches, who have probably been playing Warrant-style rock since Warrant began, and Element, who were ultra hardcore and ultra angry. We're torn between which aspect of their set was better: the fact that they played a cover of "Another Brick in the Wall Part II" or the fact that they invited all their fans to smoke out with them behind the club after the show.

Luckily, there was no mosh pit at this show, which made it nice for those of us in the front. Ryan and I were tanked and I think I freaked out Yogi and JB because I was actually standing with a boy. It didn't stop Yogi from his usual winks and I got the ritual guitar pick thrown to me at the beginning of the set. Lucky lucky me.

The show went by pretty quickly - partially due to the fact that the set list was kind of short and that I had downed about 4 white russians in an hour and a half. Whoops. They did come out for an encore though and obliged me with my favorite live track, "Fastback", so I was all lit up, for lack of better words. When they were walking off, Keith saw me and ran down to say hi and to stick around and that he was so happy we came up to see them again. Yay!

Ryan and I split yet another white russian and then met the crew out behind the club at the bus and we got talking to the lead singer for 36 Inches. Ryan was taking the piss out of him by telling him that they blew the house down with their set and that he was inspired, and that it sucked that they weren't appreciated in Oklahoma so they should move away. The guy was like "Yeah, it just sucks." and was really not too swift. We asked them how they got the name for their band and he said, "well, if you take a yard stick and break it into three pieces and put it in a triangle, there's only room for one person in there. You can't even fit two newborns in that space. It's about being yourself and individuality." To which I replied, "Oh, I thought it was just a big schlong." Ryan fell into a fit of giggles and we went out to our next victim, one said Yogi, who was with a girl we had targeted with jabs earlier in the night. She was wearing a tank top and her breasts were obviously not the ones she was born with. I ran up to him and gave him a huge hug and he was like "Chrissy! You have to meet Crystal (the breasts girl). Crystal, this is Chrissy. She is the sweetest and is one of our girls." And I got Crystal talking about technology which was really funny because she had no idea what to say. I asked Yogi to sing Amanda Zepplin's "The Immigrant Song" and he let out a big "ahahhahahhhhh" and we all clapped and he went on to sing "Whole Lotta Love". After we got him to sing "Kashmir" to Amanda last week at Trees, I will never let an opportunity go by to hear Mr. Lonich's Zep Croonings. It's the damn funniest thing ever. I gave Keith my email address and Ryan, Nathan and I left. Amanda stayed to hang out longer and it sounds like she had fun watching a mentally handicapped girl try to get on the bus to stalk Keith and she even went as far to push Josh when he said no. Eep.

We went to a local bar they usually go to on Friday nights where they karaoke. Nathan did a stirring rendition of Donna Summer's "McArthur Park". Ryan stole the night with his version of "Cracklin' Rosie" and I was surprised to hear "Next up, Chrissy and Crew" and I stumbled up there with the boys to do a rockin' version of "Suffragette City". I remember we all really got into the Wham Bam Thank you Ma'am part and I did a few Josh-inspired screams in there. And we danced too. This was my very first karaoke experience and my God, I am hooked. We were going to do "Sweet Child O' Mine" too, but Ryan and I could barely stand up straight at this point so we got into Nathan's car and left.

This afternoon we all met up at a Denny's and had a last meal together before Amanda and I got back into Jesse, her car, and headed home. I was invited to make a road trip out to San Francisco this summer, so pending my finances, I might be going. If I go, I really want to stop in Colma, a city about 20 miles away, where all the graveyards in SF were moved to. There's like 2 million graves there! Like I'm going to miss that.

We're in Denton now. Almost home. We won't be seeing our boys (Bucikcherry) for a month, but that's really not too long. They're going to be opening up for Fuel on their tour, which is a good thing. This means that they'll be done early and we can all go out and party before 2 am. Which will be nice. Those guys are so appreciative of us and it's nice to have the adoration returned. They treat Amanda and I so well and for that, they are just about one of my favorite bands ever. So be a friend of mine and pick up their album if you don't have it already. I swear, it's really good. And if they're coming to a town near you, GO. You may be scared of an over-the-top rock show, but if that scares you then you doubly NEED to go. Conquer your fears.

Bam Bam Bam. 101011101. Bam Bam.