Wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you

On Saturday, the Hotel S'n'S basement show celebrated its sixth year of bringing together our group of friends from across the U.S. and Canada.  The big question was, would it be the last?  There had been talk that the Tweedys might not do the auction again, at least for awhile.  We figured we had better stuff as much fun into this weekend as possible, just in case.

As if that's ever a problem.  Friday night kicked off with our annual party.  This year's theme: Vampires at a Discotheque.  August didn't leave me with much spare time, so I ended up with one of my lamer theme costumes.  Just some ninety-nine cent plastic vampire teeth and some "vampire blood" spray candy.  Luckily, Paul's "Vampire Weekend" getup picked up the slack.  Many of our friends couldn't make it to town until the next day, but Sam and Sooz's friends filled in the gaps. We spent Friday night happily drinking blood punch, playing Rock Band, watching Sam's mix of old commercial clips on the big screen, and dancing to Gaga and the whole vampire party mix.   

And then Saturday arrived.  Some of us made the traditional gourmet encased meats run to Hot Doug's in the early afternoon, and then it was on to Hotel S'n'S to finish preparations.  I had my pie pops to artfully arrange, and the food kept rolling in.  As usual, our potluck was truly outstanding.  Walrus brought not only the soft serve machine and plenty of fixings, but a sno cone machine as well.  Cathy brought a flan cheesecake and Japanese-style curry.  Dick's meat returned after a one-year hiatus, to much fanfare.  Kris and Alison brought brisket from Smoque and the famous mac 'n' cheese.  Sooz's orzo, Kristina's slaw, Uyen's little Guinness cupcakes, Tamala's stuffed bread, a donated keg of Alpha King ... and much more.  We ate and drank well all night long.

The Tweedys arrived a bit earlier than usual, and we got down to business.  Ever since year three, the show's format has remained the same: each person requests a song, then chooses someone to go next.  Jeff has some warning of the songs we're planning to ask for, but that doesn't mean he can or will play them all.  Still, I think we got an especially high percentage of granted wishes.  I was thrilled to finally hear Richard and Mimi Farina's lovely "Reflections in a Crystal Wind" live.  "Big Rock Candy Mountain" was a surprising treat, and the Elizabeth Cotten song "Freight Train" was one of my favorites of the night.  Another was our own favourite Canadian, Judy, lending a hand with some tricky lyrics in Neil Young's "Look Out For My Love."  

Cover songs are rare and therefore notable, but Jeff's own songs provided the heart of the show.  "More Like the Moon" is nearly perfect, and Saturday night's performance was no exception.  "Nothing Up My Sleeve" made a welcome return, and "Misunderstood" turned into an excellent singalong.  Of course, who could forget Jeff serenading Zelda the pug, asleep at his feet, with the third verse of "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart"?  Racy!  Zelda remained unmoved.

A major part of our show is the atmosphere.  As I mentioned, this was year six, and things felt comfortable and familiar.  From both performer and audience came plenty of sarcasm, storytelling, joking, drinking (okay, that was really just the audience) and general tomfoolery.  We don't use a PA, and the central air was turned off so Jeff wouldn't have to sing over it.  Conditions in the basement quickly became hot and sweaty, which somehow added to the merriment.  This may be cheating, but during one of the breaks I got in a song request for an upcoming show.  Strike while the iron is hot?  Or something.  I also learned that a "new" song we overheard at a South Bend soundcheck is actually by Linda Thompson.  Clearly I need to brush up on my British folk artist catalogs.

The show ended hours after it began with our traditional "Candyfloss" sing- and dance-along.  Before that, though, we got in one more cover: Big Star's "Thank You, Friends."  Never have the lyrics to that song felt more appropriate, dancing around Sooz's basement and belting it out with some of my favorite people in the world.  As Jeff stood amongst us, playing, I thought ... damn.  We certainly have been lucky.  "Thank you again!" morphed into "Thank you Jeff!"  Tipsy and sentimental?  Sure.  Singing from the heart?  You bet.

After the show came the sweaty group photo, the distribution of posters, and a few other things.  By the time Susan and Jeff had gone, it was officially Sunday morning.  Time for a second (third, fourth, whatever) round of eating, and then the music to begin again in the basement.  We had multiple guitarists lending a hand this year, and two egg shakers in addition to the Dr. Teeth tambourine.  Just call us a band.  Mart's set was the postshow highlight for me, as it always is, and Rob provided some tasteful assistance.  My favorite song, I think, was "I Am the Walrus."  After having played Ringo on that song just the night before, I was content to shake an egg shaker and sing along.  Music and friends: a wonderful combination.

The fun didn't end with Saturday (er, Sunday morning.)  Eleven of us met for brunch at Milk & Honey, to say goodbye before more planes departed the Windy City.  U, Heidi, Paul, and I followed that up with a walk around Grant and Millennium Parks, before heading back to S'n'S to scarf down leftovers (Japanese curry and slaw!) and watch the Emmys and Mad Men.  It was almost Monday before I reluctantly headed back home.  Yes, Harry McClintock, I would like to hang the jerk that invented work.

Was this the final year of the private show auction?  We don't really know.  When we won that first auction in 2004, it seemed like this whole situation was too good to be true.  By 2010, I know it was too good to be true ... but somehow it was true nonetheless.   Jeff and Susan have done amazing things for all of us, and even more amazing things for the charity.  If this was the end, we had a hell of a run.  If this wasn't the end, then here's to the future.  As a matter of fact, here's to the future regardless.  Thank you, friends.

2009
2008
2007
2006

I've had a Wilco-intensive month or so, with some New Pornographers thrown in for good measure.  But things are about to get Crowded Housey, beginning Sunday.

You'll be where you want to be

Five years. Five years of our basement show at Hotel S'n'S. Five years of weekends when a gaggle of friends convenes in Chicago for a few days of music, food, and general revelry. I was blogless the first year, which means that this is the fourth time I've written about the experience. What more can I say? Let's see.

Following tradition, Friday night was a theme party: this year, Canada. There were many great contributions to the evening, but the star of the show was our very own Canadian Judy. From Canadian snacks to Canadian hats to Canadian books, she provided for our every CanCon need. Sam had the basement decked out with Canadian LP's, a Canadian mix featuring real-time voting via iPhone Remote, and Nardwuar playing on the big screen. Costume highlights included various Degrassi cast members and Avril Lavigne. I myself became Anne of Green Gables for the evening, although I was mistaken more than once for Holly Hobbie. As if! Holly lives in Massachusetts, people. Throw in the proliferation of Chelada and some man-on-man dressing squirting action, and you have quite the ... Canadian affair? Maybe, maybe not. But no matter what, it was exactly what I'd expect from us.


Saturday, then, was the show. Some of us bucked tradition and did Hot Doug's a day early, freeing up Saturday morning and early afternoon for errands, cleaning, cooking, and - most importantly - saving our appetites for the evening potluck. The traditional 5th anniversary gift is wood, so it was only appropriate that Uyen brought some handsome and delectable woodgrain cupcakes along. I've enumerated the delicacies comprising our feast in the past, but I'd have to say that the big honors this year go to Walrus with his soft serve machine, 500 cones, and boxes of fixings. Amazing.


Jeff and Susan arrived, as they do, and the performance portion of the night officially got underway. Jeff sat in front of the CanCon LP shelf, we settled in amongst the chairs, couches, stairs, dogs, and beer bottles, and the music began. We were much better prepared this year, having communicated some more obscure requests beforehand. Sure enough, it paid off - in addition to many of the tried and true singalongs and favorites from years past, Jeff dusted off a couple of nuggets from our very first year: the Split Enz duo of "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" and "I Got You." There were some joking comparisons of Neil Finn's output at the age of 18 or 19 to Jeff's own output ("Flatness," one of the first requests of the night) but I think it's fair to say that both were enjoyed equally this night. And after singing it with Split Enz and an arena full of pogoing Kiwis last March in Wellington, I can add yet another unique "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" experience to my memory banks. That song might win for the greatest personal associations.

It wasn't all covers and Uncle Tupelo songs. "At My Window Sad and Lonely" sounded great, and I don't know if I'd ever heard a solo version in person before. "More Like the Moon," though Kristina apologized for requesting it again, is a request for which one should never, ever apologize. There was a nice moment, too, when we heard a small clatter from upstairs seconds before Jeff sang, "everything is breaking..." Synchronicity.

It seems like there was something else ... oh yeah. We also listened to the new album, which Jeff had brought along. After reading a handful of seemingly conflicting reports, I had no idea what to expect. It was definitely too much to take in fully on one listen, but there are parts still kicking around in my head. Loose phrases, sounds, impressions. On one hand, I can't wait to hear it again; to examine things more carefully and get to know the songs. On the other hand, there's something great about the fact that my only impressions of these songs as finished products (though unmastered) came from this one listen, on this night, in this environment. I kind of want to hold onto that for awhile.

After the album and a few other tracks, Jeff returned to the spotlight with a bowl of pretzels and his guitar for the encore. There were more requests, and Jeff jokingly turned down someone's proposal that he play another song with Mart this year. Nope, he insisted, not going to happen. Not this year. (Stage whisper to the couch: "He's really good!") We had a couple of excellent sing-alongs to "Gun" and Blondie's "Dreaming." And then Jeff asked if he got to make the last request. "Of course," we replied. I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this: Jeff requested that Mart play "Sir Duke," and held out his '53 Gibson. Mart took it, Jeff went to sit with Susan, and Mart played and sang the hell out of the song. We danced and sang with him. It was great finale.

The night wasn't over, of course. There was much more excitement to follow after the guests of honor left, including additional musical performances by Martin, Dave, Hamilton, Rob, and Patti - with Judy and Tamala taking turns on the Dr. Teeth tambourine. (Judy absolutely owns the tambourine windmill.) More Chelada. The arrival of Ted Kennedy. It was after 5:00 a.m. before I finally collapsed into the spare room bed.

It hasn't even been a week yet, and there are a thousand memories flying around my brain. Every year this feels more like family reunion, and I'm so glad to be a part of it. But as many years as we've been doing this, there are always a few experiences that make me marvel anew at my good fortune. Not too many people get to hear a band's new record for the first time two months before its release, in their friend's basement, with one of of its principle creators. And even fewer get to do so while eating an ice cream cone from a soft serve machine installed upstairs.

Also see:
2008
2007
2006