Tsar at the Capitol Garage

Is it possible to have jetlag when you haven't flown anywhere? I swear that I have had jetlag for the last week. At first, I blamed it on my allergies and the medicine I was taking to suppress the sneezing and runny eyes. Then I blamed it on the time change for daylight savings time. It could also be because we went from triple digit heat to cold Fall-like weather. Whatever the reason, I have had no energy recently. At 8 PM last night, it felt later than most midnights do.

I called the club to see when the Halloween show was going to begin. The guy that answered the phone said eight was the start time. I haven’t been to the Capitol Garage in awhile, but I knew that their shows didn't have a consistent start time. I also knew that eight meant nine. I was just too sleepy to stay home any longer. I would have fallen asleep on my couch for sure, so I drove the two miles to the club at about eight, chewing a half-dozen Penguin Mints between gulps of Dr. Pepper.

The place was practically empty when I got there. I was going to order a beer (they don't serve hard liquor), but I saw a sign on the counter for some 'elixir' teas with names like 'powerplant' or something, so I ordered one lemon flavored pick-me-up and sat down to read a throw-away tabloid, while I waited for the show to begin. It seemed like forever. Eight slowly became nine, and was knocking hard on ten before the first band (of three) began playing.

I don't remember their name, but I think it had the words "rock star" in it, and they were from LA. The three-piece band wasn't bad, but the music was for sitting in a booth at a smoky bar, drinking whisky and flicking ashes. Being one of maybe half-a-dozen people in the audience didn’t add to the atmosphere at all. They had promise, but the promise wasn't kept, last night anyway.

The second band took a while to set up, and they could have saved everyone the trouble by not going through with it. I remember their name, but I will give them the benefit of the doubt and ignore the lousy set they performed. Maybe it was the night. Maybe it was my mood. Maybe they really sucked, but they’re getting a free pass this time by being ignored.

I had heard the bar manager say that the music had to stop at midnight. It was close to 11:30 before Tsar started playing. It wasn't their fault, but they only had a little over half an hour to do their show. They tried hard.

Article Author: wKen

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