Came Bridge
Ha ha! That was fun. Actually, it was. Never been to Cambridge before, it's a lovely town. I'm all for new things but it's also nice to preserve the good stuff, though I'm hoping it doesn't lead to complacency for future generations to rely on the past (like ours may already be doing, harumph).
Arrived on Thursday after a 5 hour car journey, including a service station stop and getting pretty lost in the town of Cambridge. Somehow we managed to find the hotel quite easily after getting lost (as you do). Soon, we went to our brother's soon to be ex-place; I knew he wasn't the tidiest man but wooooooaaah messy place. Whether or not the dirt was a collaborative effort I do not know, but it surely could have been a bit tidy. Still, I can't argue since I'm messy myself.
Anyway, the Dinosaur Jr show was soon. Walking up to the pub pre-gig was one of the saddest sights I had seen for a while; a guy who clearly 'wasn't all there' was cycling home, looking rather worried. He tried to cross the road awkwardly and his chain snapped. Now the poor guy was distraught, just not knowing how he could solve his conundrum quickly, and stood with the bike for a while, but eventually just walking with the bike in his desired direction, looking down and hurrying. I really wished I could've helped with that one :(
Eventually, the gig came around. I knew J Mascis was a great guitarist but seeing the man up close was mind-blowing! Granted, his hair was grey and he had a bit of a belly but his skills were beyond, they really were. They even played something from Green Mind! I love that one, even if bassist Lou Barlow wasn't on that album. For the the encore they asked for requests, which was obviously met with a cacophony of noise containing numerous requests. I somehow found a unique pitch for which to shout my request of 'Let It Ride', only for Mascis to say 'I heard someone say Credit Card, what's that one?' No! Gaaagh. Another lass started calling for it so J said 'okay, here's Credit Card' and did a 10 second noodle. That was fantastic, that one! What an awesome dude. Not much for crowd chatting, but nobody cared since his fingers did the banter.
Next day we had a wander around Cambridge, as I said, it's a really nice place. More bicycle friendly that car-friendly, but there's only so much expansion you can do to accommodate cars. Not like I minded, I prefer it that way. Went to a few of the university grounds, and combining that with the fact there was a decent proportion of local businesses seemingly doing well, I just said the place reminded me of Harry Potter. Which it does! One of my favourite sights was a more modern attraction: The Grasshopper Clock. Incredible machine.
I also mulled over a bass guitar which was a replica of Jaco Pastorius' (one of the best) bass guitar and an amp with all the Rock Band effects built in. Oh it looked awesome! But not knowing my money situation fully I decided against it, sadly. One day...we also did a bit of bowling and saw Inglorious Basterds, which is fantastic but you do need an attention span of sorts.
The final day was spent with Ray, Graeme, Jenny (Graeme's lass) and I walking by 'a river' (I cannot remember the name) and spending some time in Kettle's Yard. This was a set of cottages originally owned by a man by the name of Jim Ede, who turned the house into an art exhibition of sorts. He would allow people to view it as a gallery one day a week, until he gave the cottages to Cambridge University in 1966. It was a unique experience and very organic in its role in art (whatever that means, hurr), very interesting exhibitions on display.
Went home soon afterwards with Graeme showing me his various effects pedals combined with his guitar. Showed a very specific whammy pedal which was only produced and released in 1987; it's quality has not been replicated since, not even by the same company. It is a beast. Even with my exceedingly limited skills I felt like a master, playing some of the stuff I did. I might have to turn electric now!
Eventually after dinner and moving stuff to Graeme and Jenny's new place, we went to a house party. I've pretty much assured my place as a square after I realised my attitudes during the party; granted, I was a bit shit at mingling (I only really got on with a few people) but my eye-opener was when I was searching for my glasses at one point. I went into the room where I knew they were and saw a guy nonchalantly cutting up cocaine. 'Fuck', I thought. Are these the kind of people my brother hangs with? Granted, I did end up admitting to a few of the people I mingled with about my concerns; whilst it was affirming to know not everyone was in that boat, I just didn't feel comfortable staying. Bit rude, but damn! I actually wouldn't have minded if they had mind-altering stuff like marijuana or salvia or whatever, but I really draw the line at coke. Fuck that stuff. We politely left after a few goodbyes (although forgot to wish the birthday boy a happy birthday, yikes!).
So all in all it was a good trip, aside from the awkwardness present near the end. Oh and I drive very shittly home today, cursing my lack of concentration for nearly hitting stuff. Bonk!
Ha ha! That was fun. Actually, it was. Never been to Cambridge before, it's a lovely town. I'm all for new things but it's also nice to preserve the good stuff, though I'm hoping it doesn't lead to complacency for future generations to rely on the past (like ours may already be doing, harumph).
Arrived on Thursday after a 5 hour car journey, including a service station stop and getting pretty lost in the town of Cambridge. Somehow we managed to find the hotel quite easily after getting lost (as you do). Soon, we went to our brother's soon to be ex-place; I knew he wasn't the tidiest man but wooooooaaah messy place. Whether or not the dirt was a collaborative effort I do not know, but it surely could have been a bit tidy. Still, I can't argue since I'm messy myself.
Anyway, the Dinosaur Jr show was soon. Walking up to the pub pre-gig was one of the saddest sights I had seen for a while; a guy who clearly 'wasn't all there' was cycling home, looking rather worried. He tried to cross the road awkwardly and his chain snapped. Now the poor guy was distraught, just not knowing how he could solve his conundrum quickly, and stood with the bike for a while, but eventually just walking with the bike in his desired direction, looking down and hurrying. I really wished I could've helped with that one :(
Eventually, the gig came around. I knew J Mascis was a great guitarist but seeing the man up close was mind-blowing! Granted, his hair was grey and he had a bit of a belly but his skills were beyond, they really were. They even played something from Green Mind! I love that one, even if bassist Lou Barlow wasn't on that album. For the the encore they asked for requests, which was obviously met with a cacophony of noise containing numerous requests. I somehow found a unique pitch for which to shout my request of 'Let It Ride', only for Mascis to say 'I heard someone say Credit Card, what's that one?' No! Gaaagh. Another lass started calling for it so J said 'okay, here's Credit Card' and did a 10 second noodle. That was fantastic, that one! What an awesome dude. Not much for crowd chatting, but nobody cared since his fingers did the banter.
Next day we had a wander around Cambridge, as I said, it's a really nice place. More bicycle friendly that car-friendly, but there's only so much expansion you can do to accommodate cars. Not like I minded, I prefer it that way. Went to a few of the university grounds, and combining that with the fact there was a decent proportion of local businesses seemingly doing well, I just said the place reminded me of Harry Potter. Which it does! One of my favourite sights was a more modern attraction: The Grasshopper Clock. Incredible machine.
I also mulled over a bass guitar which was a replica of Jaco Pastorius' (one of the best) bass guitar and an amp with all the Rock Band effects built in. Oh it looked awesome! But not knowing my money situation fully I decided against it, sadly. One day...we also did a bit of bowling and saw Inglorious Basterds, which is fantastic but you do need an attention span of sorts.
The final day was spent with Ray, Graeme, Jenny (Graeme's lass) and I walking by 'a river' (I cannot remember the name) and spending some time in Kettle's Yard. This was a set of cottages originally owned by a man by the name of Jim Ede, who turned the house into an art exhibition of sorts. He would allow people to view it as a gallery one day a week, until he gave the cottages to Cambridge University in 1966. It was a unique experience and very organic in its role in art (whatever that means, hurr), very interesting exhibitions on display.
Went home soon afterwards with Graeme showing me his various effects pedals combined with his guitar. Showed a very specific whammy pedal which was only produced and released in 1987; it's quality has not been replicated since, not even by the same company. It is a beast. Even with my exceedingly limited skills I felt like a master, playing some of the stuff I did. I might have to turn electric now!
Eventually after dinner and moving stuff to Graeme and Jenny's new place, we went to a house party. I've pretty much assured my place as a square after I realised my attitudes during the party; granted, I was a bit shit at mingling (I only really got on with a few people) but my eye-opener was when I was searching for my glasses at one point. I went into the room where I knew they were and saw a guy nonchalantly cutting up cocaine. 'Fuck', I thought. Are these the kind of people my brother hangs with? Granted, I did end up admitting to a few of the people I mingled with about my concerns; whilst it was affirming to know not everyone was in that boat, I just didn't feel comfortable staying. Bit rude, but damn! I actually wouldn't have minded if they had mind-altering stuff like marijuana or salvia or whatever, but I really draw the line at coke. Fuck that stuff. We politely left after a few goodbyes (although forgot to wish the birthday boy a happy birthday, yikes!).
So all in all it was a good trip, aside from the awkwardness present near the end. Oh and I drive very shittly home today, cursing my lack of concentration for nearly hitting stuff. Bonk!
