Moments

Moments effect us. In many different ways. Movies, music, or just random events—your initial reaction is unique, because you can never go back to the time before you actually experienced it. Do you ever wish the effect a moment, especially a song, has on you could just last forever? That no matter how many times you listened to it, it would be just as strong and passionate? I know I do.

“It’s a beautiful night for feeling lonely
A beautiful night for being afraid
So raise your hands, you one and onlys
You one of a kinds who feel this way”

I love Toadies. Or I guess I should say, loved Toadies. I hadn’t heard any new stuff of theirs recently, and I always thought they had broken up. They sang one of my Top 5 all time songs: Tyler. Lately I’ve been hearing this song on the radio that sounded so much like Toadies, but every search online I did came up empty. I knew it sounded like them, but I just couldn’t find out what the song was. Until Friday.

I finally tracked ’em down. Two brothers from Toadies started a new band called The Burden Brothers. And it just so happened we crossed paths on Friday. And once I found it on Kazaa, it was in heavy rotation. Jeez, for a least an hour before going out it was on heavy repeat. I told Arshia and Melissa I’d hang out with them, but the plans were pretty up in the air. I was hoping to meet up with Zack and Kennedy and catch some beers at Buffalo, but Kennedy couldn’t make it and Zack got stuck in Chicago. So the three of us went to Red Fez. Just moments after walking in, out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Jon Jennings’ wife. If that was the only person that I saw that I wasn’t expecting to see, I wouldn’t have much to blog about.

A few steps later I get a tap on my shoulder. I wheel around there’s Suzanne. I give her a hug and ask her what she was doing there, but before she could answer I figured it out myself. I waded smack dab into Laura Cuellar’s birthday party. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I hadn’t been to Red Fez in months, and here I am at the celebration of the birth of the chick that started the downward spiral and Mollie’s new roommate. Mollie suprisingly wasn’t there (she’s gotten so good at avoiding me, she avoids me when she doesn’t even know she’s doing it :)), but the rest of the crew was. Haney…Bredesen…a total full house. Unbelievable. I gotta be honest, I wanted to run. More than anything.

“Under the stars I’m alone among strangers
Confused, connected, diffused and alive
Maybe the future will smile on us
Maybe the future is smiling tonight
It’s a beautiful night…
…a beautiful night to be here”

But I didn’t. I refused to let that crew continue to define my life. Check that. I refuse to let that crew continue to define how I feel about myself. So what’d I do? I went back to the bar, bought a Rolling Rock and a shot a Tequilla, and headed straight for Cuellar. Wished her a Happy Birthday, handed her the shot, and couldn’t help but think as she put it back, “I hope you puke tonight like it’s your job.” I made some quick small talk and went over to Suzanne to say so long.

“So are you cool with all these people?”

I didn’t know what to say. The voice inside me yelled, “Are you kidding? Do you think I want to be around these people? Do you know how wrong everything they tell you is?”, but I didn’t. I just took the high road, not caring that she surely ate up all the twisted truths she was fed, said no, gave her a kiss on the cheek and headed back to Arshia and Melissa. We finished our drinks, I told Jon’s wife to give him a big kiss for me, and we headed out. I was jittery the rest of the night, I was so freakin’ proud of myself.

“All good friends who stood by you
One at time they fall down, they fall down
And all your fears are coming true
And this is the time of your life that defines you
So raise your hands, raise your hands”

-Beautiful Night (The Burden Brothers)

And like the concrete truck just missing me and Julie, a bunch of tiny things just fell into place. Zack getting stuck in Chicago for work, Cuellar deciding to hang out at Red Fez, finally learning about the Burden Brothers, all on the same day. Moments.

The Burden Brothers are in Austin playing at Stubb’s this Friday. Just can’t make this shit up.