the teabag smells like poo gas

alllllright!  we had our longest gig ever just last night and it was a pretty interesting night.  It all started months ago when Joe drops off a press pack at Texas Bar and Grill.  a mere 3 days later I get a phone call at work from them and I’m like O.o  holy crap!  No one ever calls after 3 days.  so I had a conversation with Sonya and talked about the booking and whatnot, and we decided on June 11th.  well a few days later Joey calls me up at like the asscrack of dawn and says "dude I totally brain farted!  June 11th is Caleb and Katie’s wedding!"  so we had to scramble to call Sonya back and leave her messages about rescheduling.  Eventually we landed the 25th and that was much better and we started promoting the pants off the show.  We still didn’t really know much of anything about the place though.  So we practice our asses off and Joey’s callus falls off the day before the show.  So he wraps his thumb in duct tape.  >.<  and yes he plays everything with his thumb.  Listen to our music and be amazed.  so, then the day of the gig rolls around and I’m secretly nervous that Sonya never actually got the last message to reschedule us because I don’t see our name in the paper but I try not to think about it… and we pack up all our stuff, with a big new roll of duck brand duct tape.  As Joe and I are moving around to unload our stuff in the back, Joey goes inside to scout out the building.  he comes around back and tells us that the stage is right by the door so we should unload our stuff up front, and then he looks at Joe and says "Why didn’t you tell me this place smelled like poo gas?  It smells like old grannies and smoke and… poo gas."  Of course Joe didn’t remember that.  Nor did he think to warn us this time, but I think he may in the future.  Sure enough, we walk inside and it smells like… well… poo gas.  Or more accurately, it smells like a smokey bar that they knew it was smokey so they tried to cover up the smell with mothballs and poo gas.  But now it smells like all 3.  So we set up all our equipment at about 6:30, and we went next door to have dinner/escape poo gas smell.  I had plenty of coffee to get me wired so I could give off some good energy at the show instead of looking half asleep, and then around 8:30 we went back and did sound check.  Joey was telling me how he was doing some research on Texas Bar and Grill last night too, to tell his cousin, Jonathan, what kind of sound set up he’d need to bring for the sound system.  Turns out we came about 3 years too late.  About 3 years ago, TBAG (the place actually named itself T-bag…  which for those of you who don’t know, when male strippers rub their scrotums on the faces/heads of people watching that’s called tea-bagging.  This is not something I’d want to name my bar after.)  was owned by this really cool person and they were a really groovy place to be and every weekend they had this excellent Rush tribute band play.  Now it’s not on the map so much anymore and it smells like poo gas.  But they did havea  flashing marquee with our name on it behind us.  it said "Phoenix Saga!  Saturday Night with… Phoenix Saga!"  Also at around 8:30 Joey’s uncles arrived to do the door, and get cover charges from people coming in.  They show up in suits and ties with a money tray looking like Mexican mafia.  It was cool.  They were doing awesome jobs.  Then one of our friends, Megan, comes in, and they stop her at the door and say "it’s $4 to come in tonight."  and she looks a little nervous and says "but I’m with the band" and I look over at her "…. I don’t know her."  and after I left the look of horrified shock set in on her face I tell her I’m kidding and they let her in.  She was mad at me for that but it was so worth it.  And we sure brought in a lot of people.  lots of friends, lots of relatives, lots of people we didn’t know too.  We started our first set at 9, and this lady that was so drunk I swear she’d have trouble driving stumbles out of the bar screaming about how much we suck in that I’m-too-drunk-to-realize-how-loud-and-obnoxious-I-am voice, but everyone at the bar was reassuring us that we rocked as soon as she was out the door.  it was interesting.  Our first set was alright.  After an hour of playing we took a break and sat down and some of Joe’s friends showed up.  they paid their way in and the bartender lady comes up and cards them.  apparently no one under 21 was allowed in :O  But after a moment we convinced her that they could stay and she was so nice about it we gave her a free t-shirt and I gave her a nice tip.  😀  She was cute.  Our next sets totally rocked.  But by the 3rd set Joey’s voice was shot and my fingers were in pain.  The poo gas smell wasn’t so noticeable after a while.  our 4th set was a bunch of whatever we wanted to play.  We put $60 in money change in the tray and by the end of the night we had made $140 profit.  XP  that’s the second most we’ve ever made.  Next to the Capitol 10K marathon gig.  we made $200 in that one.  At first we were considering never plying there again but considering how much we made on one night we decided it was worth coming back, despite the poo gas.  anyway.  at 1AM we were quite ready to go.  here’s the official set list.
 
Set 1-
Liar (new song we wrote)
Immigrant Song (Led Zepplin! duh)
Our Song (ours, written by Joey and Brian)
Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)
The Message (old standard by Joey)
Coasting (Newer one we play a lot, by me)
Cardigan (Older one by Joey)
Shimmer (Fuel)
East Texas (Old one we almost always play at acoustic shows)
Under Control (the first song I ever wrote, much more recently added to our set)
Tribute (Tenacious D)
 
Set 2-
Can You Believe (Newer one I wrote a long time ago)
High and Dry (Radiohead)
Anymore Again (old standard written by Joey)
Sail Away (old standard I wrote)
Just Right (old standard by me)
Disappear (old one by Joey that my mom thinks sounds like The Grateful Dead)
Final Frontier (old standard by Joey)
Last Page (old standard by Joey)
Come Out and Play (Offspring)
For All the Cows (obscure Foo Fighters song)
 
Set 3-
Vapor Trails (brand new debut written by all of us)
Shatner Finds A Way (has a transition from Vapor Trails and is also brand new by Joey)
Covenant (old favorite by Joey and Brian)
Thom Yorke (Newer one, the first song we co-wrote as a band)
Synchronicity II (The Police)
Zihuantanejo (groovy one Joey wrote, normally played acoustic)
Confused (older one I wrote)
Space Oddity (David Bowie)
She (old standard by Joey)
 
we also played Natalie and a few other songs I don’t care to remember.  anyway.  that’s that.  I think.  gotta go!