elected!

There are many moments in history where we will always remember where we were and what we were doing when the moment occurred.  I remember Sept 11th as clear as if it were yesterday.  My parents’ generation remembers JFK getting shot.  I think this election is another one of those moments.  We just elected our nation’s first African-American president.  Whether or not you supported Obama, you have to acknowledge the mondo super hugeness of that: it was just fifty short years ago that our nation practiced segregation.  Progress is a wonderful thing.

So where was I as history was happening?  As I have no TV, I didn’t have election coverage turned on at all times.  As the votes were being tallied and everyone was getting whipped up into a frenzy, I was taking a nap and doing my hair in preparation for my friend Laci’s birthday party.  I don’t like nervous nail-biter moments; I’ve never been one to watch sports, and I’ve been known to take a pee break during exciting parts in horror movies.  I’m nervous enough as is.  My friend Rockula and I arrived at the Dallasite bar, location of Laci’s birthday, at about 10 PM.

Had I known there would be bands playing, I would’ve a) arrived earlier, and b) brought my little notebook so as to do a review of the show for this site.  Not only was it a show, it was a Boys Named Sue show.  They have gotten such great buzz over the past few years, but I have yet to see this incarnation (the bassist and singer were the core of pop-punksters Slick 57, and I caught a couple of their shows some years back).  I’ve been wanting to see the Sues for like forever and stuff.

So here’s the triple whammy I get hit with when I walk in the door:

1. CNN was on all the big screens, displaying “Obama Wins Presidency” in big letters.  I had no idea that he’d won until the moment I walked in the bar.

2. Band that I’ve wanted to see for like forever was playing.  Add to that, singer Jason Pedigo plays a Gretsch Nashville; I love Gretsch guitars like wow and like burning.  I’m not sure what caught my eye first: the Gretsch or the election coverage.

3. My friend Laci, the birthday girl, who I haven’t seen in far too long, has a bun in the oven.  It’s always so cool to watch my friends go through huge happy life changes.  Laci has two boys already, and she says she has a feeling this one’s gonna be a girl.

quite an evening, it was.  In celebration of the election, here’s a gift for you: the indomitable El Vez (the Mexican Elvis; he’s not an Elvis impersonator, he’s an Elvis translator), having some good ol’ patriotic fun while singing “God Bless America” and Alice Cooper’s “Elected”.  El Vez’s live show is truly peerless – if you ever get a chance to see this guy live, do it.