the russians

photo by Brendan Haley

We finally have a beautiful day on the weekend in Boston.  All that rain was getting a little trying; even my cats were depressed.  It turned out to be a perfect day for the second annual Q Division Yard Sale.  I was going to take photos while I was there but… I was talking to people.

And buying records.

And doing some more talking.

Here’s the thing.  Today was the first time almost 5 years that I could do something like this.  No, not singing John Cale’s “Ooh La La” in public (although now that I think about it, that may be the first time I did that solo).  To get to Q Division, I need walk just under a mile to get to the red line and then walk a few blocks to the studio.  Not that long ago, I would have been faced with a choice: take a bus to the train then try to catch a cab near Q Division, bus to the train then walk and hope I can make it, or don’t go at all because I can’t get down the stairs in my apartment.

More often than not, my ‘choice’ was always the last one.  I couldn’t move my body the way my brain wanted to move. It just wasn’t going to happen at all. That was far more depressing than seemingly unending rain.  The feeling that I couldn’t do something because I simply could not move was more than enough to make me want to crawl into a hole a whimper for a while.  That’s all I could do, anyway.

I think about that every so often, but it didn’t cross my mind at the yard sale until I started to think about how hot my foot was feeling in the midday sun.  I’m good at collecting sunburns, so I thought I was in the processes of earning my first for this year and then thought about the fact that I couldn’t go to this last year because I couldn’t move the way I can today.

It could've been worse, I guess. I didn't have to wear this on the train...

Anyway, on to the yard sale!

Lots of gear and instruments, but mainly (for me), records.  As I turned the corner and saw the yard sale, the first person I saw was none other than Brett Milano, old pal and rock fanatic extraordinaire. We were catching up and I mentioned I was trying to track a certain someone down for Crash Safely, but have been just missing him.  Just as I say that, who should appear, playing with a fuzz box?

Why, the person I was just saying I couldn’t get a hold of, wearing a leather jacket in 80 degree weather (for those non-Northeastern US folks reading: we pull out the shorts when the temp gets to about 65 degrees F ’round these parts).  I wandered over and we both went back to the comfy, shady area Brett had picked out for his yard sale table and we all got talking.

It turns out Day One of the shows is also Brett’s birthday.

I wanted to add one more act to that show to balance the bills and so that there would be some timing difference (long, boring and slightly political story). I wanted this person in particular (who played last year) to play the show.   It was a no-brainer- he answered emphatically he wanted to do it then started toying with a Joan Jett record Brett was selling.

Actually, a bunch of the Day One bands were at the yard sale- ran into Tom Baker (and most of the rest of the Truckers) and had a long, fun talk with him.

So, my hunt for vinyl actually ended in an addition to the shows!

I’m going to make an official statement soon (and when the Ridah’s back, we have to update the ticket links and all of that fun).

This means:

• 10 bands total over 2 nights
• The cost doesn’t change
• I can finally get the posters made

In case you’re wondering, I did not, in fact, get a sunburn today.