sam_gamgee | (no subject)

Last night was an adventure. My friend Kate and I went up to Philadelphia to see Common Rotation play at the Tin Angel. Trying to find parking was a bit of a pain (especially with a Chevy pick-up), but we managed to find a place just down the street.

We ended up having dinner in the restaurant, called Serrano, that's on the downstairs floor. The food was good, and the place was busy for a Saturday night at six. I had to laugh when we asked about getting a table and the host asked if we had a reservation. We said we didn't and he looked at his reservations and asked, "Do you think they'll be coming?" about a reservation that had been for a half-hour before. We said we didn't think so, so we got their table. :-P (And, yes, I did make a crack about our night turning into Date Night, but thankfully, it didn't.) And we were a little worried when they said that they weren't sure if we'd be able to make it through the meal in time for the show (which was to start at 7:30). But they have a neat thing where if you eat there, they'll reserve seats for you.

When we got upstairs, the place was packed. And it's a narrow space (which we had figured because the restaurant was tiny too.) But our seats were near the front, which was cool. The guys came out and played about four songs - which were a mix of old and newer stuff, then Dan Bern (who's the "headliner", and who most had come to see) came out and played a few songs before Common Rotation joined him as a sort of back-up band.

This was the first I'd heard Dan Bern and.... He's kind of like Bob Dylan with a twang. He did have a few funny songs, like "Year by Year Home Run Totals of Barry Bonds", but most weren't my thing. (For some reason I just got a weird/bad vibe from him and I'm not sure why.)

Afterwards, we hung out so I could say hi to the guys and Kate could meet them (which she was really excited about with Adam, since she's also a Buffy fan) and she bought a couple of cds. I tried to get an address from the guys because I'm planning on making copies of some of my Common Rotation cds for Kate and figured that, since it's how the guys make at least a portion of their living, it would be fair to give them some money for it, but they wouldn't hear of it. And then they put us on the list for their set of the second show, so we got to see it for free.

Loretta, who's another East Coast fan, was at the second show, so it was nice to catch up with her for a bit before the show started. They had a slightly longer set (maybe six songs this time, and again - a mix).

We slipped out after the guys finished and headed back to the truck. It was interesting trying to get the truck out because of the way people were parked in the lot, but with the help of one of the attendants, we were able to get out easily enough and head home, making a slight detour onto the Blue Route along the way. :-P

It was a fun time, and I was happy to introduce someone else to Common Rotation. Though, I wish

nakedwesley could've been with us. :-)

And then today was busier than expected, but good. And got to join M, J, and another friend for M's birthday lunch, which was also a blast.