May 2006
Monthly Archive
last last show
Posted by squirrley on 28 May 2006 | Tagged as: home
I have the first bars of “the last last one” going through my brain–the R3 web mag launched first with the weakerthans ( this is a fire door never leave open — one of those truly brilliant songs that if I were the type to quote lyrics anymore, I would plaster all over envelopes and washroom stalls) and ended with them two years later.
If the R3 webmag still existed, I would pitch them a story: the last last show, about Pegasus Wing. “You can’t have your last show on Friday”, I told Fiona just now –it’s supposed to be the night of our soca-reggae-dance-hall house party, already moved once to avoid conflict with a saturday night barnburner. “Well,” she said, “We started off playing houseparties … we may also have a last last show.” I think that would make for fabulous radio: the last last show of a small town band. Especially Pegasus Wing. Last time I saw them @ the Cap, Andre had a cape, the guitar player was wearing a teenage-mutant-ninja-turtle outfit, and the dance floor was all-over hopping as Fiona belted out late 80’s Depeche Mode.
My other “Yukon moment” of the week was also a musician moment. I had bought a six pack of beer, and one of the cans punctured as I was loading up my bike. I had been attempting to race right off–hardly saying hello to Birch and Rick, who were busking at the beer store exit.
“Shit”, I cried, trying to rip the can out of the plastic ring and hold it aloft from my bike bag.
“Chug, chug, chug!”, they shouted. I tried to give the beer to them, but they would have none of it. “You have to chug it,” they said, “it’s the only sensible thing to do.” And Rick broke into song, “B-E-E-R run”, strumming away on guitar, Birch with his clarinet, and both of them belting away, “B-E-E-R, B-E-E-R, beer run”, and shielding me from the masses exiting and entering the beer store.
“You might not want to stand facing into the store window,” Birch suggested. I gave them a big busker tip.