ACE OF SPADES! ACE OF SPADES!

it's been found, been located, the mystical stage where mere mortals go to become the rock stars they always knew they could. i speak of the monday night punk metal fest at arlene's grocery. the monday night punk metal karaoke fest. i'd been hearing vague rumblings about it for ages, but never actually had enough initiative to drag myself down to the lower east side to partake. but ah,i shall be so passive no more. 'twas good fun indeed. though you could clearly tell who was a group regular (such as the iggy pop-alike) and who wasn't (like the girl in the red halter top), there was much fearlessness (fueled by liquor, but fearlessness nonetheless). i opted not to participate this time around; by the time i'd gotten my nerve and determined that there actually were some songs i knew well enough to sing, the regulars were on the stage and rocking it the hard way. and, quite frankly, i was far too intimidated.

my favorite parts of the evening were the unlikely powerhouses, the unassuming and nondescript types who, belied by their mild exteriors, were secret heavy metal superstars. such as: small blonde girl with short hair, so sweet and unassuming, tearing the lid off cretin hop. or the boy by the name of wellington, who wanted us all to talk dirty to him. they were fantastic.

the punk metal extravaganza was prefaced by a reading, sponsored by a zine thing that boy works with, one story. not to sound predisposed and snobbish, but i enjoyed it much more than i'd expected to. while i've always derived a certain amount of pleasure from seeing people read their works, i've been slightly scarred by the readings at sarah lawrence, where no matter what was being read, there was flagrant abuse of the...sarah lawrence....poetry voice. rubbish. it's enough to turn you from poetry and prose for all eternity. as such, i was pleasantly surprised by the entire experience. good story, great turnout.

all told, not so bad for a monday night, if you overlook the mta, the antibiotics and the cruel surprise from con ed that awaited me upon my return home. and you know? even those weren't so bad.

~fun with other variables to balance things out.~