So there we were: Hammerpants and Jenni and I. We were in Ohio for a Tom Waits show. Vrax showed up to hang out for a while, and that was awesome, and then Pete showed up Sat. afternoon to hang out as well. Extra awesome.

We ended up at O’Riley’s in the afternoon, for some preshow drinks and food. Fell in love with the place. Great staff, good music, good food: the key though is that it feels like a bar where they want you to hang out. Not because they want you to drink more but because they enjoy your company.

So around 7 we head off to the theatre and say good-bye to the local flavor. Now I had a ticket for B who was flying in and so on. I didn’t know what was going on, on his end, at that point. He missed his flight due to a series of argh and because his phone was also fucking up couldn’t get in touch with me.

And that’s the punch line but here’s the story:

We head to the theatre and I’m calling B and starting to worry. Around 7:55 Hammerpants and Jenni go in. I hear that Waits won’t start until at least 8:30, from house staff, so I hang out and keep waiting to hear from B. I call and I pace and I come up with time tables for myself. When will I go in, when will I give up, etc.

See there were no paper tickets pre-show. You go up, give them ID and the card you bought tickets with and they print them and usher you in right then. Once they even print the tickets there is no going out and coming back in. There is no Will Call window. there is no way to go get someone once you enter. So you have to wait outside and work out the math.

It was getting close to 8:20 before B got through. I was sad as hell to hear he couldn’t make it after all, and happy as hell to be able to get in and see the show. So I ran in. I had two seats on the floor. Row N. They start at A, huh? So Not Far Back. Really awesome seats.

Hammerpants had seats on the balcony. Not bad seats but not as good. When B bailed, Jenni came down to take that seat. Then we realized after a few songs that the seat right in front of my was open and txt’d Hammerpants to come take it. Which he did. Yes, sir. So we all got to sit in the awesome seats.

I don’t have a full set list on me. But he played, that I can recall this second: Lucinda, Down in the Hole, Chocolate Jesus, Falling Down, Make it Rain, Lie to Me, 16 Shells from a 30.06, Innocent When You Dream, Hoist That Rag, November, Misery is the River of the World, Black Market Baby, Eyeball Kid, The House Where Nobody Lives, Big in Japan, and he ended with Time. But there were more. No opener and he played for a bit more than 3 hours.

I don’t know the words to describe the show. It was religion, it really was. A few hundred people singing along with Innocent When you Dream - gently and at Waits’ direction - is hard to beat. He puts on the type of show that everyone wishes they could put on. And no one else really does.

Yeah, I don’t really have the right words to describe that show.

Religion, I tell you. Down home, old school, “the universe makes a little more sense when you walk out that door” style religion.

After the show the lights came up. And directly to the right, leaning against the wall with a grin was Dustin Grovemiller. He’s the Goddamn Batman. Anyway, we got to hang (far less than I would have liked but that’s life) for a bit at O’Riley’s, since he knew and loved the place, too.

Then we came back to the hotel, looked at the fact it was almost 3 and sighed. Because we get back on the road at 10am. And it’s a long drive back to NY.