SMV and Jenny were getting really hungry for lunch so we stopped at a Subway in Illinois. SMV asked for the 5 dollar footlong, and the Subway lady said they didn't participate in the program. It was funny to watch this exchange. SMV was really confused and was saying emphatically that she still wanted her sandwich! Turns out, instead of being 5 dollars, her footlong was 6 bucks.
SMV and Jenny ate their subs in the car while I powered us through to Chicago. We finally made it and Mark met us on the street. M and J go way back, but hadn't really talked in a long time. Mark apparently had no idea that Jenny was touring with us, and was shocked to see her. His mouth fell to the floor.
We finally made it up to the apartment and it was nice to have a few hours to chill before the show.
We then dropped off our gear at The Darkroom and we all grabbed dinner at a local pub in the next hood, Wicker Park. I called up my friend Joe to join us and it was great to see him:
Joe played bass in my first band (Danger, Giant Ranger!). It felt really good catching up with him. Really glad to hear that he's still playing, and is doing a bunch of reunion shows with his old hardcore band, Supertouch.
We went back to The Darkroom to get ready for our set. It was a very cool club (seats with red vinyl) and the stage and soundsystem were top-notch. We were the last band to play for the night at midnight, and we still had a good crowd watching us. As a band, we played a really solid set. As a personal experience, the Chicago set was really magical for me. It felt like I was floating away -- I knew I was playing but it felt so effortless, I could see myself outside of myself. I wasn't concerned if I was rocking or not, I just knew that I was. My self-awareness was at its peak, and I had no fear, no desires, I was just existing. It was a religious experience for me; after the set I felt so cleansed, like I had just fasted or come out of a deep, long meditation. I felt at peace.
The audience loved our set. A lot of people came up to us after the show and thanked us for playing. That was really amazing: even on a random Wed night at midnight, there was so much love for us. Some guy offered to comp dinner for us if we came to his restaurant the next night. Wow. Meanwhile, Arunas, who booked the show for us, was such a sweetheart and invited us back to play whenever we return. Yeah! RENMINBI has big Chicago love!
But really, Chicago has always had a special place in my heart, since it was where I was born.
After the set, we went back to Mark's apartment and he told us to park in the lot behind the building. I was pretty tired from the day of driving and playing, so I hit the sack shortly after we got back. SMV and Jenny kept the party going into the wee hours of the morning since our next day was a day off.
SMV went to the bathroom around 8am the next morning, and I couldn't fall back asleep. I decided to get dressed and get something to eat. Since Mark doesn't keep any food in the house, I had to venture out. As I was walking down the stairs, I noticed that our car was missing. I frantically ran back up to the apartment and asked Jenny if she moved the car, and she of course said no. Our car had been towed during the night! I told Mark about the news, and he was furious about it because our parking space had been approved by the landlord. We were all pretty pissed about it -- to bail our car out would be $170! The landlord talked the private towing company down so we only had to be pay $85 in the end, but it was still a stressful situation involving heated negotiation. Mark illustrates our feelings here:
We finally made our way over to the tow lot, payed the $ and left. Crisis averted, I guess -- it could have been a lot worse. It it had to happen, thank god it happened on our day off.We were all really exhausted by the situation, and slept most of the day away. By night, we decided to eat locally in the hood at a Mexican restaurant. SMV and Jenny ventured out to a bar afterward, but I was pretty tired and decided to kick it in the apartment. I watched one of Mark's DVDs, a French movie called "Grand Ecole." It was a classic French movie where there are mind games galore, and everyone is competing to sleep with each other. Not so far from real life.
SMV and Jenny came back shortly after, and we all crashed out since we were all exhausted from the drama of the car towing.
Toledo next!
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