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Wonderjack East Coast Tour
2005 (kinda) So of course we knew better. We're sane people. We knew that performing for the 30,000 runners of the Marine Corps Marathon would be a challenging and exciting gig that would zap all of our energy for a week. It had taken months of coordination, and would be a miracle if we pulled it off without any major problems. And then the email came. We were asked to play a gig with our friends Divine Loraine in Philly - the NIGHT BEFORE the Marine Corps Marathon. What to do? Well, I thought we were sane. I guess not. We were seduced by the temptress of the rock and roll lifestyle. Yes it was crazy. Yes we'd get almost no sleep. Yes there was chance for colossal failure. Yes it was an opportunity to do 2 gigs in 2 different (and not so close by) cities in less than 18 hours wearing the same clothes. We had to do it. And so we planned and plotted some more, coming up with an ornate organization of packing, car swapping, and Himalayan mountain climbing to allow us to get where we needed to, when we needed to, with the appropriate gear. I love it when a plan comes together. kinda And so, after meeting at the appointed time of 16:17, we were off at ludicrous speed - hurling toward Philly in Charlie's pimped out Rav 4 - complete with smokin ground effects. It's truly a sweet ride. We got there faster than one of Randy's drum fills in cut time. Mill Creek Tavern turned out to be a great bar with a great setup for bands, and an excellent soundguy. Naturally, since it was Halloween, we were appropriately dressed in our regular clothes - but not those Philly folk. Oh no. You see, Mill Creek Tavern is basically on the campus of University of Pennsylvania in downtown Philly - so the place was crawlin with all sorts of who knows what. It was, in fact, some of the best who knows what I've seen in some time - and I've seen my share. But I digress. We played a groovy set - Halloween revelers boogied down in all their finery. Have you ever seen a 6 foot tall smurf freaking a french maid? It was either that or Grimmace dancing with a Vampiress. Who could tell. Damn lights. Anywho - We had accomplished stage 1 of the plan. We allotted ourselves 17 minutes to hang with our friends and listen to the next band. They were one of the loudest bands that we have ever heard. You know it's gonna be a winner when they pull out the marshall half stack for a small show. Unfortunately we could not stay for Divine Loraine's set. Hopefully we'll get to play with them again soon - when we don't have to skeeedaddle. So - back to the pimped out Rav 4 - which is now in all it's glory - as Charlie turned on the blue LED lights on the spinners for the complete show. I think we were cheered as we drove down fraternity row at Penn. Nice. I have never been so in need of an extra hour in my life. Thank God for the end of daylight savings time. As a result, we made it back Washington in only 1.5 hours. It was a Marine Corps Marathon miracle. And, as it turned out, it would be one of several. In the morning, to our surprise- a magical breakfast appeared. Hooray Theresa!!!! It's the most important meal of the day you know. Breakfast that is. So we re-packed the cars and were off - well in advance of all street closings. Everything went smoothly until. The Capitol Police... Decided that they didn't FEEL like adhering to the street closure schedule. In fact, they didn't need no DAMN SCHEDULE. They're the police for Pete's sake! They can do whatever the heck they want. Right? Yeah! Just ask them. They also decided that official vehicle permits weren't worth a dizzamn. Explaining that we were contracted to perform on the other side of the police barricade didn't help at all. I don't think God him/herself could have gotten past this guy. And so we began our ridiculous journey though my city trying to get from where we were to where we needed to be before they closed more streets. After 2 more temporary dead ends - we did make it to our performance spot - mile marker 20 - the coveted spot at the "beat the bridge" location for the runners. This is the spot that all 30,000 of them have to get to prior to 13:45 in order to finish the race. If they don't then they get scooped up by a big front loader and piled into a bus trailing behind. So after some curb hopping and rearranging, we quickly empty all our equipment out under the tent and then split up into team "generator" and team "set the stuff the heck up". Team generator rendezvous with the marines at mile post 19. Thank God Dan speaks fluent Marine. The guys knew that they had a generator in their truck, but they weren't told who or what it was for. Good thing we have honest faces. We get the generator back to milepost 20, and set it up, and pray that it doesn't sound like a freight train. Thank god for 100 foot extension cords. O.k. We get everything setup. . . .but . . . 2 power cords are missing. Poor Poor Poor!! It's 10 am on a Sunday. NOTHING except the corner grocery is open in DC. We're sunk. - - unless. . . Theresa to the rescue AGAIN. Dan has 2 power cords at his house. So "T" races to milepost 20, which is a feat in and of itself since EVERY SINGLE ROAD IN THE DC AREA is now closed. I think she had to bribe a few people. With not a moment to spare - and the first few runners having passed by us, we start the ROCK. The onlookers get into it. The runners get into it. It was fantastic. I don't know how you can run 20 miles, and then cheer on some random band at the side of the road rockin out for you - but they did!! Many of them!! Of course all we could do was to cheer back in between songs. What a inspiring sight! 3 hours and 30,000 runners later, we finished the gig. As the last few runners passed we were all psyched that the day went so well. Thanks to all of you who showed up - especially Theresa, Teresa and Melissa who lugged provisions all the way there. You guys get the gold star!! Check out our photos page for the Marine Corps Marathon here. We're lookin forward to rockin the Marathon in 2006 - so start your training now! |
