This article is a continuation of my last post. When we last left our hero (me), he was dreaming about peaches, dune buggys, and the Mach 5. Ok, enough with the second person stuff, it's mildly weird. I woke after 4 hours of sleep knowing I'd need to get up early to get back up to work at 1pm. I rose from my 10 year old futon, which was not a comfortable place to sleep. Years of tossing and turning and several moves with that contraption had turned it into more of a pit trap than bed. But I was at my dad's place in south Jersey, you can't really put a price on a free night's rest. Well you can, hotels charge around $130 for four hours....and the kind of hotels that charge hourly aren't exactly the sort of place a man gets any rest. 
The commute from South Jersey to Jersey City is a long one, filled with it's own sort of adventure. Public Transit south of Trenton isn't the same as north. Managing the bus system is like surveying the Amazon to someone who's not quite familiar with the area. Thankfully, almost every bus hits Walter Rand Transit Center in Camden on it's way to Philadelphia. Yup, Camden, THAT CAMDEN! The one Chris Rock warned you about! Now, as an avid traveler and a man knowledgeable to the various situations of danger on the public transportation system, I follow a few well manufactured rules.
Rule 1. Keep your mouth shut and your head down!You are the mark! Talking to people for prolonged amounts of time serves only to distract you attention from the pair Raptor in the bushes adjacent to you!
Rule 2. If asked for change, shrug, if they give you shit tell them you need what you got to get home.
Rule 3. Don't be an asshole! This is Eagle's Country.
If asked your team affiliation respond in kind, (they call him the Philly Fanatic for a reason)I'd rather be sick to my stomach later on, than punched in it right now.
Rule 4. When in doubt, pretend your kind of insane! Note this doesn't work on other people with mental deficiency. Use this on the wrong person and you'll be talking like furbies on acid.
Ok, those bases are covered. I just missed the 410 at 9:54. So I had to wait for the 410 at 11:00. Once the bus came I took my spot in the middle and put on my MP3 player. Not long into the trip a woman turned around and demanded my cell phone. "I'm gonna use your cell phone, I gotta call my work." It was something along those lines, most importantly this was not a request! I almost laughed audibly. I had to applaud the fact that the woman was a crafty social engineer at the very least, but her simple Jedi mind tricks were no match for one trained by Dave Minick. I feigned poverty, "I got no phone, I'm late for work too, missed the bus before." She wasn't interested in my story. Oddly enough she didn't ask anyone else. From Walter Rand to Trenton, from Trenton to Newark, from Newark to Jersey City. It only took 5 hours! I got to work and waited out the day for A Saturday Night event at Kilkenny Alehouse. A tribute night to Willie Nelson in honour of his recent birthday. Time ticked by pretty quickly and before I knew it I was at home getting changed and ready to make the scene in Brick City.
I got in just at the end of Bern and the Bright's set. I was highly disappointed because they are long over due for a once over! Another of the Montclair Crew. These girls are really making waves on the local scene and even getting a little radio time here and there. No worries though, they'll be playing At Lucky 7 Tavern on my Birthday with Honah Lee, Deivito, and Kagero. If you happen to be in the mood to rock out come May 16, I invite you to stop on by! Tonight B&tBs were playing with the McMickle Bros. as well. I told you, those boys get around! 
Deivito hopped up on stage with, Wes of Tip Canary and Sam of McMickle Bros. They played the entire Red-headed Stranger Album. These fellas were wailing away on their guitars, I was swilling beer and stomping shoe! The Highwayman would have been proud.... Of All three of us I'd wager! 
The Crosstown Country All-Stars got on stage with two members that were previously unsung on the last post about them. Ace Case and Ken Trotta still round out the Guitar and Vocals, but tonight Bill Henry(key) and Rodney Azagra(drums) took the stage is this ragtag group too! Rastabouts as always Ace and Ken tried to start up a rivalry with Anyday Parade. I think they said something to the effect of Anyday Payday. You gotta understand Ace's sense of humour. I saw him play a week for Election night. And he was pretending to support McCain's Country First Slogan, as a joke. I think I was the only person in the crowd laughing, for a town full of Liberals you'd think they'd laugh a little less conservatively. Anyhow the set was crafted with comedy and good old fashioned joshing around, plenty of country favourites and some originals as well.
Tree, The Chucks, Larry, and JD took the stage as the Voltron that is Anyday Parade.
They joked back about All-stars' comment. They quickly turned the nob, from Defrost to Simmer as they worked into their songs. Tree's classic voice melded in a stew with Larry and JD trading off leads and answering her musings. Chuck D. worked the bass in a mesmeric fashion, but this time he looked like he was immune to his own magic, moving around the stage like a snake tail inbetween the vox/guitar Cerberus of the band. If the rest of the band was a mythological three-headed hellhound, then I guess Chuck R. was Zues himself, bringing down the thunder!
I sat out in the crowd singing along to every song and dancing with the rest of the crowd at the alehouse. You better make sure you come to the next show they have! You're missing out on one hell of a good time in Newark.
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