ISSA GOTDAMN WEEKEEEEEND THREAD

[JLynnCarr]

Saturday morning is food shopping and Saturday night is the Smithereens with Tim and my sister in Asbury Park.

The rest of the weekend is whatever Tim and I decide it to be.

Hopefully, he gets out of work early today, but I'm not counting on that.

[Timothy225]

Saturday morning is food shopping and Saturday night is the Smithereens with Tim and my sister in Asbury Park.

The rest of the weekend is whatever Tim and I decide it to be.

Hopefully, he gets out of work early today, but I'm not counting on that.

Got paid.
Got caught up on all my projects at work.
Got in to and out of work early.
Got my paycheck deposited.
Got bills to pay Saturday AM (got a few almost terminally late).
Got Smithereens with Jen and her sister Saturday PM.
Got a fuckton of rain hitting NJ this weekend.
Got plans to catch up on my sleep and movie watching.
Got my shit wired tight, yo.

[IggytheBorg]

Way to be, Timbo.

Hung out and played MtG with my son and his cousin. Tested a new deck, seems to be OK. Tomorrow night, wife and I are meeting friends for backyard drinks and cigars. I may clean some junk out of the garage, before the heavy rain starts on Sunday. Monday will probably just be relaxing with the wife and kid. Last day before school starts. :-(

[IggytheBorg]

Rains completely missed us. Got nice and toasty and had a great time with those friends on Saturday. Cleaned out the garage and painted some stuff for my wife. It was cloudless and 80's Sunday and today. Took the kid to the annual Italian fest at the local parish Sunday night and played some games, and met up w/ some of his classmates' parents this afternoon. He had friends to go on the rides with, which is nice since my wife refuses to do it and I hate it. Carnival food, perfect weather, and back home by 4:00 to finish gearing the kid up for the 1st day of school. I love that they do this thing every Labor Day. It kind of takes the sting out of the end of summer for the kids.

[JLynnCarr]

Tim and I had a blast at the Smithereens concert in Asbury Park. It was windy, but pleasant at the shore. Also, rumored to be in Asbury at the same time we were were Danny Devito (confirmed, he visited the Silverball Museum) and Steven Spielberg.

No, we didn't see either star. Instead we rocked out to some good music.

[BillyG]

It rained off and on all week. Tons of thunder and dark skies. Very little rain. Played like 100 hours of Warcraft. Went on a date to a Gene Wilder thing at the Drafthouse, and the girl is cool but her insane love for Disney shit is kind of turning me off.

[Matt]

Just got back from Duluth. We ended up spending a large chunk of the day yesterday (Sunday) at Gooseberry Falls...it was AWESOME. Should have pics to post soon.

[Timothy225]

Jen, her sister and I did have a great time Saturday night, watching the Smithereens rock the house at Wonder Bar. Rumor hath it that Asbury's favorite son, Danny DiVito was on the boardwalk nearby, as was Steven Spielberg, allegedly. Would've dug it if they showed up at the show while we were there, and might've earned me some coveted AndersonVision cool points.

The night started under the watchful eye of Tilly, Patron Saint of Asbury Park from days of yore...


I shall curse the fact that I missed Big Pussy himself on Friday night, though. Would have been glorious.

First up was John Caspi and The First Gun, a local legend, who delivered a pretty tight set, all things considered...



Next up, the Scotch Plainsmen, fronted by the Smithereen's own Pat DiNizio (big dude in the hat - Pat got fat, yo), and featuring his best buddies from way back when. Their set was all covers, under the theme "Songs We Wish We Had Written." If you're a fan of Creem and Ginger Baker's Air Force, you were good for the night.



On to the Smithereens themselves - they haven't lost a step after all this time. Since they were playing over two nights, they played a sizable chunk of their back catalog, with much more to come the following night. Alas, we weren't able to go Sunday (damn Tropical Storm Hermine, who wound up pulling a no show, freaking folks out for no reason), so we missed "Blood and Roses" and "Girl Like You", but we did get tunes like "House We Used To Live In", "Only a Memory", and "Blues Before and After", so it was all good.



Me and Pat sharing the second of two moments, across the crowded floor (we exchanged smiles and thumbs up after the Scotch Plainsmen's set)...



The crowd was pretty good, well in the 40+ range, with some youngsters sprinkled here and there. The early 20 something foursome next to where I was standing split into couples early on. Couple closest to me was getting their buzz on, with the girl giving the guy some serious "come hither" looks as he was rubbing her back and shoulders, swaying in sync with her to the music.

Something must've happened soon after, as she got kind of serious with him, then bolted out the side door next to us. Very likely to hurl. Her date just stood there and watched the band play, looking glum. He should've gone after her instead, thereby earning points and possibly some noonie cookie later. Faux pas, my friend. Faux pas.

Seriously, if any of you get over to Joisey, a trip to Asbury Park is a must do. Lots of great clubs here, with EXACT times as to when bands are going to perform, so you don't miss anything. Plus we have a swanky pinball museum, art galleries, breweries, and restaurants galore. Plus historical clubs like the legendary Stone Pony and the Saint, followed by Asbury Lanes, Wonder Bar, the Paramount, and so on. You. Are. Invited!

[JLynnCarr]

And Tim and I will happily provide escort and touring services, which may include a home-made meal by me with a killer dessert (also made by me).

[Matt]

Count me in!

[Abraham Smashington]

went day drinking at the mall on Saturday, got free shots at the bar at Masu which was awesome, spent a ton of money on Lego sets (picked up the Cinema and Ecto-1) and bought a bunch of movies and games.

Sunday was relaxing inside day while Lesley went to the outlet mall to shop

Yesterday was relaxing outside day with grilling and drinking.

Fun stuff and now I'm sad cause Lesley leaves tomorrow and doesn't come back until Sunday.

[Matt]

went day drinking at the mall on Saturday, got free shots at the bar at Masu which was awesome,

Did you get Jonathan at the bar at Masu? Shaved head? if so, that guy's great...one of the best bartenders around.

[Abraham Smashington]

yeah, we never sit at the bar because I hate eating food while making eye contact but the mall was stupid busy. They must have new management because the mousy white dude running around acting like a manager was TERRIBLE along with the shitty new hostess and they told us to come back in like 20 mins (as we first went it was packed) and it wouldn't be packed.

Well we came back and there was a line and the hostess kept flaking and would only talk to the first people in line and would just leave the rest of there with no direction. Jonathan beckoned us to the bar, bitched about the service and hooked us up with free shots after we just kept ordering them.

Kitchen service was terrible, they fucked up my wife's ramen bowl but because we are regulars we knew exactly what it was missing and mentioned it to Jonathan. He laid the smack down on the kitchen and fixed our shit.

[Matt]

Jonathan is the man. I can't believe that a better place hasn't snatched him up, as he's everything that a bartender should be. He knows his shit, he's fun to engage with, and he REMEMBERS people. Any place would be lucky as hell to have a tender like him. Why he's still there baffles me...he must have some sort of stake in the place.

We always sit at the bar if he's there. Great guy.

[Abraham Smashington]

for sure man. If we see him at the bar next time we'll totally sit there.