2002-01-30|3:12 p.m.
A few exciting things happened over the weekend. Friday night I saw Wesley Willis. I cleaned my room and house on Saturday. And on Sunday, A got his car towed and J came to visit me.
Wesley Willis was super. At first, I insisted on not going up to get head-butt by him. I read about how head-butting people was his way to get to know strangers, and I feared his rejection. Finally, A convinced me to go get a ticket stub signed by him for our friend R. I thought this would be ok with me, since everyone I saw that went up to his table who got head-butt had to ask for it. I thought I would simply just not ask for one. Well, as soon as he signs it he looks up at me.
"Come here, I'm gonna give you a head-butt."
"Ummm, ok," I say nervously and inch down towards him. He head-butts me softly. Throughout the head-butting he asks me to look him in the eyes. I try my best. Towards the end of it (about twenty or so of them), he asks me to growl the words "rock and roll."
"Say raaaaaawk!"
"RAAAAWK!" I yell (ok, maybe I yell like a mouse, but that is about as loud as I am going to get).
"Say roooowwwl!"
"ROOOOWWLL!"
This goes on for a protracted time, and I wonder why no one else had to perform for him as long.
Then he spits up into a tissue as I leave, and the crowd around me expresses their disgust. I immediately feel embarrassed for him, but notice he doesn't care or even bother to notice. I feel embarrassed for being embarrassed.
Hours later when he plays, I notice the real reason that most people go to see his shows that jcreulty points out so well in his diary (yes, this is a advertisement plug: read the boy's diary he is amazing). Like going to a circus, people go to see him to gawk at a music making, schizophrenic funny-man. I feel betrayed for him and in that instant I realize that I am simply feeling emotions for him, instead of valuing his ability to ignore these forces. Where someone like me moves throughout the world with trepidation, in this fear of insulting, hurting, disgusting, and annoying my peers, Wesley Willis transcends these things. I don't even want to know if he rationally does this. Maybe it is being out of his mind that allows him this detachment, but it doesn't matter. He will always be more honest about himself than I ever will.
He begins to play "Rock and Roll McDonald's" and tells the crowd (who has been chanting this song's title the whole show), "Here, this is so that you will all shut up."
Wesley Willis is brilliant.
At the end of the show, he says, "Here is my encore," and never leaves the stage. Between him and Built to Spill (who had no encore), I see how ridiculous encores are. Every band has one. It not some special gift the band gives to their audience by coming back out and playing a song or two. It has almost become some arrogantly previously planned expectation.
Wesley Willis is brilliant.
J called on Friday night while I was at the concert to tell me that he wanted to come up to use my computer and hang out a bit. I get the message on Saturday morning and call him back. We decide on Sunday and T and I clean the house.
A decides to stay that night, and we notice a note on his car later in the evening as I park my car next to his. The note says something like, "Your car will be towed at 8 AM if not removed from parking lot. All residential vehicles are not to park in visitor parking." Apparently, the manager of our park sent out a notice to the residents stating that we couldn't park in the visitor parking. Well, A doesn't live there and we figure that she is just being a pain as usual. So, A and I decide, since there is no parking left in my driveway, we'll wake up before 8 and move the cars.
Bright and early Sunday morning A and I wake up at 7:45 to move our cars. A's car is gone and my car has the teeth of a tow truck in its bumper.
A runs to block the guy from hooking my car up to the truck and T jumps in it to move it away. The tow guy threatens to kick A's ass and calls the police.
Minutes later, the police come and tell us not to yell at tow drivers, we agree with this and all go inside.
Now A is trying to take the manager of the park to small claims to get his 215 dollars back. She is such a bitch.
Then, J comes over later and types up his letter to his company to try to save his job. We hang out all evening. All through the night there is this strange anxiety over both of us, this sort of nervous excitement that quickens the pace of the evening. We both notice it. In fact, we both notice a lot mutually. Our observations are the same tempo throughout as we listen to each other articulate it better than the other does. I feel better than I have in a long time.
Word of the Day: tantamount- equivalent in value, significance, or effect