I'm with the Band

It was just after 3am and I was on a tour bus. I politely declined as they passed around a bottle of Jack Daniels.

I suppose I should back up and explain just how I ended up on a tour bus at just after 3am last Saturday...

We used to see The Nadas everytime they were in Denver but as we took a cab from dinner to The Walnut Room, we tried to remember the last time we all went to a show. We walked in, got drinks and waited for the band...and waited for the band...and waited for the band. Somewhere after 11pm and after the opening act no one really noticed, the boys took the stage. Later, as I took a sip of yet another vodka tonic, the familiar chords of "Dancing Lucinda" began I pushed my way closer to the stage because damn, I just love that song. Truth be told, the whole set made me rather happy because it included "Diner" and "Carve Your Name" and "Rock Star" and...oh, just go out to iTunes and take a listen for yourself. Anywho, it was a good show and after it was over we headed out front to hail a cab.

I like how I say "we headed out front to hail a cab" as if it happened that way. We did, in fact, head out front but there were no cabs to be hailed as The Walnut Room is not exactly in a part of town where cabs are abundant. So in truth, we headed out front and froze our asses off. We called for a cab several times but to no avail.

Now it just so happens that a friend of mine may or may not have been in Kansas City the weekend before....which as fate would have it was the same town that an "associate" of The Nadas was spending some time. And that friend and that associate may or may not have met via some mutual friends. And that associate, upon learning that the friend lived in Denver, may or may not have mentioned that he would be in Denver with the band the following weekend. And that friend may have mentioned that she would try to make it to the show. And then they may or may not have made out a little bit. So you will be amazed when I tell you that Friend and Associate ran into eachother at the show.

When a cab finally showed up it was only big enough for four of the six of us who went to the show together. So Friend and I stayed behind and Associate was kind enough to invite us back to the Green Room to stay warm and hang out with the band. Truth be told, I didn't really want to go to the Green Room because I know the kind of girls who hang out with the band after the show and I'm just not one of those girls. But I figured we would just hang out until the cab called my cell and then we'd be off. The Green Room included pizza and liquor and frequent games of "Turn-Off-The-Lights-And-Change-Positions-And-Then-Turn-The-Lights-on-Again which is amusing after a few drinks.

Anyway, we hung out for about 40 minutes and the stupid cab never showed and so the guys offered to have the tour bus take us to our car on the way to their hotel. This sounded like a great plan to Friend and I and the next we thing we knew we were climbing aboard the bus that read "Templeton Rye Prohibition Era Whiskey" on the side. It smelled a bit like every fraternity house I'd ever been in during college. I settled into the tan leather couch and suddenly felt something under my foot. I looked down to discover an old cd directly beneath the heel of my boot and I picked it up hoping I hadn't done too much damage. From the looks of it, that cd had seen much rougher treatment than the heel of my boot. Everyone else finished loading on the bus and soon we were rambling around the streets of downtown Denver. Everyone was sitting around talking and laughing and suddenly I felt like an extra in "Almost Famous". I so wanted to request a sing along of "California" and I was even going to offer to harmonize. But it occured to me that 1) that would make me even less cool than I already am and 2) I can't harmonize. However, I was fairly certain I would be the first girl to set foot on that bus and request to harmonize with the band. Say it with me now: Nerd alert.

So that brings us to just after 3am on a tour bus last Saturday night.

"You can't just pass the fuckin' Jack," bellowed Mike.

"Oh, but I can."

"Come on, take a drink."

"Can't do it. I had a bad night with Jack in college and had to break up with him. It's never been the same since then," I explained as I pulled my leg up underneath me on the couch.

A few minutes later the bus stopped and I looked out to see we were parked at The Warwick - the hotel where the boys were staying and nowhere near Friend's car.

It was about that time that Jason realized the bus had taken us to the hotel.

"Oh shit, we forgot to drop you guys off at your car."

I laughed as we assured him the concierge could get us a cab. I headed for the door and almost tripped over a full bottle of Templeton Rye partially covered by what appeared to be an old sock. Because what else would I trip over?