The Visitor

Years ago, when I was a young lad, I'd typically go out to night clubs and bars four to five times a week. It was part of my routine. Get home from work, eat supper, clean up a bit, write a few hours, then head to Sixth Street (the main entertainment area in Austin) or some other nearby hot spot.

The Continental Club

I wasn't exactly rich, so I'd usually try to convince the guy at the door to let me in without paying a cover because it was late. I was actually pretty successful, partly because most of them knew I was a regular. If I couldn't get in, well, I'd try someplace else because I realized that going out so much could really deplete my funds.

Stevie Ray Vaughn at ACL

They were great times as I heard a lot of really good bands. Many of these were on the way up. Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, etc. often played the small clubs I hit. Some gained momentum here in Austin, the Reivers, Soul Hat, Glass Eye, etc. but never quite made the arena level that they aspired to. I still loved them and often bought their CDs that they'd sell at the back of the club.

Antone's (on the Drag)

So I've blogged about the scene and music, but this is about The Visitor.

Every now and then I'd have a visitor I knew quite well come into town to see me. Often these visits were unannounced. At best, he’d give me a few days notice and would give me a percentage of the chance he'd actually make it.

"There's an 80% chance I'm coming over.”

Although he wasn't as close as my in town friends, nor as wild/fun, it was still pleasant to see him. After all, I'd known him longer than just about everyone else. We had a history you might say.

Let me also mention that I had roommates. Yep, even after I got out of college. I mean, isn't that the best way to save money if you aren’t rolling in the dough? That's why I never said I was poor, as I could split the bills and so afford luxury items like beer. It wasn't until much later that I could afford to live on my own.

Texas Chili Parlor

Anyway, so The Visitor would come over, often on Friday, and me and the roomies would try to get him to go out with us. After some cajoling he'd often relent. I remember hitting The Chili Parlor and Lance and I would enjoy several Magnums (rum and Coke) while he just slowly drank a beer. As we got more enebreated we started to suggest he flash his credit card to impress some nearby females. He was a lawyer and had more bucks than us, so we kept telling him to try and lure them in with his prestige. Guess he wasn’t as “loose” as we were and passed.

Liberty Lunch (drummer is on the bar)

I remember one time I tried to get him to go with me to see The Replacements at Liberty Lunch. Boy, he fought that but finally relented. Once there, he had a great time. He really got into the band, the atmosphere, the cute women.

As the years went by though it got more and more difficult to get him to go out.

“Oh, I think I'll stay here and read the paper and watch the news.”

Jay watching TV the right way

So I gave up. It had become as difficult as trying to pull a tooth and didn’t seem worth my effort to try and entertain him. Of course, I also didn’t think it would be right for me to just abandon him, so as much as I wanted to go hit the night spots, I stayed home. I’d watch TV.

 

The odd thing is that nowadays he says I watch a lot of TV. This sort of bothers me because I really don’t. If you didn’t count the news or sports I’d only watch about an hour a day.

 

It’s perception. He only sees me hanging around the house and watching TV. So maybe he’s right. Plus, now that I’m retired, I tend not to go out at night. I do often go out during the day though. Stop at a brew pub or brewery tap room and grab a beer. I’m not sure I have the patience I did in my youth, so going to see some band who shows up an hour late just isn’t my scene anymore.

 

So, when the Visitor comes around these days, I just hang around with him. Now he might be right about the TV watching. Oh, well, I still have some good memories from the days gone by.

The Visitor and Jay (a few years ago)