Momentarily
Tuesday night we went to see Jonathan Richman in concert.Note that I said "went to see"--that is, we "went." We didn't actually "see." He was playing at the Cactus Cafe, which is a great but small venue for live music on the University of Texas campus. Too small, on this night, because we couldn't get in.
Bummer.
On the way home, we decided to stop at Amy's Ice Cream. Amy's is another in a long list of Austin institutions, famed for their tasty ice cream and wacky and eccentric counter help.
We walked in and I was looking at the flavor list (on a backboard behind the counter) when Gloria nudged me and said "He's playing Guitar Hero." I hadn't even noticed, but Guitar Hero II was set up and someone was playing. One of the ice cream scoopers, as it turned out, who seemed like a nice guy. He was a good player, too. And less than half my age.
I've never played in public before, not even at a Best Buy display. But we were the only ones in the store besides the scoopers, so after he finished I decided to play Jessica.
He had been playing on Hard difficulty, thankfully, not Expert.
In spite of being slightly nervous, I 4-starred the song. And it felt good--I really felt locked in while I was playing. When I finished, the scooper guy said "That was awesome!'
Old guys get graded on a curve.
Then I ripped through Tattooed Love Boys and 5-starred it, by far the best I've ever played that song.
We were walking out of Amy's and I was teasing Gloria. "They'll tell the story of the old man who came in and shredded Tattoed Love Boys," I said.
"Yes, and it will turn into an urban legend. In two weeks they'll say it was Mick Jagger," she said.
"Time seemed to slow down," I said dramatically, momentarily a plastic guitar imitation rock god.
"Oh, it definitely did for me, too," she said.
End of momentary god status.
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