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| From left to right: the Boss’s son, the Boss, Tom Gabel. Photo courtesy of the author. | | AGAINST ALL ODDS - PART 1Against Me! On the Road
Tom Gabel is the singer/guitarist of one of our favoritest bands ever, Against Me! What follows is a diary he kept on tour with his band across the US and Canada a couple months ago.
 EBRUARY 22: DRIVING NORTH ON I-75, 1:34 AM
It’s the second night of tour. We played the State Theatre in St. Petersburg, Florida. The last time we played there was with the Bouncing Souls in 2005. Or was it in 2004? I had this same problem earlier today, remembering the year an event took place.
Before leaving Gainesville this morning I went with my fiancée, Heather, to the Alachua County Courthouse to get a marriage license. I had to fill in what the year of my divorce was (I was married once before). I knew the date—January 11—but the year?
And then I think I heard Jackie (the woman who works in the marriage-license department of the Alachua County Courthouse) snicker as she typed the date of my divorce into her computer. Fuck you, Jackie.
My neck is killing me. It’s “rock neck”— whiplash from the first two shows. No matter how much you practice, nothing can really prepare you physically for playing live.
Both tonight’s and last night’s shows sold out, both great energetic crowds. My ears are ringing.
FEBRUARY 23: DRIVING NORTH ON US 441, 12:34 PM
I wanted last night to be so much better than it was. In fact, every time we’ve played the 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia, I’ve walked away from the club feeling unsatisfied. Not to say that the 40 Watt isn’t one of my favorite clubs in America. It is. The people who work there are out-of-their-way friendly. The sound onstage and from the crowd perspective is great. The room is a comfortable size, with a capacity of 800. The backstage has three individual rooms for bands, two bathrooms (which is amazing), and a little common room with couches and a coffee table. A couple blocks away from the club is the Grit, one of my favorite restaurants. All of this should equal a great time every time.
Maybe it was the fact that the previous two shows were so full of energy that they made this one pale in comparison. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I haven’t slept for more than four hours in six nights. Maybe it’s the stress of trying to finish mixing our new record while starting a tour. Or maybe it’s something else, like the fact that my veritable stalker was in the audience tonight.
See, I slept with a “groupie” once. It happened a few years ago. I wasn’t yet divorced but I was estranged from my ex-wife. The girl’s name was Kathy. She had been following us around on tour for a couple of weeks. We had been introduced to her through a friend of a friend of a friend. Kathy was moving to Gainesville. She had gotten a job as a nurse at the hospital. One night after we were back in Gainesville, we went to the Top for drinks. Afterward we went back to my house. Horrible, sloppy, drunk sex ensued. I remember she started laughing when I was on top of her. Neither of us got off. I eventually just gave up and went to take a piss, then passed out immediately.
The next morning was stereotypically awkward. When she asked if I wanted to get lunch, I told her I had errands to run, which I did. I told her I would call her later on. Which I did not. I also made a point of not picking up my phone when she called later that evening, and all the next week, and sporadically throughout the next month. I just pushed the incident out of my head and left again on tour.
So we were coming through Florida a few months later at the end of a tour. I called an old high school friend to see if she needed me to put her name on the guest list.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m coming to the show with your girlfriend.”
“My girlfriend?” I asked. I was confused.
It turned out that Kathy wasn’t a nurse at all. She was working at Calico Jack’s (it’s like TGIF or Ruby Tuesday’s, but even more depressing). My friend from high school also worked at Calico Jack’s. Kathy had convinced my friend that she was my girlfriend. She told her that I sent flowers on Valentine’s Day and that I cooked her a spaghetti dinner. Oh, and I was apparently not only paying her rent—I also helped paint her apartment. At least she made me sound like a nice guy. Since I was away on tour, my friend never thought to question it. She just took Kathy’s word. When I found out, I called Kathy, asking her to stop lying to people about me.
Back to the present now: Yesterday before sound check, our drummer, Warren, told me that Kathy had left him a voicemail saying she was coming to the show in Athens. GREAT.
I was standing on the side of the stage watching the River Boat Gamblers’ set when by chance I looked into the crowd and there she was, peering over the top of someone’s head. Hiding herself in the crowd, staring at me. Then she stood right in front of me while we played. Can you be any more creepy? I was convinced she was going to pull a gun and shoot me midsong. I could almost hear the crack of the gunshot breaking through the distortion of the guitars. I was just waiting to feel the impact. Luckily I made it off the stage without any new holes in me and got the hell out of there.
Look, I realize where I was at fault in the situation. Not calling her and not answering her phone calls was a jerky thing to do. But her posing as my girlfriend was just psychotic. I hold no grudge, but does she have to still come out to shows?
Anyway, maybe that had something to do with the irked feeling I had when I left the 40 Watt.
TOM GABEL
TO BE CONTINUED:
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| NIGNOG, on Dec 7, 2008 wrote:
i went to that show in columbia when i was 14, and ended up with a footprint on my neck.
one of the best shows i’ve been to, love against me! | | |
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