Best Hoboken Adventure (with Thursday and Saturday Overlap)

Before getting started on Friday, it's worth noting that Thursday night I had dinner at one of those Mexican places on 4th street where the food is so much better as leftovers than as dinner with Erin, Karisa, and Josh. I imagined that the outing could have spawned an entire post's-worth of photos and captions, but left the meal with only one quality shot, this one of Erin enjoying her fancy Mexican drink.



Friday night Shane and Jen Holmes came down from DC to see Holly Golightly at Maxwell's in Hoboken. If you've heard me talk about Hoboken, you know that it makes me think of San Diego.



Just don't tell San Diego that I said that.



But you could say that I don't really know Hoboken or San Diego all that well.



Still, there are things in Hoboken that are distinctly Jersey-ish, like the snow-spouting flower in this store window.



And these quality t-shirts for Hoboken tourists and enthusiasts alike.



Also, Hoboken features creepy churches.



And bars that make me think of, you know, San Diego.



And there's an Elks Lodge. I haven't seen the San Diego Elks Lodge, but it's probably alot like this one.



Holly had two opening bands that I used to listen to a bit back in 1995. It's hard to believe that people like the Insomniacs are still together, and funny to think that the great Garage-explosion of 2001/2002 completely passed over all my "favorite" garage bands from back then.



After the Insomniacs we snuck out for some surprisingly decent sushi.





We still made it back to the club in time to catch most of the Woggle's set. The Woggles do not concern themselves with the line most bands draw between stage and audience and performed a great deal of their set from the middle of the club, which often surprised the less-attentive concertgoers.



When the King of the Woggles tells you to "get down", he means it.



Dude was old, but really had some energy in him, like a cleaned-up Lux Interior.



Eventually the entire band (except for the drummer, of course) was in the audience.



The Woggles were surprisingly great. I'd see them on their own if they ever come around.



Back in the fall of 2002 I saw Holly Golightly in San Diego. In all honesty, it was a pretty lousy show and it didn't seem like she played a single song that I knew. However, Friday night's show at Maxwell's was excellent and a near-complete tour of all of her greatest hits.



Is Holly married to the bassist? Isn't that the rumor? Or is she married to a Greenhorn? Or am I making this all up?



Over there on the left playing guitar is Bruce Brand, the drummer from Thee Headcoats. Dude is hilarious. There were a fair number of Headcoats and Hangman Records t-shirts in the crowd. I want a Hangman Records t-shirt.



Jen was experienced a total superfan explosion all night. She was well into the show and got Holly's autograph after the show and they had a little chat and everything.




As it got later the crowd thinned out quite a bit and it wasn't a trick getting closer to the stage.



So many bottles of water were bought from the bar that night. Like, at least four.



After the show we drove back into town through the Holland Tunnel. We were at my place by 2:30ish, which was perfect, because I had to get up the "next morning" at 4:50.



Saturday afternoon I went with the Holmeses to one of those crazy Indian places on First Avenue, because that's what I do with visitors. (I know, you were expecting us to go to Peep, I mixed it up a bit.)



I've become nothing but another East Coast Shark Attack statistic.



Our waiter was indeed appreciative that we chose his restaurant from all the options.



It was great having the Holmeses around for a bit. Who knows, maybe a year from now I'll be reporting on visiting them in lovely Albania.