The Poison Control Center

OCTOBER 14 – CLUB VEX, DAYTON, OH [SHOW #103]

Day 127.  29,929 miles.  Having some time to kill in Dayton, we went over to Hauer’s music where Devin brought his guitars in for some maintenance.  He has been plagued by constant string-breaking on this tour.  A guitar tech did some work on his saddles and made some adjustments.  Ashley met up with us there, and we took a walk around the area.  We peeked through the window of Blind Bob’s, a music club that was formerly The Nite Owl where we used to play.  Strolled in and out of a number of shops along Fifth Street, flipping through old record bins, vintage clothes racks, and some used guitars.  We have been on the hunt for Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak album since Chris played it for us at the Garden Bowl.  No luck, but we did come across multiple copies of Peter Frampton’s album I’m In You.  One of the shop owners told us it was the disappointing album that followed Frampton Comes Alive, but sold a gazillion copies anyway.  Asked around for a good Mexican place and everyone said Taqueria Mixteca is the cheapest and most authentic.  We look a long walk to get out there, and when we arrived and I saw cow tongue on the menu, I knew it was authentic alright.  We ordered these gigantic burritos for under $5, and munched away on chips & salsa.

When we loaded our gear into the Vex it occurred to me why the club’s MySpace page was set to private:  the place is a strip joint on the weekends.  As we looked around, there were red lights, leather couches, dancing poles and even a dancing cage right next to where we played.  It was a pretty quiet turnout that night.  The Bartender, Mary, remembered us from our past shows at The Nite Owl, where she used to bartend.  The opening band was a four-piece rock & roll cover band called Good English.  It was made up of three young sisters and a fourth girl.  We chatted with their parents before and during their set.  They had been taking lessons from Hauer’s music and decided to form a band.  They were pretty good, and they seemed a little shy as well.  It was fun to see, and everyone in the place enjoyed them.  Their father told us that they had a couple songs of their own, so we pleaded with them to play one and they obliged.  The closing act was a DJ, Yeti Master, who kept the dance beats going while doing his own singing and rapping on top.  He played late into the night for a small compact crowd of sweaty youths.

The jam in the van:  Kleenex Girl Wonder Pony Oak / The Kinks Something Else / Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga / Nico Chelsea Girl / Guided By Voices Alien Lanes

The word we heard:  “Vagazzle Your Vajayjay” –flyer for an upcoming Club Vex event

Dinner was a winner:  Taqueria Mixteca

Our friend the bartend:  Mary

We adore the door:  Heather

Sound Tech we respect:  John

The fill of the bill:  Good English / Yeti Master

Devin your bandmates will get drunk but you’ll be stuck waitin’ with car keys in hand by the van in Dayton