The Poison Control Center

NOVEMBER 3 – ALABAMA MUSIC BOX, MOBILE, AL [SHOW #116]

Day 147.  33,136 miles.  Travelled through the chilly rain from Georgia to Alabama.  We return to the Alabama Music Box in Mobile, where we first played in August.  It was dark and quiet along Dauphin Street as we walked up to the front door of the Music Box and knocked on the broken glass.  We recognized the face, now bearded, of Ernie as he opened it and let us in.  Ernie ran sound for that first show and I remember then saying from the stage: “we’ve played fifty shows all over the country and this is one of the best sounding clubs we’ve played.”  We chatted a bit with him and asked if there was another band on the bill.  “Some guys showed up expecting to play, but I turned them away,” he said.  “They only draw the high school crowd who aren’t old enough to be in here.  Plus their band sucks.” So like before, it’s only us playing tonight.  Having some time to kill before the show, we went out for some food.  Wentzel’s seafood restaurant down the street was too pricey, the good Mediterranean place where Patrick and I got falafel last time was closed, and nothing else on Dauphin looked very appealing, so we hopped into the van and wound up at a nearby Hardee’s.  It had been so long since any of us had been to a Hardee’s, and for some reason it came up in conversation that same afternoon so we thought “why not?”  The burgers were good, though a bit expensive as far as fast food goes.  And, like so many fast food chains these days, Hardee’s had gotten real stingy on the ketchup.  Our waitress gave us a small handful of packets for Dave and Devin and I to split, and when Devin went back to the counter a moment later, the waitress gave him a few more, instructing him to “bring back the ones you don’t use.”  “Man, when I used to work at Hardee’s (in high school),” I begrudged, “we had an entire counter full of ketchup, mustard and a whole assortment of condiments and fixings.  Those days are gone.”

After we loaded into the Music Box, a small gathering of people began to show up.  Sydney, the girl we met the first time around, arrived and we caught up with her.  Sydney has been so wonderful to us, we hit it off with her last time, having fun at the Music Box, and staying up all night singing karaoke at Gabriel’s.  She told us that she was hyping up this show and had invited a lot of people to come out to see us.  And the show went well.  We saw a few familiar faces, and a host of new ones.  There wasn’t a huge turnout, but the folks who were there were having fun.  After we finished and the bar closed, we once again walked down to Gabriel’s for another long night of Karaoke.  It was a long night for us, especially Patrick, who was once again the DD.  It was nearly dawn by the time we left the club, and with no place to stay, we jumped back into the van and drove to Jackson.

The word we heard:  “Everything you’re telling me I get a zero.  I mean, you’re cute as hell but conversationally…I get nothing.” –Craig, hitting on Joe at Gabriel’s.

Pictured:  The PCC guitar arsenal (guitar caddy courtesy of Joe Nichols)

The host with the most:  Sydney

Our friends the bartends:  Genevieve / Coco

Sound Techs we respect:  Chris / Ernie

We adore the door:  Nicole / Tom

Patrick:  at least you won’t go broke singing Karaoke