Sunday, February 1, 2009

Desperately Seeking Jeff Tweedy, Hoppy Ales and a Desiginated Driver (in that order)

God, I'm pathetic. Really, really pathetic.

Let me start at the beginning. Hell, let me start with a topic sentence and a few supporting details.

The People's Republic of Ann Arbor is known for many things. The first of which is the U of M football team. But because I live in Ohio State, I'm not permitted to say anything more under penalty of law.

Ann Arbor is also known as the liberal bastion of the Midwest--kind of like a Berkley minus the sun and San Andreas Fault. So it's of no surprise that during the election, Obama Hope banners were plastered throughout the city.



But being a city after my own Humor, a local business decided to change its banner on the day after the election:




Gotta love that.

Ann Arbor is also a city after my own Hops. Yes, Ashley's has 1,248, 894 beers on tap:









And as you know, I love me my Hops.

Lastly, Ann Arbor is also known for its support of the arts. In the summer there's the Ann Arbor Art Festival, in the Spring the Hash Bash , and in the winter, The Ann Arbor Folk Festival. 

This year the headliner on Friday was My Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. 





Yes, a rocker and experimental musician who once produced a song with 15 minutes of strange electronic synthesizer sounds, headlines a folk festival--gotta love that. 

And as you know, I do love me my Tweedy. 

Especially when he sings Ann Arbor's own original folk classic, I Want to be Your Dog.

But #$&$5w46qir%#$$#%sdf9347343$#&# is it hard to stalk this star!!!!!!

My offer of $5.00 and a photo on my blog only made the guard at the stage door grasp his gut and topple over with laugher.

Needless to say, not meeting this No Depression Star threw me into a deep depression. What could I do except drown my sorrows at Ashley's after the show?

And here's where the pathetic comes in.

I met a few foreigners there and we drank and drank and drank and basically closed the place down. Now I'm used to drinking with the Irish, who get drunk and sing songs such as I'd Love to Bang the Bangles.

But these guys were from some northern European country and seemed slightly more...how can I put it...anal...than the fun-loving and ever-romantic Irish. We ended up staying after hours and setting this up:





But no worries.  Ann Arbor is also the Mecca of Conservation, meaning all those bottles will be recycled.  

As for the Folk Festival next year, I'm stopping at the ATM to get a large amount of cash beforehand and wearing a pushup bra.  

'Cause when it comes to meeting My Jeff Tweedy, I must always maintain:





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More Hops and Hope at Humor-Blogs. 


BTW, gotta love that 59-year old Springsteen, eh?



14 comments:

Schmoop said...

My heart is filled with sorrow. Alas, you did not get to meet your Tweedy. Tears, tiny, tiny tears. Better luck next year. Cheers Meg!!

Unknown said...

That bottle domino display is stunning. Wholeheartedly, I take my hat off.

I'd vote for Bob Hope, dammit. Change!

sage said...

I love the Bob Hope sign! Id does sound like you had too much fun.

Speaking of football and to someone who's probably a Brown's fan... What about them Stillers! And speaking of football and UM... I was there (I even blogged about it) for the Appalachian State game in 2007. Not to be undone, I also made a big deal with Carolina beat the other Michigan team in the NCAA basketballs finals in 2004. Michigan is so desperate for working taxpayers that they haven't yet kicked me out...

Suzie said...

Wow now thats a lot of beer

Meg said...

Matt-Man - Thanks. Next year I'll be volunteering--it's my ticket backstage.

Chris - I love the Bob Hope poster. But really, this Obamicon thing is going too far. Everybody's doing it. Not very original, is it?

Sage - Next time you're in town, call me. I'll keep a stool warm for you at Ashley's.

Suzie - It's really more about the quality.

Irish Gumbo said...

Hops. Irish. Wilco. Beer. Hope.

You - there.
Me - here.

It is to weep. I'll never get there in time...still, save a seat for me! :)

Kevenj said...

Meg that video was a riot!! Ha!

I'll see what I can do to get Jeff to drop you a line.
I'm sure if he knew he had a fine girl like you stalking him, he would drop everything!

for a different kind of girl said...

The Bob Hope sign is awesome. So is the beer bottle dominoes. That's a level of dedication I fear I don't possess in any area of my life!

The Self-Deprechaun said...

Ann Arbor is pretty rockin' can we jointly host a rock festival where Wilco performs for 3 days and it will be a benefit for us in your living room. I'm an awesome groupie. I'll be the assistant TO your groupiness. You have home court advantage.

Meg said...

Irish Gumbo - There is the Jazz and Blues Fest in New Orleans. Wilco will be there, along with hops, hope and ah...gumbo. Call me.

Kevin J - Thanks. I need all the help I can get.

FADKOG - Not even to your vampires?

Self D-Man - Tweedy does do living room benefits, you know. But I think it's by lottery. But come visit Ann Arbor anyway--there's still Ashley's.

A Free Man said...

I know some folks in Madison that would argue with you about which city is the liberal bastion of the Midwest!

Sorry you missed out on Tweedy this time.

Cat said...

Can you believe Bruce can still do the slide? There really is hope in the world.

Meg said...

A Free Man - Two words: Hash Bash.

Cat - Yep. Fifty-nine never looked so damn good!

Amy W said...

LOVE the finale of the beer bottle dominoes! And what is it with Jeff Tweedy?? One of my best friends is completely in love with him, too!

Good luck making it through the 1 million plus ales at Ashley's... sounds like something I, from the other liberal bastion of the Midwest, Madison, could really get my head (and paunch) around. :)