I meant to post about the Joe Pernice show last week, but you know, life happens and I don’t have infinite hours to write this nonsense. I found myself having dinner with two of my favorite women in the world, one just released from Typhoid quarantine and the other a refugee flood victim. The pair seemed to be having a good time when suddenly both of them attempted to dump me simultaneously. After some guilt-inducing banter, Barb decided to stay for the show. (See us in the back corner?) I don’t think she was sorry.

Joe Pernice is a poet with a voice and a skill for arrangement that can make a song about napalming a village of little girls and bunny rabbits sound beautiful. (Note: Joe doesn’t have such a song.) I had forgotten about my Ray Neades post a few weeks ago when Joe mentioned Ray and played my highlight of the night, “Grudge Fuck” in his honor. Again, the title sounds pretty horrible, but it’s actually a beautiful song, albeit a “little stalkerish.”

One weird thing was a very loud request for a song off the Pernice Brothers 1998 debut “Overcome By Happiness.” Joe chuckled at the request and then launched into about 30 seconds of just nailing it, before suddenly stopping and saying, “That’s it. That’s all your getting.” I guess maybe the woman with a drink in her hand didn’t die in the garage this time.