The end of an era...

Warning: This is a sad post...

On Monday afternoon, I ran into somebody that I haven't talked to for months while attempting to sell some books back to my school's book store at a return rate of about 2% (Seriously, I was offered $2 for a book that I would have payed $35 for had I not stolen it..>_>). But I digress...

So this guy runs an open mic night in Trenton at a bar/venue called the 449 Room. If we go back in time a bit, from December 2006 to May 2007, I played guitar at this place at least twice a week. Monday nights were the open mic, I'd either go alone to play Justin King-esque solo material or do improvised jams with my old band. Wednesday nights were blues jam nights with my friend Jim Arkus, though that never really got off the ground...

Getting back to my story, Matt (the guy who runs the open mic, not me speaking in third person) tells me that the 449 Room is shutting down as of January 1st 2008. It took me by complete surprise, seeing as I hadn't played a show there in months (come to think of it, I haven't played a show anywhere in months, HBoO keeps me really busy), so I was shocked to hear of it's soon-to-be foreclosure. HBoO noticed that I was visibly upset after the encounter, but she just didn't understand how I felt about the closing of a venue at which I once performed regularly. So, long story short, I ended up playing at the last 449 Room open mic night, and it was pretty cool, even though none of the old regulars were there...

So, without further ado, a list of thanks/shout-outs/good memories...

• Thanks Matt, Jo, Kelly, Shane, Bill, Bartender lady, Dana, and all of the other people who came out to 449 Open Mic Mondays.
  
• Jo, sorry I couldn't be a part of all of your projects, I'm just not serious enough of a musician. You are an absolute beast on bass, and a great poet, too.
  
• Mario theme..\m/
• Shane, thanks for letting me sleep on your floor when I had nowhere else to go that night before I went to Africa...
• That homeless guy who walked in and told the crazy stories..wtf???
• That other guy who didn't know how to play guitar but got up on stage and played random notes anyway...
• That guy in the hat who came every week for Jim's blues night...
• Jim, Kate, and Jim's mom, Wednesdays were great, thanks for giving me a great 20th birthday..:-)
• Kelly's hippy van and all that is contained inside (keep on living that dream)...
• And, lastly, all the other people that came out all the time but I couldn't mention them by name, you guys were great...

R.I.P 449 Room...

-Matt