The Sunday after live 8 – Newark and Honestly

On Sunday I met up with my mom and we went to Philly because it was such a great day out. We had some time to kill, so we went to Newark so I could visit Max and Rob – I didn’t know that they would be working, but it’s a summer Sunday at Rainbow, what would change ever? On my list to buy was the new Ryan Adams, Better than Ezra, and and old Ben Folds CD. I walk in and it felt like home. I love my store, it’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. Rainbow is deserving of its own post, but it seriously is the most important entity in my life, more so than riding ever was, more so than relationships, more so than my family aside from my mom. Rob, Max, and I caught up, and I perused the store. Rob took me to the back to show me the newest Rainbow adventure and Max showed me his new toy on a Sunday afternoon. Some things will never ever ever change and I love it. Some old customers were there and I said hi. I checked out with only one thing on my list, the new Ryan Adams, used instead of new – score!, a book on the rise and fall of fm rock radio, an old letters to cleo album on vinyl, and a heavy heart.

Ahhh, forget it – so much to write about Rainbow wonderfulness so I will do it in entirely different post. Raf and I have been emailing back and forth since I last was at the store and he told me that he was leaving Rainbow…after eleven years. He’s been with Rainbow since he was 18. I left. Charise left. Rob is leaving at the end of July…The only one left of our era from the day we opened the doors in our new location is Max. But there has always been the sense of us never really leaving. We all kinda of figured it will always be there and things with develop, but never really change. With Raf leaving, I thought nothing could make it worse…until Rob told me…that…the store is changing hands. (editors note: I just wrote that line and the first tear fell…writing my real blog about this is going to hurt like hell) He told me who and why and when and we just stood there staring at each other. It was kinda like when you have a near death experience and your life flashes before your eyes…it was like that, but everything from May 2001 flashed.

Before I could say anything, Rob said it perfectly: “Now there really is no where to turn back to”.

Still shocked, I went to the movies with my mom and we saw Bewitched. When I was younger, I was addicted to Nick and Nite and sitcoms from the fifties and sixties…Dobie Gillis, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Patty Duke, Leave it to Beaver…all of them – so I was stoked for this movie. Though it got ho-hum reviews, I enjoyed it, and I adore Will Ferrell. For dinner, we went to a Wilmington sub shop then dropped me off at Morita’s to head up with him and Judy to Asbury Park.

Naturally we stopped at Wawa for coffee and Wawa water. I sat in the front and played DJ with my ipod. I busted out some Hootie. I don’t want to hear it because you all sang along. We stopped at a rest stop and Morita left the keys in the car so I moved his car. He came back and I yelled at him for leaving the doors unlocked and the keys in the ignition because we are precious and could have been stolen! Despite what they may say, I am an awesome navigator. We got to the club without being shot.

We were supposed to be guest listed, but weren’t. When Morita says we are here for Honestly, the door guy said that they already played. What!?! Both the band’s site and the venue’s site couldn’t have been wrong! But they were. And we missed the damn band. We go outside and meet up with them and talk for about a half hour. We heard what could have been gun shots and Matt and Justin immediately ducked and covered their head – too funny. Judy and I were soooo waiting for Chris to get Justin’s number. He had so many opportunities too though, since Justin told Chris that he was guest listed for life and that he can just call or email before the show. Chris later said that he didn’t because he knew that Judy and I would react. So instead of seeing them live, we listened to the CD on the way back to Hoboken.