Coffee at Zebulon with Eli ♦ March 26, 2025
Crack Cloud still has it. They evolved their sound but kept their integrity. Their newer music reminds me of early Viagra Boys. It's funny to think of VB having an "early" era, but their last single almost sounded like a parody of themselves, tired. Crack Cloud kept the no-wave funk, my kind of dance music. Frenetic, ecstatic, weird. I invited along Eli, a friend I've kept since we were 12. When we hung out last week, they told me they wanted to attend more shows. My Zebulon tickets were burning an anxious hole in my mind. They were an impulse buy, I didn't know who would join me. I worried I wouldn't invite anyone and decide not to go because I was broke, or maybe I would try to sell them to a Redditor, but Eli enthusiastically joined me.
To get into the show, the tickets were kept on the Dice app. Since I no longer have a smart phone, I got a gaming handheld that runs Android that I bring with me when I go out to shows. The Retroid Pocket 5 looks a lot like the Playstation Vita, black and sleek with dual thumbsticks. But to make it look even more ridiculous when I break it out at a venue, it has RGB around the thumbsticks. My RGB is set to purple. I’ve used it for PSP emulation here and there, but I haven’t gamed on it all that much. I’ve called a few Ubers, and I used the Dice app to get into the Iceage show last week at Pappy and Harriet’s.
I told Eli that Zebulon had an espresso machine at the bar and they got excited. We approached the bar and ordered Americanos. Neither of us really like drinking. We aren't opposed to it at all, but it's never a priority. I feel like Eli is of my people, they always have been. We talked about our experience going to bars and not feeling the need to drink alcohol. We reflected on all the dirty looks we get from bartenders, waitresses, and sometimes even our friends. I like drinking on my own terms. I hate being in a social setting where it feels like there is an “obligation” to drink. I’d rather drink in the privacy of my home. Maybe it has to do with turning 21 during quarantine, or maybe it’s because I refuse to spend $14 on a cocktail or $10 on a beer.
Like everyone else, Eli had heard of the opener, Self Improvement. After their set I still wasn't a fan. I told Eli there were all these bands trying to make no-wave hot. Self Improvement, Gustaf, Automatic. I guess they're more Devocore than no-wave. I like all these bands mildly, but they all lack the texture I desire from more experimental rock. This all leads to my dissatisfaction with "rock music" as a whole. It's been played. It's a solved game. It's over. You literally have to be mentally ill for me to think you are a good guitarist. It needs to disturb the normies in the crowd. I need to see people leaving. It’s fun being the last man standing in the audience of a noise set.
After the show, Eli drove me home. They kept referring to the Google Maps naviagtion as a toxic lover. "She tells me nothing but lies." We missed the exit to Eagle Rock and drove up to Montrose. There weren't any other cars on the road. The on-ramp back was closed off, so I navigated us home on the map without directions. I sent us down Chevy Chase Drive, a long, winding road on a foggy night afterhours. We felt like we were in Silent Hill, or on Mulholland Drive. We saw signs designating this neighborhood as Emerald Isle, ominous enough for us. Everything felt eerie- the tree branches on the side of the road, covered cars, the exterior of million dollar homes. We saw signs for horse crossing and we spoke our imagination, “What if we saw a tall man in a white suit on a white horse?” To make things creepier, Eli never drove faster than 25mph. It felt like an amusement ride. There was a brief moment of levity when we passed the Combination Chevy Chase Library and Fire Station, but it dissipated as we approached the Chevy Chase Country Club on Golf Club Lane. Every turnoff looked like a dark tunnel of fog. Our fear manifested as excitement, embracing the unknown. We laughed the whole way.
Towards the end of the drive I made a reference to a Lightning Bolt song, I really don't remember how it came up, but I asked Eli if they had heard of them. They said no. Boris was playing near inaudibly in the car. "If you like Boris, you should love Lightning Bolt." I noticed a CD player in Eli's car. "When we get to my place, I'll run in and grab you a CD you can borrow."
We pulled up. The first Lightning Bolt CD I found was "Ride the Skies", that would have to do. I ran it back out, Eli rolled down the passenger window. I leaned in with the CD. "If your computer has a disk drive, you should rip it and keep the files," I encouraged. "I'll see you soon." I'm so grateful that Eli and I are hanging out. We both had a rough time growing up and we have overcome so much. We validate each other’s growth. I feel like we know each other so well, even though there was a 10 year gap where we didn't talk. It all feels so natural.