By Rebecca Schoenkopf

New Fi were just about done Saturday night when we and Kelly O and the Dibs‘ Chris Hanlin and other such folk ran into the Pike Saturday night, so Dan Lo Fi Champion (he’ll always be Dan Lo Fi Champion to us) and Roberto and . . . um, Billy? Sean? And that other dude? extended their set by a song, just for us. All of us.

We were a little tired from yupping out in the wine bar of the speakeasy in the back room at Morry’s for Hanlin’s birthday alongside Wink Musselman and Merrilee and Mickey (Big Mouth) and JAR and pretty much everyone we ever met when we lived in Long Beach (cue the Beatles) all those years ago. It seemed extravagant, Morry’s, all that fancy for art teachers and musicians. But Stephen Hodges was there at another table, and if he’s allowed, we’re allowed, and if Joni Mitchell can bitch about wanting to get back to her clean white sheets in Paris cause it’s been too long since she’s been scrambling down in the streets (and with beach tar on her feets) then we can have clean sheets and fancy too. Fucking love me some Joni Mitchell, man. Also, the beautiful barkeeps were playing Patty Griffin while being really very sorry about having to kick us out at closing time. No problem, even though we didn’t get to hear her “Making Pies.”
So. The Pike. New Fi were jumping around (for one more song) and then up came Chissum, and New Fi made us stay even though we were tired. “There’s a song called ‘George Bush Don’t Know Shit,’” Dan explained. “And it’s all about how George Bush doesn’t know shit! Just stay for one song, and then you’ll want to stay.”

Well, okay. And up came Chissum, a smallish, roundish man in a bolo tie and cowboy hat, and he played along to synthesizers preset with his beats, like obvious influence Wesley Willis, but on purpose. He played James Bond theme song “Shaken Not Stirred,” and there was something about “Drink[ing] the Black Sperm of My Vengeance,” which was pretty good too, and a song about Cocorenos, which was outstanding. At some point, he forgot all the words, staring as he was at all the pretty girls, then Roberto decided to give him some percussion and fucked up all his timing and shit and we heckled and danced and drank the black sperm of vengeance, and life was sweet.

Tags: Last Night at . . .