Bostonpalooza 2017 – Valley’s Take

There’s just no other way to put this, so here it is: Bostonpalooza exceeded every expectation.  If you were there, you know.  If you weren’t, you better get your ass to Lawlapalooza because if this weekend was any indication of what is to come then…well…we’re gonna need some serious liver conditioning between then and now.  So, for those of you who need it, here’s a recap of what happened from my perspective.  Granted, we’ll probably talk about this on a pod, but this is worth getting out there now, so here it is.

On Friday Meg and I arrived in Boston a little after noontime and got settled at the hotel.  Once we were ready, we took off towards the guys’ place.  When we get in the area, the fantastic Liz and the enigmatic Boston Jess met us with their key to the garage, and we parked and headed up to the room.  A few wrong elevator rides and walks later, the moment arrived: the meeting of Valley, Law, Moreno and Ammon.  In a word, surreal.  There’s something weird about walking into a room of people you know well but have never met, but within minutes and a couple mojitos (based off a great recipe from the Laws) we were soon killing time with Liz while watching at least ten hours of HGTV.  After nap time, we got together, had some REDACTED and took off towards the venue.

Then, it was on to The Harp, the type of place none of us would ever be caught dead in regularly.  But this is The Kicks, so we were there in full force.  Walking through the door and seeing the familiar face of PeteMC was awesome.  The (maybe) piss-drinking drummer was every bit as excited to see us as we were to see him, and we posted up to order some drinks and food.  Soon after the rest of the band joined, including TM and KariTM.  The band was working, but they squeezed in a little time between sets to have a drink and eat some food with us, which was great.  At a certain point in the night, between some serious giggling and shit talk, REDACTED.  I can’t describe this any other way, but for me time seemed to slow down to a crawl.  For a good 10-15 minutes I could not speak at a normal speed, all the while Law couldn’t stop giggling at everything I said.  We made it out of night one without any fights or injuries, so that was at least something.  We all headed back to the apartment but Meg and I peace’d out early – at 230AM – so we’d have energy for the next day.

We wake up and get going at around 12ish for some brunch back in Boston.  We are then joined by the singularly cool Eric King, a guy whom came prepared with some fantastic jerky…but more on that later.  At this point Ammon clearly had gone too far over the edge earlier that morning and headed back to the hotel for some much needed recovery and rest.  We break from the tavern and go with the Laws, Liz, Meghan and myself for a walk to Boston Commons and, eventually, the original Cheers bar.  Place was awesome.  I managed to negotiate a quick visit to the set bar, which was closed for a private function, with the host despite the fact I was decked in my TB12 gear since he was a Falcons fan.  I thanked the guy and told him “They’ll be back, don’t worry”.  We head back downstairs to the real bar that the set bar was based on (got that?) and drink beers in the famous Cheers dimple glasses.  It was the tits, and I went for a Sam Adams, because of course I did.

After Cheers, aka the Bull and Finch, we headed down Newbury Street to visit the famous Newbury Comics.  Newbury is our version of Amoeba Records, or even the famous Tower Records, and worth checking out if you’re ever in Boston.  I had to grab a Rick and Morty shirt and then we took the T back to North Station.  Upon arrival, we realized that North Station was right next to the guys’ apartment, and we headed back to kill some time before returning to The Harp.  At this point, Meg and I got to sit down and talk with Ammon for a bit, which was pretty great.

After a while, Meg and I left to meet our friends Brian and Val for dinner at Boston Beer Works before hitting The Harp.  Maybe we were being too judgy but the busboy/host at the Beer Works was totally eyeing me during the meal.  Not sure if he was offended or wanted a piece of this, but by the end of dinner we needed to get lost.  Que The Harp for round 2.  REDACTED, but drinks-a-plenty.  We get there and The Kicks are holding down tables for us near stage-right, which is fantastic since we can cut through the Jock McF&*#face douchebros all over the dance floor.  We chill for a bit and meet some more friends (JFernandes and his chick) and some family (Meg’s cousin and girlfriend).  Soon after, the rest of the podcasters arrive and we get going.  Hendricks and tonic galore, Eric King almost sleeping through the Kicks set and a PeteMC bighead punctuated the night that, unbelievably, topped the night before on every level.  I got to take a piss with Jim Law twice, and we didn’t even plan it.  I mean what more is there to life now that I’ve achieved this?

The night ends and a few of us go back to the apartment to sober up…until someone pours me a rum and coke that forces me to keep going.  Three or four drinks later we’re eating the previously referenced Eric King jerky, learning all about Kingologists and their beliefs, talking on Facebook Live and doing Boston accents with Boston Jess.  I think we ended up heading home around 430/5AM and grabbing a few hours sleep before noontime checkout and breakfast with Binge to cap the weekend.

We arrive in Cambridge and hit some bar.  To be honest, I don’t remember the name, only that the waiter had no clue what he was doing and that both the freshly squeezed Grapefruit juice and the Huevos Rancheros were delicious.  At this point, it’s Eric King, all of The Kicks, the Laws, ‘Reno and Liz, Ammon, Meghan and myself, and it couldn’t have been a better sendoff.  We walk back to our cars, go our separate ways and end the weekend the way it began, with a drive back to reality.

Bostonpalooza felt like the goal for a long time.  This week was special for a lot of reasons for me and something I really worked hard towards.  While Binge seems to be this nebulous thing where a group of people got together to talk movies with one another, this weekend reminded me that the people behind all these podcasts are what matter, and I’m (Logan) ultimately thankful they’re all a part of my life.  There is nowhere to go but up for Binge, and I hope that Lawlapalooza finds a way to somehow surpass Bostonpalooza.  So, to Law, Boston Jess, Moreno, Liz, PeteMC, MC, TM, KariTM, Pat, DP, Ammon, Eric King, JFernandes and everyone who came out of the woodwork to see us, it’s great to know all of you, and thanks for one of the truly legendary weekends.