Hurray for the Riff Raff

 

On Thursday night a friend of Joel's invited us out to go see a band play for free at one of the McMenamin's hotels downtown. I was in a pretty piss poor mood (emphasis on the poor). It's been a rough month and sadly, I know it hasn't just been that way for me. So instead of jumping at the opportunity, I doddled cleaning up after work trying not to think about how it was my mother's birthday and how I hadn't called her, but that it wasn't because I forgot to.

Eventually Joel texted me to shake a leg and get my ass down there because it was a band I couldn't miss. He had described them as alternative country from New Orleans, which didn't really appeal much to me, but I went anyway because that's what I do. I'm glad I didn't miss it because Hurray for the Riff Raff is my new favorite band. They made me cry at least three times.

This was probably one of the first songs that did it because, honestly, who CAN get enough?

Enough...

The next day I had to take drastic measures to keep my utilities on. The only thing I bought my kids for Christmas this year was a Kindle Fire. It was my compromise on the "WE BOTH WANT IPADS" thing. A compromise that was working really well - not only did they have to share it, but they had to READ in order to get to play games on it. Huge win.

Obviously a huge mistake, too, because I had to take it back to keep the water from getting shut off. I thought December was a real bad, terrible, awful month, but apparently I just hadn't met January yet.

Since my heart was already broken and the concert was free, we went back for more Riff Raff on Saturday night and brought Sage and Tim (my roommates) with us. It was so packed we all sat on the floor and during intermission I begged the band to play my favorite song from Thursday.

Which they ever so graciously did:

My recording is crap, but here are the lyrics. If you know me at all (and how Joel always did my dishes when we lived together), you'll see how this gets me every time I hear it.

WRONG TIME TO BE RIGHT
I woke up this morning
No coffee warming
Oh, it feels just like my head
Is gonna roll

The telephone was ringing
Some fool was screaming
About a man who had a purple dream

Lot a funny people in my house
Well oh my aching head
Who's that sleeping in my bed?
Wondering if my baby's coming home

Dirty dishes in the sink
Ain't no money in the bank
Sure picked the wrong time to be right
Sure picked the wrong time to be right

Everyone just says that love is
Only some passing thing
But I cry all night long
and it ain't no crazy dream

Ever since my baby's gone
My blues went out of sight
Sure picked the wrong time to be right
Sure picked the wrong time to be right

Lot a funny people in my house
Well oh my aching head
Who's that sleeping in my bed
Wondering if my baby's coming home

Dirty dishes in the sink
Ain't no money in the bank
Well I sure picked the wrong time to be right
Sure picked the wrong time to be right

Here's a better version of Sam Doores playing the song with his band, The Tumbleweeds. Who knew I could love country so much?

I was too broke to be able to buy any of their albums, (if only I hadn't picked the wrong time to be right!), but I hope you can. They have a decent amount of stuff on Pandora and iTunes. Some day we're gonna look back and go, "Remember when we saw them at Al's Den!?"

They made an otherwise shitty week pretty spectacular.

Comments

[PK]

You returned your children's only Christmas gift the same month you buy a gym membership for yourself?! Are you kidding me? Your kids deserve better. How could you look into their faces and tell them that they couldn't have their one gift, but you were getting a gym membership for yourself?!