At The Hawk 'n' Dove watching "The Speech"

"Pre-game"

"Mid-Game"

Watching...

Watchin the "Response"

Just by chance, I happen to be in DC last night during the "State of the Union" address. I'm like hell, I wanna see how people watch the damn thing up here. I can't say I watch the "State of the Union" more times than not but I am a C-SPAN addict (the "paint dryin" channel) and can usually catch the re-runs on that. Anyways, I go to this famous pub (thanks to friends input) called the "Hawk 'n' Dove". It looks older than it really is (opened in '67). Classic Irish pub on Pennsylvania Ave. . It's where Gingrich, Obama, James Carville and plenty other political typa people have been or held events over the years. I got there early enough to get a seat at the bar. This night was like being at a bar beside a big football game and everyone that was there were the people who couldn't get into "the game". Everyone save one guy that I talked with had some involvement with government. From the typical young interns on one side of me, to the military people on the other side of me to the "staffers" who couldn't get into the "speech" to a really nice guy Gary Flowers who worked for the Black Leadership Forum (actually the CEO who knew a SHIT load about Jazz!). JUST to watch people watch the speech was really something (save a couple of the typical interns who talked as much as watched). You know, I said that I went on this crazy journey to "learn to love music again" but you know what? I think I went to find people with passion (not to say they are not in Nashville anymores). I got into music SO randomly but what drew me in was the passion that people had for it (I'd never found that passion while diggin ditches). There in the Hawk 'n' Dove people had EVERY bit of passion for politics that I've had for music in my past. I just admired the hell outta that. But it wasn't like there was all of this "Jack in the box" jumping up and down and cheering and bullshit that you saw the congressmen doing during the speech. I kind of half expected a pep rally or "we got spirit, yes we do...." back and forth between the 'lefts" and "rights" in the crowd but there really wasn't any of that. They were just listening. Surprisingly (to me), the response and then the response Part II was ignored by half the crowd or I'd bet 40%. Actually, the "response to the response" was for the most part ignored altogether. I went down the road to a coupla other pubs during that part and that was the case there too. I guess the "Big Game" was over for the crowd. The channel that all the TV's were on at this bar was MSNBC. I asked the bartender about that and he said it was the manager who decided that. I would have LOVED to have watched Fox and MSNBC next to each other for some contrast but there you go. That wouldn't gonna happen. I guess I'll just go back to my boring assed C-SPAN in the future.  :) Now back to the music....

I actually saw 3 grown men peeing here at the same time (butt to butt). I was not one of them. I'da waited.