Cleveland (Didn't Rock)

Errands needed to be done before we could leave Chi-town... but didn't we get ensnarled in a streetfull of pre-Pride Parade happenings. I felt bad, because our car was totally in the way. The Parade hadn't actually started, it was just getting set up. What a huge, lively event it was going to be. Good for Chicago!

We drove a long way to get to Cleveland, and were going to check out our final show in the USA. We got to the venue, and it was nice. Some cool people there took us into their homes so we could check our e-mail. We got a chance to rest in a nice, air-conditioned room. Sounds great!

Until we found out at the last minute we would be seeing a local band with a completely ridiculous, offensive name. Think of a very infamous racist term starting with a mid-alphabet letter. Now make it plural and add a "The".

We had no idea about this until quite a while after we arrived at the venue. What was up with this? Were these white guys? (yes; a white guy) Is he racist? (no; he's just trying to "deconstruct" and "reclaim" the word).

I have limited computer time, so I won't get into a big rant about this; we discussed it at great length. You can't reclaim what can't be used against you. I'm all for open discourse about this word, but naming a "50s rockability" band after it is just absurd. We arrived at the consensus that we would not stay for this show. We apologized to the (very nice) bar staff, who knew as little about this as we did, then we got the fuck out of Dodge.

Now we're back in Canada.