What has Blogging Done for You Lately, or Bonerama Rocks!

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When I started blogging just over a year ago, I had little expectations of what it’d give me. I began for one purpose: to exercise my writing muscle. From that perspective, I have met my goal.

But something happened along the way. I found that I began to look at the things that I do in my day-to-day world through a NOLA lens. I’d think, can I find this store (be it Nor-Joe’s or Angelo Brocato’s) or this event (like Mardi Gras and City Park’s Storyland) anywhere else? Usually, the answer was no. And I took on an even higher appreciation of my city.

That was all fine and good. But the next thing I knew things had taken a turn, a turn had you told me it’d have taken I would never have begun blogging. Had you said, “you will start to meet other bloggers,” I would have been turned off. I am not one to “meet someone through the internet.” And I could never have envisioned me wanting to meet other bloggers in “the real world.”

Never say never, right?

Last night, we took Sun to my cousin’s, and CS, Pete and I headed to Rock ‘n’ Bowl to see Bonerama and meet fellow NOLA bloggers Stacey and Leigh (and Leigh’s husband, Dan).

When we arrived, we realized the folly of our plan: Pete and I don’t post pictures of ourselves and we have only seen very small pics of Stacey and Leigh. We thought we’d spot Stacey straight off selling Bone merch, but we didn’t. Finally, I worked up my nerve to approach a woman and ask, “Are you Leigh?” And she hugged me. Then we all had a good laugh about maybe bloggers needing a secret handshake or something. Then Stacey walked in with the merch and everyone was introduced and spent time talking like normal folks.

Then the band started. How do I describe Bonerama? To begin with, they are a trombone band. Four trombones, a sousaphone, guitar and drums. Their first song lasted 20 minutes. I thought that’d about do them in—all that blowing. But oh, no; they were just getting warmed up. Their collective sound is really unlike anything I’ve ever heard before: it’s smooth and silky; it’s jazzy and energetic; it’s polished and refined.

Then they played Led Zepplin’s “The Ocean.” I swear one of the trombones “sang” the lyrics. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I am not musically inclined and will not be able to do justice to what my ears heard and my eyes saw. What I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I couldn’t believe that it had been since before Katrina that I’d heard live music (I know–from NOLA and not seeing live music could get me deported).

They also looked really good:

And now that you can’t smoke where food is served, Rock ‘n’ Bowl’s smoke-free environment was just a delight. It was liking seeing an old friend. She was mostly unscathed by Katrina and looked like she always looked–funky and very un-self-conscious.

I hope that this is the first of many Bonerama gigs I attend with other NOLA bloggers. So, thanks, blogosphere, for a truly unexpected gift.

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