Territorial Pissings

One of the perils of being in a foreign country is, despite the advances of the internet, you miss out on certain news items that, while perhaps not having large popular appeal, are certainly worth your attention. So apologies for being two months late on this, but here goes. Evidently a Jersey City city councilman peed from the balcony of the 9:30 Club in D.C. onto the audience below at (wait for it) a Dark Star Orchestra concert. Dark Star Orchestra is a Grateful Dead tribute band, and one of the most commercially successful tribute bands in the United States. I don't even really like the Grateful Dead that much, but I have to admit to quite enjoying the Dark Star Orchestra concert that I saw this past summer at Penn's Peak (outside of Philly). One of my theories about the popularity of tribute band concerts is that, for an audience mostly made up of aging baby-boomers, they are far more comfortable experiences than conventional rock shows: the acoustics are better, people aren't smoking pot around them, the seats are more comfortable, they often take place in the suburbs, 25 year-old kids aren't spilling beer on them. However, that theory bites the dust if public urination from elected officials is going to become a part of the tribute band experience. Let's hope, for all of us not seated in the balcony, that it doesn't.