Friday, May 11th, 2001 - Barnes & Noble

Friday, May 11th, 2001 - Barnes & Noble - No Show Ponies

Friday, May 11th, 2001
Barnes & Noble
No Show Ponies
http://communities.msn.com/NoShowPoniesFanClub

Pushing open the doors and walking into the lovely, new-sprung Barnes and Noble (it still had that new store scent to it), my mom and I both browsed around with about 20 minutes to waste until the No Show Ponies would perform in the café. I skimmed some music magazines for a few minutes, then headed back to the CD section, when I spotted my mom, Logan, & Gwen (local music pals) chatting by the bathroom doors. I frolicked up to them and said hello and we soon continued on over to the café.

My mom and I sat at a round table, close to where the band would be playing, while Logan and Gwen bought some scrumptious beverages. Logan was a little coffee-happy that night, so she definitely had a little buzz o' caffeine. "The Brothers Brown" took the stage (or floor), along with the Shover Bros. Ben had a very cool Ramones tee on, along with his usual rockstar, eye-hiding sunglasses. I noticed that everyone in the band (except Jeff) had flip-flops on…although Jordan was barefoot while drumming.

The set was great! They started things off with "Record Store" and went into both new and old originals, and a few amazing covers (The Replacements, U2, and Van Morrison). A couple of their brand-new-never-played-before songs were "I don't mind" and "Throwing it all away." Both were excellent.

During the first set, Daniel (a friendly English lad whom we had met at Café Venue the last time we saw the NSP) arrived with a wee cappu-mocha-cino-esque cup of some sort. He took a seat at our table, and we all had a lovely time listening to the No Show Ponies blast out their amazing originals. Justin AKA Guns N' Roses t-shirt guy (whom we also knew from Café Venue) was there as well, showing his support for his pony pals. The Barnes & Noble shoppers really seemed to be enjoying the acoustic music. Some amusing people came in and provided us with entertainment. One guy in particular was shouting randomness between the songs, while the whole band exchanged "looks" to each other. We were a little worried when we saw him wandering behind the café counter, helping himself to coffee, but it turns out that he was actually an employee. Phew.

During the break between sets, I browsed the many bookshelves and picked up a copy of Douglas Coupland's "Generation X." I was impressed that Daniel knew who the author was when I returned with the book. Jeff said hello to us, so I gave him Smidgens (little chocolate candies) to deliver to Ben from Melanie (she wanted to bestow these addictive chocolates for them to share). The ponies soon returned for their final set. I glanced around and saw the café tables packed with smiling faces. The ponies played originals from their "Working things through" EP, as well as their older, self-titled CD. If you would like to become an official pony fan, go to http://communities.msn.com/NoShowPoniesFanClub and find out how to purchase their CDs.

After their set concluded, I headed towards the music section in the back of the store. I spotted an album that Jeff had suggested I should buy (The Smiths - "Louder than bombs"), so I picked it up and began to make my way back to our table, where my purse was. Big mistake! An annoying alarm sounded throughout the store, and I immediately scurried back into the music section. The friendly and forgiving employee told me that I had to purchase it in the music section (I thought I could buy it up front). Oops! Embarrassed, I put the CD back in it's "S" section, and I made my way back to the café area. I told my mom, Daniel, Gwen, and Logan how stupid I was because I made the alarm go off, and they were amused. Could I possibly be more of a dork?

I finally paid for the CD, and soon exchanged good-byes with Logan and Gwen, who had to leave. My mom and I chatted with the very friendly Mr. and Mrs. Brown for a while, and then we all went our own separate ways. I wasted more of my money on some computer geek-ish books and we ended up returning home around 11. My mom and I had an excellent night (she really enjoyed their music…I think she might be an official pony groupie now…oh dear).

Unfortunately Melanie couldn't join us, since she was at prom (ick! poor gal!). I definitely missed my local music sidekick Everyone do yourself a favor and go see the No Show Ponies as soon as possible! They'll be galloping (pony pun) to Gullifty's every Thursday night in the month of June, so be sure to join in on the ride (sorry for the puns)!