As one of the 65 stops on the There Goes the Neighborhood tour, Davy and Peter were appearing at the Guild Cinema in the University area.
We made really good time, had a few minutes to stop off for a drink at Kellys Brew Pub; an old converted garage where they brew their own, reminded us of the soon-to-be-demolished Dr. Dremo's.
Got our tickets, got our seats. It's an old movie theater, narrow, probably seats only about 120. Around 8:10, with no signs of the event starting, one of the owners came out and told us that Peter and Davy's van had a breakdown. But they were on the way, probably about a half-hour out. To pass the time, they played Casablanca, but with the soundtrack off and the Ramones playing instead.
Sure enough, around 8:40, Davy came bounding in with his bag of stuff. A few minutes to set up, then he started by sharing the day's adventures. Seems that, outside Soccorro, seemed like their van had a flat tire. But, upon examination, discovered that the axle was glowing red and smoking, and the wheel was at an angle. Already running late, they called a towing company which told them it'd be any time between 1 and 5 hours. But Davy was able to get a ride, from a woman who pulled over to see if they needed help. She went out of her way, driving him in the van she lived in (and sometimes had raised her daughter in) up to Albuquerque. She declined Davy's invitiation to stay for the show; she was already late for her bridge game.
So he launched into readings from favorite found stuff, from a few "greatest hits" to things that he was given on the tour. About a half-hour later, Peter made it — the tow truck had picked him up and they made good time into town. He set up his acoustic guitar and played three songs based on found material. Like the spoken word parts, it was mostly funny, but also a bit poignant, given some extra weight by one-man-and-a-guitar delivery.
Davy rounded out the show with a piece he just wrote for a magazine about growing up with a deaf mother. He noted that when he was commissioned to write the article, that it was probably expected he would turn in a sentimental, touching piece. So he chose to write about how he and his family took advantage of her deafness for all sorts of mischief, and ultimately got caught.
Like the found stuff he reads, the article was mostly funny; laugh-out loud at spots. But in the end, was a very personal glimpse into others' lives. There's plenty of humor, but there's also points where you connect, maybe seeing a bit of yourself or your life in there.
It's a really simple premise — collecting and reading notes, lists, letters that are found. But it's amazing the mileage they get out of this "communal art project." Mostly, it's played for laughs. But there are moments that really get you.
After it wrapped, we got to meet Davy briefly and get him to sign our Found book. It was late, but there was still time for dessert at Flying Star, where we met up with Jeff for a few minutes.
(Some of you may remember when Monica was "Find of the Day" a while back.)
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