Thursday, November 1, 2012

Song of the Day - Day 717

Today's song is...


Epic Fail Baloney Sandwiches Jingle



Here we have a very short song that is very near and dear to my heart. I don't think I was actually there for its first performance, but I was definitely there for the second or third in Chicago last fall. And from that point on, it was firmly linked to my whole experience on that fall tour. It was the running gag, that most of the audience didn't realize was a running gag, but I saw night after night. Which is one of my favorite things about going to so many shows; that feeling of being "in on the joke."And to see that joke actually appear on a slightly inexplicable YouTube video was even better.

But the real reason this song is so dear to me can been seen in the following picture.

TMBG 10/30/11 #83

This is my own personal, authentic, original, one-of-a-kind, brand name Epic Fail Baloney Sandwich. If you follow my Twitter or Facebook, you may have heard some of this tale before. If not, here's my story.

So I'm at the show in Iowa City just about a year ago. It was the last show I was attending for a while, as the tour was heading west and I had to go back to work to prep for the holiday season. After retiring it for a while, the Avatars had once again pulled out their Epic Fail Baloney Sandwiches routine. It was a fantastic show, all in all. I think some of it even made it onto the At Large live album. Anyway, after the show, I am hanging out by the stage, as usual, waiting to snag a setlist. Victor, the stage manager, had been very good about supplying me with set lists the whole tour and tonight was no exception. But this time, after several years of silent setlist supplying, he actually said something to me. Having never heard him speak before I didn't even realize he was talking to me and he had to repeat himself, asking if I had gotten a setlist the day before (I had, but it had been supplied by Mr. Brunette). I told him as much, and he paused for a minute, before telling me he had something for me and then disappearing back stage. I waited for several minutes while most of the crowd cleared out and had a few awkward moments when Marty came out to hand out drum sticks at the front of the stage (oddly, he had a hard time finding people to take them), and I was still standing there with my setlist, looking more like a creepy hanger-on than usual. Eventually, Victor returned, taking a rather circuitous path around the stage before finally coming back over and presenting me with something in a white plastic bag. He turned back away, without so much as a glance back to me, as I was left puzzling over this package in my hand. The first thing that I noticed was that it was oddly cold. And the second thing I noticed was the "Epic Fail" label showing through the bag. It didn't take me long to figure out what it was and start laughing so hard I could barely stand up straight. Because of course, I had been presented with my very own Epic Fail Baloney Sandwich. The one and only.

As an afterward, I later learned that Victor was so nervous about how I would react to this "epic" practical joke, that he never even looked to see my reaction, and didn't know how entertained I was by it until weeks later. Trust me, I loved it and I don't think I will ever get a more perfect present. And in case anyone was wondering, no I didn't eat it. It is actually still in my freezer, probably long since turned to a block of ice, but I just can't bear to throw it out.


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