Whilst in the midst of a round of phone tag that extended the whole evening, Estelle left me a message that forced me to laugh like some crazed Sunset Strip partier as I waited for Carlos outside the Key Club.

"Do you remember that time we saw one of Calvin Johnson's bands play. I can't remember which one. It must have been ten years ago. There was this girl at the side of the stage with headphones on and she was just there dancing during the whole set."

I called back and sang into her voicemail.

"Oh my God, Estelle. You're too much. I forgot about that until now. It was Dub Narcotic. At The Troubadour. Was it with The Makeup? I can't remember. Was it really ten years ago?"

I think the show occurred somewhere around the time that the DJ who would go on to become my boyfriend threw half-rotten pumpkins out of a fourth floor window because Bis' new single "Eurodisco" so compelled him. I can't remember much about the night, but I think it might have been Dub Narcotic and The Makeup. Maybe it was just Dub. Things become a blur after years of clubs. It was definitely the Troubadour because I remember standing by those poles at the side of the stage with Estelle and probably Suzie and maybe Shamus too. I can't remember. All I remember was this girl at the side of the stage. We thought she must have been part of the show. She was thin and very indie. Her hair was long, the same shade of blonde-brown that colored the hair of all of the AYSO diehards in elementary school. Her headphones were huge, perhaps double the size of the ones I wear to DJ and covered in either a light gray or dingy white plastic. Total flea market headphones. And she was there at the side of the stage dancing all night and we weren't sure if she was dancing to the band or something else that was playing in the headphones. It was random, even by the standards of two girls who were prone to jumping on furniture for impromptu renditions of "Dig Me Out" and hung out with boys who threw half-rotten pumpkins out of fourth floor windows.

Labels: Flashbacks