Sonic Youth irrelevant

D. and I are there at the GAMH (gamha) taking in the scene, deciding what to do when suddenly he is there next to us, then behind us, all 6'6" of his rock star frame. Thurston. We know not to stare, we don't stare but we're having heart attacks anyway, silent ones, even though we've been in this same spot countless times. He's just so Thurston.

I am intent on being aloof. I am disciplined at this. D. pushes engagement. She's got her iPhone out and attempts to photograph me with him in the background. I'm dodging it, like, "no! no! don't do that! no way!"

Someone, an Asian guy, is chatting him up in front of the merch table. I do half turns, each time taking in a quarter percent of the vision. Then the Asian guy's camera is out and he's shooting pictures of Thurston and his girlfriend, HER.

Her, the girl who ruined Sonic Youth. HER.

"It's HER." I whisper to D.

We watch Thurston pose, something so odd. We've never seen anything like this, not in 25 years of shows and backstage passes. He's just too cool. And then Her swoops in next to him and he smiles a sexy smile. A really sexy smile, and he grabs Her, and I look at Her in a flash, just a flash, super super fast and she's pretty. Really pretty, and then I'm done. I am now listening and watching Sebadoh again and unstuck from the beautiful train wreck behind me.

"Phew," I tell D., taking a breath like the teenage kid of divorced parents, "that was a bit hard on the eyes."

After the photo-taking, Thurston stands in the audience awhile watching Sebadoh, me 5 feet away from him, remembering 1996. It's been 18 years since I last stood next to Thurston Moore, watching a band.

Then he gets onstage and tears it up so hard, he turns Sonic Youth irrelevant. I know. I can't even believe that's possible. But Thurston plays so hard and so happy, so fucking good...building rooms upon rooms upon rooms of sound...and like it's nothin'...just nothin', "just shredding here for a moment, excuse me, just shredding your eyes out of your head and turning your toes into basketballs. Don't mind me, I'm just Thurston, shredding the shit out of everything and it's nothin."

Peeps couldn't believe it. This Jones is satisfied.  

(Thurston has a muse.)