A Night at the Triple Rock with Saul Williams

I could barely believe that I was going to see Saul Williams—the Saul Williams—performing at a small venue where I’d seen a few local artists. It seemed almost out-of-place. He should be performing on Mars. This guy is too legendary in my mind to play the Triple Rock Social Club on a Monday night.

Saul Williams. The man who married classic poetry and hip-hop beats. The visionary who inspired so many lines in my own creative writing. He who wrote and loudly, coolly spoke:

A Night at the Cabooze with Jon Wayne & The Pain

I was told that message of Minnesota band Jon Wayne & The Pain was one of recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. That message was lost on me Wednesday night at the Cabooze as someone’s Pabst Blue Ribbon spilled into my slipper boots and the guys standing next to me nonchalantly sparked up a bowl of weed. It was difficult to zero in on the musical and lyrical composition while drunken frat boys and white neo-Rastafarians assaulted my personal space with their jerky swaying.