I arrived at O’Hare airport late this afternoon and met my good mate Dan, with whom I’ll be staying for a couple of days. He’s lived in the States for over 10 years now, firstly in North Carolina and now in Chicago where he is one of the high-ups in a research lab for one of the big pharmaceuticals. He is a nephrologist, doing bafflingly complex (and probably life-saving) work on drug transportation in human kidneys.
Back in the mid-90s, we lived in student halls in Aberdeen then a shared flat with 5 other (male) students. Neither of us really misses the unstable chemistry of adolescent hormones, cheap alcohol and bad hygiene in those places.
But I know both of us had some great times. We were reminiscing tonight about summer 1995 when – without really planning it – he and I hopped on some CityLink buses and followed Teenage Fanclub around Scotland during their Grand Prix tour. After their Glasgow gig (at the Plaza) I remember taking him to a lock-in a pub in Yoker. We were both leathered on Tennent’s lager at the time which may go some way to explaining how he fell for one of the “really sweet” barmaids there. She was sacked the following week for dipping the till.
Tonight he took me to Simon’s Bar, in Andersenville. There were no barmaids there; they sell Schlitz beer not Tennent’s, and the house band (the terrific Western Elstons) are a long way from Teenage Fanclub. We still share a certain look though: 20 years on and separated by the Atlantic, we have merely swapped unruly hair and acne for male pattern baldness and lazy beards….
Nerdy music stuff tomorrow.
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