Happy Fathers Day to all the Dad’s out there, especially my Dad.

There was a thread on twitter this morning asking people to share their favorite sports memory of their dad. For me it’s easy.

July 24, 1979. I was eight years old and my father took me to Fenway Park for the first time. The Red Sox were playing the A’s. Dennis Eckersley pitched for Boston. The Sox won 7–3. Dwight Evans hit a monster home run over the screen in left (which doesn’t exist anymore). Fred Lynn made a diving catch in center field. The only thing missing from the script was Jerry Remy was injured and didn’t play.

It was the seventh inning. The Sox were up 3–2. There was one runner on base. My father had told me a few weeks before that Yaz had hit his 399th home run. I didn’t really get the significance of that, but he told me that 400 was kind of a big deal. We were sitting behind the Sox dugout. I can’t really remember how far back we were. I don’t remember if we were under the roof or not. I don’t think so, but I know we weren’t that close. We probably were. I was eight years old and it was my first time there so I felt like I was practically on the grass. Everything looked bigger and smaller at the same time.

When Yaz stepped up to the plate the crowd got pretty excited. It had been almost a month since his last home run and everyone was hanging on every at bat. My father yelled out, and I’ll never forget this, “Come on Yaz, I can feel it in my bones!” Yaz hit the first pitch Mike Morgan threw and that was all I saw. The little kid sized me had my view blocked when every single human being in the stadium jumped to their feet. I caught a very brief glimpse of the Oakland right fielder up against the fence in front of the A’s bullpen. I caught a very brief glimpse of Yaz rounding first. That was it. I know he came out for a curtain call before the first pitch to the next batter, but I don’t think I saw it. He came out for another one after the game as the 30,000 or so fans chanted, “We want Yaz!” and just wouldn’t go home. I saw him wave to the stands. I was probably standing on my chair.

So many things about that night are permanently burned into my memory. Nothing about it though compares to my father actually calling the pitch. That was a little extra awesome sauce poured over a perfect night.

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Originally published at robj2112.wordpress.com on June 21, 2015.

T.T. the Bear’s is my favorite music venue in greater Boston and it’s closing. The bar was bought out by the competition, The Middle East which is also the next door neighbor, and despite an attempt to work out a deal to let T.T.’s stay open under the same management, they are being shut down this summer.

To help give the place a proper send off, Pixies are going to play a one off, unannounced show tonight. Here is the band’s statement:

June 18, 2015 BOSTON, MA — IMPORTANT

Hello

To help bid adieu to Cambridge’s T.T. the Bear’s Place, one of the most iconic nightclubs in the country, Pixies will perform at the venue one last time TONIGHT.

Tickets will be priced at $55.00 and go on sale today at 2:00PM ET at the Orpheum Theatre box office.

They will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis with a two-ticket limit.

All interested must be present when purchasing the ticket as all ticket holders will be wristbanded when they buy their ticket. All attendees must be 18+, will need a valid ID, as well as their ticket and wristband in order to enter the club for the show.

Yes, the ticket price is absurd, and yes you have to jump through a ridiculous number of hoops to get a ticket, but T.T.’s is not what you’d call a big place. I don’t know what the capacity is but it can’t be more than a couple of hundred. Even at $55 and selling at only one location and the whole wristband thing, these are going to sell out in seconds. Seconds, I tell you.

This is one of those weird gown up issues for me. Something I never would have dreamed possible 20+ years ago. When I was a kid I would have slaughtered scores of innocents to get in the door. I would have done anything. Now though, I have a conflict. Given the choice between ditching work to get tickets and then staying in the city all day and then cramming* into a small room to see an awesome (though well past their prime and missing their bass player) band and going to an 8th grader’s middle school graduation ceremony… there is no question. Graduation it is!

Still, this is a super cool move by the band. It’s always great when bands who’ve moved on do something to show that they still remember where they came from. Huge thanks to Los Pixies. Now if they can just get Kim Deal to come back for the night. Also, think they can get Throwing Muses to share the bill with them? Like the old days?

*I went to a show at T.T.’s once where I thought I was going to die. Not really, that’s too dramatic, but it was definitely weird. It was a WMBR Pipeline sponsored show that was headlined by a Zulus reunion. The Zulus didn’t do a whole hell of a lot for me when they were together, and I wouldn’t have gone to this particular show if Chelsea on Fire hadn’t been on the bill. At that point in time Larry and I would have gone to the North Pole to see a Chelsea on Fire show. Anyway, the place was packed to the rafters. There wasn’t a single inch of free space in front of the stage. It was alarming. There were moments when the crush of people actually made it hard to breathe. I couldn’t tell if it was because we were all crammed together, or if there just wasn’t enough oxygen in the room for all of us, but it was definitely an uncomfortable feeling. There was also the simple thought that if someone over by the bar did something stupid like set a fire, all of us were dead. I’m pretty sure this was before the Station burned down, but there was no way a crowd that big in a room that small would have been able to evacuate through the small exits. It would have been a disaster. Since the Station fire all of the rules have changed. I haven’t been to T.T.’s in a long time, but I’m 100% positive the same claustrophobic fear would not have happened today. Don’t let my hazy Zulus memories scare you off of tonight’s show. If you can get there, go and check out the Mighty Pixies. You won’t regret it.