12.11.2006

my etnies, the new concert t-shirt

Remember when concert t-shirts made you feel so good.
No matter where you were or what happened in these shirts, they still made you feel so happy.
I got rid of most of mine in college when I discovered the cute little vintage dresses at the local thrift store. They were much more flattering. I wish I had kept those t-shirts, for pjs if nothing else. They held more memories and sentiment than an entire collection of Christmas ornaments. They would have been great art to frame for my drumming room.

I could tell you the first was an orange Mudhoney with an illustration of a man at a urinal. But I didn't really go to that concert, I snuck it from my sister's room once she left for school. I thought I had fooled them all.

I also wore her Lemonheads, the one with a picture of a hand wearing a mood ring. I think it was an XL and I still had not fully experienced puberty. I imagine I looked gravely thin and ill in that shirt.

My first was a white t-shirt that was so long, the back of it read EMF across my bottom. Not sure if that was an intended effect or not. I worked that one until it had holes and areas were worn transparent. After it was too used, it became the cross county work-out shirt of choice. It led me to a conversation with a boy that eventually broke my heart.

Beastie Boys ringer with picture of van got traded for a faded blue basketball hoop. I liked the blue shirt too much and not as much the person I traded with. It was the softness of the fibers and comfortable fit we never could get right. I walked away too easily with this new shirt.

Portishead. It didn't fit right, it was a small and they were finally making them for girls. I never even liked that band. What was he thinking? This ended up in the D.I. pile.

Material Issue white, band's giant feet stretched out before them. I just remember meeting my biological father and wearing this shirt when he took me to Fanny Mae, a candy store I knew my mother loved. I wished she was there with me instead. I got mint meltaways. The plane landed back home and it was 30 minutes before the show began. My airport pick-up crew said I would never make it in time. It was such a Ferris Bueller moment and worked out so smoothly- I got them on a VIP list so my ride could get me there, attend, and get me home that night. I think they had a good time. Weezer opened.

VooDoo Glowskulls. It was the perfect size for layering on top of long johns for spring boarding trips. They matched my evil knievel pants perfectly. I think it was the last concert T-shirt I let go of after a camping trip with Mike.

His last was School of Fish in green. As much as I hated that shirt and I couldn't wait to get rid of it, it still made me love him all the more.