You wanna hang out in Lansing tomorrow night?

Jeni Lee Richey and The Great Tribulation opens for Wally Pleasant at Mac's Bar.

First time I've played Mac's since 1999, when the inaugural End Times lineup was invited to an Etch Magazine-sponsored music festival (did they actually call it Etchfest? Or course they did). If I remember correctly, we had two fans drive all the way from Grand Rapids to dig it, but circumstances demanded that I play the whole gig with my back to the audience ... I promise that won't happen this time, because I sit down to play now and no matter how angry I get it just won't be convenient. I guess I did the back-to-the-crowd routine once before for a typically neurotic Clutters gig, opening for my then (and still) heroes Mike Ireland and Holler (whose rumored claim to fame is making the worst-selling Sub Pop LP of all time -- also one of the best countrypolitan records of all time, so I guess you just can't have it all), and I don't even remember what the problem was that night ... jeez, maybe I should be scared. Fuck it, the point is that I'll be playing Mac's for the umpteenth time since my debut there in 1996, and we're gonna be fucking great, I swear to god. Then you can dig Flatfoot, a married couple who play ukuleles and no less a man than Wally Fucking Pleasant. We go on first, so show up early, get loaded and stay as long as you're able.

I did visit Mac's a few weeks back to watch Scarlet Oaks play and I'm happy to report that while the bar still has a dozen TV sets mounted at various vantage points, they no longer broadcast strictly sports-oriented programming, unless you can call vintage Asian martial arts films "sports."

I'll meet you at The Best Steak House beforehand if you contact me in time ...