By Megan Neff
It is Sunday night, August 22. I finished my radio show this afternoon and ate the ritual #6 with barbecue chips afterward. And after four years at UK, I felt out of place again as I walked to Jimmy Johns and back to WRFL alongside so many golden tans and carefree faces.
It made me think about my first semester. About how I would rather be back there and not another recent college graduate who was unprepared for not being able to find a job in their field of study. Or just a job that pays above minimum wage and has health benefits.
But on a positive note, it made me think about my introduction to the local music scene that semester. About my first noise show and how John Wiese’s performance made me think of a painfully slow airplane crash. The now defunct Icehouse and feeling the slight of the higher cover charge for outsiders. And my very first show in Lexington, which strangely enough was at UK’s Student Center Spectacular four years ago.
It seems it is that time of the season again. This year, I am not a freshman intimidated by the hipness of the WRFL crowd. I’ve done this a hundred times before and know most of the people here. Some of the magic is lost, but I can sense it in the crowd around me.
Real Numbers begin as the sun starts going down with a brand of straight forward punk-edged rock. Vicious Guns continues with the trend but adds a dash of black leather, lace and some slightly drunken theatrics. And Matt Duncan closes out the show with his unfailingly perfect blend of soul and buoyant pop.
So much has faded away in four years, but so much has grown. And whether apparent to my disillusioned eyes or not, it will continue to grow around me. Be it in a bug-infested lawn on UK’s campus or in another seedy basement. And that in itself is some kind of magic.
Leave a Reply