Sometimes neighbors can be a real pain in the ass with their
noise complaints; yeah, we get it, you’re old and sucky—learn how
to deal. The neighbors get worked up about the applause from the
“Spring Recital” kicking off this week’s party. A backyard full of
attentive, cross-legged friends take turns singing songs, doing
interpretive dances, rapping about bees, performing dream journals,
and reenacting scenes from Blue Velvet. After the
noise complaint—at 8:00 p.m.—audible applause is switched
to jazz hands, but some performances are so great the audience can’t
help but holler and clap. The recital ends with an explosive, flailing
“We Are the World”/”Hey Ya!” dance party and moves into the
house.
It seems fitting that this first warm Saturday of spring,
with all the trees in bloom, is spent with a crew of EarthCorps
employees. The party splits between dancing in the stuffy, sun-baked
living room and a beer circle on the front lawn. There is a dog named
Satti out front, a perfect loaf of a dog, and in my drunken
state all I want is to pet it for hours. We can see a neighbor across
the street leering at us through his bedroom window. It’s clear that a
party like this is a once-in-a-while thing for this house, so the
neighbors let us be, though M.I.A. and James Brown are blasting from
the living room. Sitting on the lawn, sipping my beer and petting
my loaf in the warm spring night, it becomes perfectly clear what we
were waiting for all through winter. Proper party season has finally
begun. JEFF KIRBY
Want to warn The Stranger about the dangers of forest
raptors at your next party? E-mail the date, place, time, and party
details to partycrasher@thestranger.com.