The sun was starting to set, and I stood on the corner of 11th and Pine feeling sweaty, tired, and sunburnt. On Sunday July 14, when 9 p.m. rolled around, I just wanted to go home, take a nice cool shower, and crawl into bed, bringing the long rock-and-roll weekend that was the Capitol Hill Block Party to a close. But there was still fun to be had--Sleater-Kinney was set to play in just a few minutes, so stay I must. Even if that meant I had to continue to stew in my hot, sticky, days-of-dirt buildup. Ewww is right! Oh, the things I do for the underage community.
Had you attended the Block Party, and had you spent any time at the Vera Project's stage, then I'm sure you saw 13-year-old Nick at some point during the two-day music fest. He was hard to miss with that one-and-a-half-year-old python wrapped around his neck.
Minutes before Sleater-Kinney's set, while Michael Jackson boomed from the sound system, I spotted Nick trying desperately to coax some lucky ladies into dancing with him and his snake, Sabrina. Some happily obliged, entertaining him for a minute or two, but most just laughed while firmly shaking their heads and keeping their butts on the curb.
I took a chance and approached the outgoing kid, asking if he would mind answering a few questions. "So who have been some of your favorite bands this weekend?" I asked.
"My favorite band of all time, you mean? I don't know about here [at the Block Party], but I definitely like Ozzy, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix...."
"And what about here at the Block Party?"
"I think the band was called Hell's Belles, the AC/DC cover band, I liked them a lot."
Since the Catheters had just finished, I asked what he thought of their set.
"They were pretty good too," he said while unwrapping Sabrina from his neck.
"And did Sabrina like them? What kind of music does a snake like anyway?" I asked.
"She likes all music; she's a pimp."
"Are you a pimp?"
"No, I'm nice to the ladies."
While Nick continued to dance, demanding more attention from the crowd slowly closing in around him, I snuck toward the back to make a quick escape after S-K's set. I did have to work the next day after all. MEGAN SELING
