FOUND: $13.10 Pesos

Found:  The Shoegazer has been a regular attendee of The Pill’s now legendary Halloween shows, which started back in 2003 when The Cignal took the stage as the Happy Mondays (complete with “Bez” and a roomful of colorful balloons) and The Information cribbed The Cure.  Last year, The Shoegazer was there and found only fake money on the floor of Great Scott’s fertile barroom floor – props from Halloween costumes that had broken free, or perhaps another cruel tease from that nefarious figure, The Mad Gluer.

This year, The Shoegazer donned the attire of (apparently not-so) famous 1970’s Mexican tv superhero El Chapulin Colorado (inspiration for The Simpsons’ “Bumblebee Man” character).  His pocketless costume made it a challenge for The Shoegazer to offer up his own money for other would-be floor hunters.  It only took about an hour after his arrival to find what The Shoegazer expected to find on the floor at Great Scott – paper money on the floor.  Though only a dollar bill, The Shoegazer was happy to quickly pick it up and disappear into the crowd the best a brightly colored Mexican tv superhero could.

Location:  This dollar was found by the zapatos (shoes) of El Chapulin Colorado as he was situated not far from the bar, near a small ledge where patrons lean and place their drinks.

Source:  This Halloween it’s possible that said dollar came from anyone from Princess Leia to David Bowie, bearded lady to dress-wearing man, to the various zombies and vampires also in the room.

Destination: This dollar, derived from the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, Virginia, series 2003, remained in The Shoegazer’s possession until the morning of Monday, November 2, when it was spent at The Sherman Cafe in Somerville, MA.

El Chapulin Colorado, the Halloween disguise of El Shoegazer

FOUND: An Offering From A Scofflaw?

Found: Seeing as it’s probably one of the last days of the year where The Shoegazer can make the approximately 2-mile walk to work without donning his entire wardrobe of ski attire, it was a perfect autumn day to detour to the 1369 Coffeehouse for a little pre-work refreshment.  While walking down the 1-block long Temple Street in Central Square, The Shoegazer spied something crumpled on the ground near a delivery truck – a $1 bill, that had just been stepped over by another pedestrian.  Just goes to show what you’re missing out on by not looking down.

Location: This dollar was found crumpled up on a brick sidewalk along Temple Street, a one-block street that runs from Mass Ave to Bishop Allen Drive.

Source: The dollar was found near an illegally parked-half on the sidewalk delivery box truck – it’s quite possible this wrinkled dollar was in the pocket of the truck’s driver, who was not on the scene.  Incidentally, the fine for a no stopping violation in Cambridge is $30, so losing a single dollar probably seems like a pretty good deal – so long as the meter maid didn’t pass by 2 minutes after The Shoegazer.

Destination: This dollar spent the least time in the possession of The Shoegazer as any he’s found yet.  It would be nice to say the dollar was held onto and spent at the Bishop Allen/Throw Me The Statue show at the Middle East downstairs on 10/27, but the fact is this dollar was spent less than 5 minutes later around the corner at the 1369 Coffeehouse, where The Shoegazer’s mocha slide was $1 cheaper as a result.

a cheap camera phone making a lone dollar seem even smaller

FOUND: A Small Bill for a Large Endowment

Found:  After hitting up a couple of rock shows, The Shoegazer decided to spend the waning moments of his Friday night at The Pill in Allston.  A favorite place to dance and have a drink, Great Scott is also the source of many past Shoegazer posts, as the bar’s cash-only, no-tabs policy means lots of opportunities for dollar bills to slip free.

Sure, other things occasionally turn up on the floor of Great Scott too – fake money, beer bottles, Turkish passports, Great Scott patrons – but this past Friday, The Shoegazer found something he’s seen many times on the floor (a $1 bill) sitting beside something he’s never seen on Great Scott’s (or any bar’s) floor – a sealed Magnum condom.  The dollar was standard size – about 6 inches long, but the condom appeared to be the largest size ever spied by The Shoegazer, and appeared ready to handle things much longer than 6 inches.

Location:  The dollar and condom were found together near the end of the bar at Great Scott, close to the coat racks.

Source:  The Shoegazer doubts the two items came from the same source – the shiny wrapper of the condom was spotted before the dollar turned up.  While the endowment of one is no longer in question, the loss of a single dollar unlikely affects the endowment of the other.

Destination:  While The Shoegazer would like to say he rejected the giant condom because it was too small, the truth is The Shoegazer left it behind because, well, who uses a condom they find on the ground?  Picking up dropped money is one thing, but most of what The Shoegazer spies on the ground, he is happy to leave there.  The dollar was spent the following day as a tip for a very oversized drink at the open bar of The Shoegazer’s first Russian/Chinese wedding.

a dollar bill is six inches long. that's one mighty large condom!

Professional Shoegazers in Las Vegas Flood Tunnels?

Beneath the flickering lights of the Vegas strip lies a (literally) underground community of people living in a series of flood tunnels built to channel water out of the city.  Constructing what resemble loft apartments in these tunnels, people ranging from artists to the destitute reside in a dark world kept off the damp floor by milk crates.

So how does one pay for life’s other necessities whilst living down below?  By shoegazing, of course.  According to The Sun, a couple identified as Steven and Kathryn, make their money by what they call “credit hustle” – roaming the casinos above in search of money or slot machine credits left behind by inattentive and/or drunken gamblers.  “The most I’ve ever found is $997 on one machine”, says Steven.  “I’ve found $500 a few times. But normally $20 or so is enough to call it a night.”

Credit Hustlers, aka Shoegazers, in their damp underground domain

FOUND: A Rolled Up $1 at 4am (Guest Shoegaze)

Found: DJ Fabulous is a friend and fan of the blog, who certainly lives up to her name.  Because she lives in Allston, she’s a familiar face at many of the neighborhood’s restaurants, bars and clubs.  So it was only fitting that DJ Fabulous ended a recently Allston evening with a trip to Twin Donuts, the iconic Union Square (that’s Allston, not Somerville) institution that opens its doors sometime around 4am each day with hot, fresh donuts.  The earliest arrivals at Twin Donuts are usually folks who are up real early (MBTA bus drivers, for example) and those who are up real late (DJ Fabulous and friends).

On a recent late night/early morning, DJ Fabulous was enjoying some breakfast goodness when she spied a familiar item lying near another patron – a one-dollar bill, tightly rolled in typical Allston fashion.  DJ Fabulous alerted the patron, who quickly retrieved his means of staying awake past 4am.

Location:  This dollar bill was spotted by DJ Fabulous at Twin Donuts in Allston, MA

Source:  A late-night reveler grateful to have retrieved his means of delivering a certain trendy stimulant.

Destination:  One does not need be a rocket scientist to figure out what became of this particular bill, suffice to say it recently parted company with a pocket full of large bills.

Note: read all about it on DJ Fabulous’s blog – http://www.jilliansara.com/

FOUND: 2 X $2

Found:  The month of August was a quiet one for The Shoegazer, who did not make any interesting finds on the ground, monetary or otherwise.  It’s also worth noting, however, that it had been quite awhile since The Shoegazer had visited Great Scott – a streak that was broken on Friday, August 28, when he attended The Pill, and quickly found 2 $1 bills lying on the floor near one of the coat racks.

The following Thursday, September 3, The Shoegazer once again ventured to the enclave affectionately known as Allston Rock City, to catch a few local bands.  Upon ordering a drink, bartender and club manager Tim was quick to regale The Shoegazer with the tale of his own find – a $20 bill under a bar stool after closing time a few days prior.

While the band Lifestyle were beginning their set, The Shoegazer glanced downward and though “hmm, that looks like a dollar bill stuck to that girl’s shoe”.  Low and behold, it was a dollar, along with one of its twins, and another piece of paper.  Realizing that the source was probably the owner of the shoe (the girl in front of him), The Shoegazer alerted her.  After a little assistance, dollars and girl were reunited and attention shifted to the synth-pop offerings of Lifestyle.

Location:  The 8/28 dollars were found near a coat rack not far from the main entrance.  The 9/3 dollars were found in the dance floor area a few feet from the sound booth.  Both finds, of course, happened at Great Scott at 1222 Commonwealth Ave, Allston MA.

Source:  The source of 8/28 dollars remains at large, $2 poorer as a result of their own lack of paying attention.  The 9/3 dollars were returned to their likely source, who identified herself as Emma.

Destination: The 8/28 dollars were likely spent that night at Great Scott.  They went into The Shoegazer’s pocket and quickly made friends with the other dollars in there.  Since the night was young, The Shoegazer surmises that the 9/3 dollars were spent on a drink at some point later in the evening.

Updates Forthcoming!

The dry spell is over. The Shoegazer went to Great Scott last week. The inevitable happened. Expect a new post soon.

FOUND: Just Another Bill

Found:  It’s no secret that The Shoegazer is a fan and supporter of Boston’s local music community, and on this particular Friday night, Central Square was full of great bands playing at the Middle East and TT the Bear’s.  And just for good measure, 2 Live Crew were in town as well.  At TT’s was the homecoming/record release show for the very talented Bleu, in addition to a sonic ass kicking courtesy of Hooray For Earth.   Toward the end of the night, the lights came on and The Shoegazer walked around the room, mostly intent on shaking a few hands but also to see if anything of interest had surfaced on TT’s dirty floors.  Amid the usual litter of drink cups, napkins and other clutter lay a folded $5 bill.   Interestingly, this is the second time in the last few months that local music paparazzi man Just Bill was close by when a fiver was found.  They don’t call him “Just Bill” for nothing, I guess.

Location:  This bill was noticed by The Shoegazer as he spoke to Just Bill and one of his friends, lying on the floor of TT the Bear’s, slightly to stage right, about 8 feet back from the stage.

Source: It’s hard to imagine how this bill wiggled free at the location it was found in, as it was some distance from the club’s two bars.

Destination: This fiver stayed with TT the Bear’s, as The Shoegazer purchased a round of Pabst’s finest 1893 award-winning Blue Ribbon beer and also procured a few quarters that were used to showcase The Shoegazer’s other barroom talent – being a mediocre billiards player with occasional flashes of brilliance (or luck).

Hand signals help you realize this is a $5. Grainy picture courtesy of Just Bill

FOUND: The Mad Gluer Strikes Again

Found:  Almost everything is coming up Shoegazer.  Earlier in the day he received the DVD he’s been eagerly anticipating since before he knew what DVD’s were – the complete series of The State.  Off to celebrate the occasion with one of the show’s signature foods, tacos, The Shoegazer found himself making a rare trip to that far-off enclave known as Jamaica Plain.  JP has previously been generous to The Shoegazer, offering up a $20 bill under a bar stool last winter.

Upon leaving the taco establishment with a belly full of tortilla and sangria, The Shoegazer had a rare lapse and walked right by a suspicious item on the ground.  It was up to an accomplice of The Shoegazer (who we will call Captain Viking Flu, after the disease she caught in Iceland) to pick up what turned out to be a fake $100 bill.  After a lengthy absence, it seems The Shoegazer’s nemesis, known on this blog as The Mad Gluer, has struck again.

Location:  The fake $100 bill was found on a wet sidewalk on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, MA, in front of a store that sells gaudy wedding dresses.

Source: Even though no glue was used (and thus no horses were harmed), one can only surmise that this is the work of The Mad Gluer – that nefarious figure who first stymied The Shoegazer last year with a quarter glued to the sidewalk, and who later surfaced on Halloween, dropping fake money on the ground at Great Scott on several occasions.

Destination:  After being photographed on the sidewalk (shown below with gesture of disapproval by Captain Viking Flu), this fake bill was left in its place to fool other would-be shoegazers.

Lose your fake money? Captain Viking Flu has something to say about that...

FOUND: Fortunately Not Enough For A Slice

Found:  As of late The Shoegazer has been working in Central Square in Cambridge, a neighborhood best known for its nightlife and collection of “eccentrics” who gather around benches and bus stops in the area.  Most of these people are here for one reason – to get free money, usually by appealing to the white liberal guilt of passersby.  As it turns out, there are other ways to get free money in Central Square – just look down.  After leaving his place of employment around 7pm on Tuesday, June 30, The Shoegazer spotted a folded $1 bill lying in the middle of a crowded sidewalk.  With the sly smile of approval by a business casual-attired witness, The Shoegazer scooped up the wayward one and continued on his way.

Location: This dollar bill was found on the sidewalk between the entrances of fine eating establishments Rendezvous and Hi-Fi Pizza.  Both are located on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, MA.

Source: Literally anyone, including Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, or Elvis could have dropped this bill.  Central Square attracts all types, including, it seems, inattentive pocket-watchers and even more inattentive beggars.  The Shoegazer hopes it was one of those well-meaning but very annoying political canvassers who don’t see dark reflective sunglasses, headphones and two hands full as an obstacle to their sales pitch.

Destination: This dollar bill is still in the hands of The Shoegazer, who expects to pass it along to a toll-taker along I-95 when he heads to Maine for some much desired R&R.

Hi-Fi Pizza. Probably not the best option for your late-night dollar.