Got a Shoegazing Story to Share?

One of The Shoegazer’s early jobs was in the games department of a nearby amusement park, where he was in charge of keeping a watchful eye on the park’s arcades.  Responsibilities included helping customers with malfunctioning games, trying to card 14 year olds attempting to use the cigarette machine, sweeping the floors and looking busy when the always-grumpy supervisors came walking by.  One of the few perks of the job was the privilege of keeping any money found on the ground of the arcade, which mostly came in the form of quarters.

Have you worked a job that allowed you to find money on the ground?  The Shoegazer has many friends who work in the bars, music venues and restaurants around Boston, and some of them tell tales of finding large sums of money on the floor at the end of a busy night, while others seem to be left at the station waiting for a gravy train yet to arrive.

If you have a story of shoegazing, either at work or otherwise, The Shoegazer wants to hear from you!  Email theshoegazerblog@gmail.com to share your story.

The movie Adventureland, which more or less summed up The Shoegazer's summer of 1997

FOUND: I Want My Two Dollars!

Found:  Following a week off the sauce, The Shoegazer decided it was time to be social again, and what better place to do that than Great Scott?  After all, “The Pill” is the place to be seen, and to not see your money slip away as you stand near the bar.  That’s where The Shoegazer comes into the picture, as he recovered a pair of $1 bills lying unclaimed on the floor.

Location: These twin dollar bills were folded together, slightly crumpled, and lying on the floor about halfway between the bar stools and a ledge that serves as a table for standing bar patrons.  The venue of course is the venerable Great Scott at 1222 Commonwealth Ave in Allston, MA.

Source: The Shoegazer can only hope that these were dropped by the toolbag who took a swing at his friend Nico of the local band Televandals, or the skank accompanying said toolbag, who took a few swings at Great Scott’s fearless bartender (and fan of the blog) Tim.

Destination:  These dollars remained together throughout their brief tenure in The Shoegazer’s pocket, as they were spent together at a cafe in Central Square in exchange for a sandwich and a fresh brewed iced tea.

thank you, IMDB, for reminding The Shoegazer that the "I Want My Two Dollars" kid was in fact named Johnny

FOUND: A Reason To Take It All In Stride

Found:  The Shoegazer was spending the evening at the Middle East upstairs, as he has recently taken to the show booking racket.  The show in question featured touring bands Holy Fuck and Crocodiles, along with local favorites Hooray For Earth.  Crocodiles, incidentally, draw fans of shoegaze music, however there’s more going on in their sound and The Shoegazer would hardly call them a shoegaze band.  HFE brought the crowd out early, including many friends and acquaintances of The Shoegazer.  Among these folks were two members of one of his favorite local bands, The Everyday Visuals.

During Crocodiles’ spacey set, The Shoegazer was standing with the aformentioned Visuals not far from the bar when a familiar scene unfolded – The Shoegazer looked down and spied President Jackson lying helpless on the floor.  After quickly retrieving the bill, The Shoegazer then set out to ascertain the source of the bill.

Location: This action all unfolded near the bar at the sold-out Middle East upstairs on Mass. Ave in Cambridge, MA.

Source:  Following the bill’s retrieval, The Shoegazer took a moment to brag about his unusual talent before asking if anyone in the area was short by $20 or so.  After checking his pockets, Everyday Visuals’ drummer Joe Seiders came forward as the likely source of the $20 bill, and it was prompty returned to the grateful drummer.

Destination: With his wayward bill return, Joe Seiders set off toward the bar, head held high, and purchased a round of drinks with the $20 bill.  Perhaps by coincidence, that was the exact same plan The Shoegazer had in mind for the Jackson, had he been unable to locate its source.  With the change, The Shoegazer presumes Joe purchased, say, a set of drum sticks, with which to practice for their next big Boston show: The Shoegazer’s birthday party on Saturday 8/8 at the very same upstairs room featuring Joe’s Everyday Visuals along with The Shills, The New Collisions, The Motion Sick and Hymns.

Joe Seiders of The Everyday Visuals, happily reunited with his briefly lost $20 bill. Catch Joe & the Visuals on Sat 8/8 at the Middle East upstairs

FOUND: Live Long And Prosper

Found: The Shoegazer might as well face the facts that he is, despite past denials, a sci-fi geek.  When not shoegazing, favorite activities include watching and discussing Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Lost.  So it was no surprise that The Shoegazer found himself attending a screening of the new Star Trek movie; although not a huge trekkie, past movies in the franchise have been enjoyable and this one was directed by Lost’s JJ Abrams.

So The Shoegazer went to an evening screening at the Somerville Theater in Davis Square and thoroughly enjoyed the movie.  As the closing credits were scrolling, revealing the previously secret identities of minor actors, stunt people, key grips and best boys, The Shoegazer’s eye was caught by something – what turned out to be a driver’s license left in a beer cup, sitting in a drink holder.  As The Shoegazer was checking the ID, he spied another present lying on the floor a few seats away – a $10 bill.

Location:  The $10 bill was found under a seat in one of the basement theaters in the Somerville Theater complex.   The Somerville Theater is located in Davis Square in Somerville, MA.

ten dollar bill courtesy of inattentive movie goer. seen here with a pint of Belhaven Scottish Ale, purchased with said $10 bill.

Source: The ID belonged to a girl named Lydia, who had left the scene without her license.  The ID was turned over to the box office staff at the Somerville Theater.  The Shoegazer retained possession of the $10 bill.  If Lydia believes the bill is hers, she should email theshoegazerblog@gmail.com and give her full name, as The Shoegazer remembers it from the ID.

Destination:  Lydia’s ID of course was left with the staff of the theater to await retrieval.  Because there was no way to know if the $10 bill and the ID were connected, The Shoegazer held on to the bill, and later spent it at Redbones, a few blocks away.

spoiler alert: James T. Kirk becomes captain of the USS Enterprise.

FOUND: A Taxpayer Refund

Found: This past weekend featured two great shows at The Shoegazer’s favorite shoegazing venue, Great Scott. Dubbed “Taxpayer Weekend” due to that band’s two appearances, your favorite blogging taxpayer had a feeling the crowded rooms of thirsty drinkers would result in a payday for The Shoegazer.

After failing to find anything on the ground during Friday’s show (as part of “The Pill”), The Shoegazer returned on Saturday to see his fortunes take a lucky turn; while glancing downward near the end of the bar by the coat hooks, a folded $20 came into view and was quickly retrieved.

Friday’s show featured a loud, animated set by Taxpayer and was followed by two hours of sweaty dancing to the selections of DJ’s Ken and Michael, while Saturday’s show featured an opening set by Tiny Animals, an even better Taxpayer set, and a mind-blowingly awesome performance by The Everyday Visuals for their CD release show.

Location: This $20 bill is the latest of many recovered from that cash-only oasis of Great Scott in Allston, MA. This one turned up near the corner of the room, by Tim’s end of the bar.

Source: Upon recovering this bill, The Shoegazer immediately began asking friends (and fans of the blog) if they were missing anything. After several minutes of trying to locate the source of the $20, its fate was decided.

Destination: With the feeling that the source of this bill was not far from the scene, The Shoegazer spent the $20 bill at the bar, purchasing a round of 5 drinks for whoever was nearby and thirsty. One can only hope that this was the original intended destination for this $20, and that this instance of sharing the wealth will continue The Shoegazer’s string of lucky finds on the floors of Great Scott.

think you lost this? please refer to the sign behind Tim. sincerely, The Shoegazer

FOUND: Limahl’s Net Worth

Found:  Last Thursday, The Shoegazer headed off to Common Ground in Allston with 2 goals in mind: dancing to some 80’s music, and shoegazing over by the bar.  The bar is quickly becoming the Great Scott of, well, down the street, with frequent finds turning up near the bar.  After a few songs on the dance floor and a few instances of serving as a wing man, it was time for The Shoegazer to quench his thirst, and while doing so, spotted an unknown bill lying unclaimed on the floor nearby.  A quick shimmy to the left, a quick reach downward, and The Shoegazer picked up enough for a free beer – a folded in half $5 bill.

It should be noted that “NeverEnding Story” by Limahl was playing while this fiver was found.  For those unfamiliar with the work, it more or less comprised the solo career of former Kajagoogooo vocalist Christoper Hamill – and yes, it was the title track from the craptacular 80’s movie of same name.

Location:  This bill was lying on the floor near the bar at Common Ground (Harvard Ave, Allston, MA).  More specifically, it was on the floor at approximately the point where the first group of beer taps are located.

Source:  Most likely someone who couldn’t be bothered to put their change back into a pocket or wallet in an effort to make it back to the dancefloor for the nugget of Limahl awesomeness.

Destination:  It would be great if I could tell you that this $5 bill went to the purchase of 6 or 7 gently used VHS copies of “The NeverEnding Story”, but the truth is that this fiver was coughed up the following morning at 1369 Coffee House in Central Square, Cambridge. 

five bucks will get you an awful lot of copies of this gem

FOUND: Just A Bill

Found:  It still amazes me how rarely some people look down.  Occasionally The Shoegazer’s mission is a challenging one, requiring a keen eye and a fast grab.  In this case, however, shoegazing was more akin to shooting fish in a barrel.  With many onlookers seemingly staring in the very direction of the quarry, The Shoegazer plucked a worn $5 bill from the middle of a floor in a crowded room.  And since this blog isn’t yet popular enough to account for passive spectators admiring The Shoegazer’s craft, it must be assumed that the average person just doesn’t look at the ground very often.  It must be a sad existence for such folks – never finding lost money, constantly stepping in gum, dog poop and other pitfalls that the average shoegazer avoids.

Location:  This worn fiver was lying flat on the ground, in the middle of the floor of the mezzanine bar at the Middle East downstairs, with many onlookers present.

Source:  Likely one of the many onlookers, and definitely a fan of local music, as the show in question was the semi-final round of the 31st annual Rock & Roll Rumble, featuring outstanding performances from such bands as The Luxury and Destruct-A-Thon.

Destination:  The Shoegazer purchased a small “5 Hour Energy” bottle, which sustained him through the night despite not getting enough sleep the night before.  The “energy” lasted long enough to take the picture below, featuring local music photographer JustBill in a rare appearance on the other side of the camera.  The Shoegazer can’t quite explain the photo bombing ear plug.

view the (much higher quality) photography of JustBill at www.justbill.net

FOUND: Big Bucks, No Whammies

Found:  The Shoegazer had a long Tuesday.  After working a full day at his new place of employment, he hopped in the shoegazermobile and headed off to anchor the evening shift on the radio.  Needless to say, come 10pm it was time for a drink.  Realizing that a favorite watering hole would likely be quiet due to the fact that it’s Tuesday, The Shoegazer ventured to Deep Ellum in Allston.  Although this relaxed beer bar had never coughed up money before, The Shoegazer had barely sat down on an unoccupied bar stool when he noticed something underneath it – a crisp, neatly folded $1 bill

Location: This bill turned up under a bar stool near the front door at Deep Ellum, a bar located on Cambridge Street in Allston, MA.

Source: Most likely whoever had last sat at the open bar stool, and someone who may or may not have holes in their pockets.

Destination: After having its picture taken with the local comedian seen below, the dollar went home with The Shoegazer, and remained in his possession into the following evening.  The local comedian, by the way, is currently in the running for Rooftop Comedy’s college competition, and is also shamelessly soliciting votes here: http://tinyurl.com/dcqj2d

"vote for me, and i'll give you one of these!" - erika storm wasser

Follow The Shoegazer on Twitter

Now you can keep tabs on The Shoegazer as he chronicles barroom finds, daily happenings and attempts to get beyond the “Bad Golfer” status on Cursebird.  As a result of joining twitter before everyone’s grandmother and HR manager, The Shoegazer was able to secure his handle on Twitter as well – to follow Herr Shoegazer, simply add theshoegazer to your following list.

introducing twitter, another way for your worst enemies to keep tabs on you

So why do they call you The Shoegazer?

A look into the statistics of this blog indicate that many fans of shoegaze music wind up here, thinking they’re going to find news and mp3’s of great bands like Slowdive, Jesus & Mary Chain, Swervedriver and more.  Surely mentioning those band names will spruce up the google hits.  But the nickname is quite simple – in order to find money and other random items on the ground, one must look down – gaze at one’s shoes, if you will.  So you see, it’s really just a coincidence that I’m a big fan of bands like Lush, Moose, Adorable and My Bloody Valentine.

It seems, however, that there are other ways to look downward and find money.  Case in point – the individual below, spotted by The Shoegazer at a recent house party with more than $100 sticking out of the top of her dress.  You may notice that this is not a “FOUND” entry, which means that The Shoegazer recovered no actual cash.   These bills presumably remain with their source, who appeared to be having a great time.

got money? flaunt it!