Karen and I left the condo on the bikes with just enough time to meet Brad and Elisha before the "That 1 Guy"/Panda Conspiracy show Saturday night. We had both been working long hours and rarely, if ever, got to see each other anymore. Here it was Valentines Day and we where both riding our own bikes trying to make good time to Ballard for the show. Not 1/2 mile into our journey Karen pulls up on my left side pointing to the left side of her bike yelling that it's smoking. Being the typical male I assume it's just the normal smoke from a Boxer engine that has been left on its side stand for a week or so. On Boxers the oil will pool in the low hanging head and seep into the combustion chamber through the valve guide. No big deal, they smoke for a bit then everything is fine. The next light she pulls up on my right, obviously agitated at my having dispensed her issue, pointing to a wall of oil cascading down the side of the block, onto the now fully heated exhaust header. The expression perpetuated by the pair of super sized eyeballs peering at me from the narrow portal of her full face helmet meant that she would not tolerate being dispensed again. Now I'm thinking "Holy crap! Thats brand new $7.00 a quart Mobil One oil spilling all over". We quickly got the bike shut down in the neighboring parking lot and I had to tell her that I knew EXACTLY what was wrong with her bike. My friend Dave had been over the week before so I could help him adjust his valves. On a Goldwing the access hole to the flywheel is in the top of the block, normally capped by a screw on cover. One unscrews the cover and screws in it place a "Timing Sight" Tool. this is a glass window with a cross hair on it used to line up the timing marks. Now Karen's bike, the 1977 GL1000 never had the cap, so I always kept the tool in there instead (You see where this is going don't you?) Dave and I took the sight glass out of her bike last week and I failed to put it back. Naturally I did what any red blooded American Male would do in such a precarious position on Valentines Day, I blamed Dave! Yes this was all Dave's fault. Not that she was buying what I was selling, but it was worth a shot. We left her wounded machine there for the night and rode two up to meet Brad and Elisha, Karen's left leg of her First Gear riding pants dripping with really expensive oil, and almost as much smoke coming out of her ears as there was coming off of her bike. She aired my dirty laundry with disdain as she wove the tale into dinner conversation and again I tried to blame Dave, couldn't make it stick. Heck, I even tried to change the topic of discussion to her recent speeding ticket and I still could not shake the shame of it all. Oh well, guess I had it coming... Soon the evenings events where upon us and we ventured to the Tractor Tavern for the show.
Panda Conspiracy was the first act and they where so much fun to see live. I had already bought their CD from the merchandise counter because of what I heard on their MySpace page, but I was not prepared for the stage show. These guys know how to work a crowd into a frenzy. They fired on all cylinders for the entire set and left us primed for the main event. If you've never seen That 1 Guy it will be very difficult to explain the experience to you. Many experiences in life are like this, mountain climbing, sky diving, sex, you can only communicate the experience with those that have a common frame of reference. Mike Silverman (aka That 1 Guy) has added much to his show since the last time I saw him. He has stepped up the heavily animated humor that comes off him so effortlessly, he has added some REALLY cool slight of hand which integrates seamlessly into the act, on top of all that he is an astounding musician with original music you will not hear anywhere else. If you see his DVD, know that it will only show you a portion of what his recent act brings to life. We met with Mike after the show and he remembered me from the Philly show last year. He signed piles of DVD's and CD's for folks and posed with us for pictures. This guy is the genuine article, fantastic talent, selfless and always giving to his fans. Go see him, buy his stuff, if you like genuine, innovative, original music you will not be disappointed. Here are the pics from the evening:
PS - I also have a cool video of PandaCon that I will post on YouTube and link here soon...
Panda Conspiracy was the first act and they where so much fun to see live. I had already bought their CD from the merchandise counter because of what I heard on their MySpace page, but I was not prepared for the stage show. These guys know how to work a crowd into a frenzy. They fired on all cylinders for the entire set and left us primed for the main event. If you've never seen That 1 Guy it will be very difficult to explain the experience to you. Many experiences in life are like this, mountain climbing, sky diving, sex, you can only communicate the experience with those that have a common frame of reference. Mike Silverman (aka That 1 Guy) has added much to his show since the last time I saw him. He has stepped up the heavily animated humor that comes off him so effortlessly, he has added some REALLY cool slight of hand which integrates seamlessly into the act, on top of all that he is an astounding musician with original music you will not hear anywhere else. If you see his DVD, know that it will only show you a portion of what his recent act brings to life. We met with Mike after the show and he remembered me from the Philly show last year. He signed piles of DVD's and CD's for folks and posed with us for pictures. This guy is the genuine article, fantastic talent, selfless and always giving to his fans. Go see him, buy his stuff, if you like genuine, innovative, original music you will not be disappointed. Here are the pics from the evening:
PS - I also have a cool video of PandaCon that I will post on YouTube and link here soon...
