Goodbye, MF

They always say you don't know what you have until it's gone and last night could not have proved a truer saying. It was the final night that our neighborhood bar Magnetic Fields was open to the public and after weeks of great parties and shows, their final send-off was a regular old Monday night.

I expected to arrive into a chaotic scene of drunken antics and general mayhem. Instead when I walked into the room the mood was relaxed, a bit serious and of course a bit sad. The only people in attendance were those who I wanted to see; the regulars who over the years adopted each other into this large, eclectic and often dysfunctional family. And then it hit me- I wasn't so sad to see the place go as I am really glad everyone is moving on to do wonderful things. It wasn't that we wouldn't have a place to go, although there is definitely a loss there. It was because I never appreciated how much this little space brought to the community. I've watched my friend's bands play through their first-gig growing pains to become reputable and extraordinary performers. We all watched the owner take a little character he created to make a quiz show and drum up business and turn it into a franchise. I had the opportunity to do a staged reading of my romance novel there and it's because of the support of the community that the show will turn into something bigger. I really owe a lot of what I have to the people I've met and maintained friendships with there and at the bar I used to work at, Last Exit.

I know I'll continue to see everyone because as I said, as friendships grew we branched out to meeting up at other places and even homes. A wonderful couple who were once just my customers now spend every Christmas with my real dysfunctional family. It really doesn't get any better than that.

So thank you William, Stephen and Lee and everyone involved for creating something beautiful and more importantly a place for music and other artistic endeavors to build and grow. You've really done something amazing.

Part of me thinks now is the part where Elton John pops out and sings "Candle in the Wind" or something. Oh, F@#k it, let's do it.

Goodbye, MF
(To be sung to the tune of Elton John's Candle in the Wind)

Goodbye Magnetic Fields
I’ve seen you through it all
especially at 4AM
When out the door I’d crawl

Will and Stephen did the woodwork
Built a stage for bands to play
And came up with the unique theme
Of Sci-Fi Western Gay

Your existence was akin to times
when in the photobooth we'd sit
Never knowing who would show up
And flash their tits (guilty)
And I would’ve like to see you grow
Like a maladjusted kid
The music ended long before
The legend ever did

Buckhunter was fun
The best game we ever played
William created Bunnie England
And they’ll rock until this day

You created a family
The whole Dick Swizzle brood
And even on a slow day
Someone would strip down nude (hi Jonah)

And it seemed to me that you lived your life
Like with that photobooth’s grace
Never knowing who would show up
And make a silly face
And I would’ve like to see you grow
Like a maladjusted kid
The music ended long before
The legend ever did