Baltimore untapped: a reflection on my weekly musical adventures

It finally happened. Standing on the corner of Cold Spring and Charles on Thursday night as the breeze kicked and swirled the fine grains of rain against my face, I came to the realization that I was going to miss a Concert Thursday. The first time this school year the bus actually comes on time, and I'm running late. Not that I'm usually on time, it just seemed to be an excellent capper to this week; with the rain coming down and the #11 heading up towards Towson, the opposite direction of where I wanted to go. The bus presents a chronic headache for me on any given Thursday, but also an extremely entertaining and vital portion of my concert-going experience. And in reality, that is how every component of Concert Thursdays works. Some of the most maddening and stressful aspects of getting downtown, finding a venue, not knowing the band, and then getting home also provide some of the most rewarding experiences. Even when the band sounds less than mediocre, I'm guaranteed to come back with a good story.

The number one issue of Concert Thursdays has always been transportation. The bus has provided the best means of transportation to areas like Charles Village, Mt. Vernon and Federal Hill. But being the best form of transportation in Baltimore is like being a giant among midgets. The bus can be inconsistent, but at least it's always $1.60 one way. It costs that much just to get into a cab and have the driver turn the meter on. The obviously most cost effective way to get anywhere is walking. But believe me when I tell you, it's worth two bucks to just hop on the #11. In the beginning of the fall semester when the weather was a little warmer, my friend and I walked back from two shows; once from the Metro Gallery and once from the Windup Space (both near North Ave). Contrary to popular opinion, neither of us was shot at on the nearly three mile walk home. While I wouldn't exactly oppose walking home from North Avenue, nights like that made me appreciate sitting next to the thin black man on the bus that belts out Rafael Saadiq, rather than hustling through the dim-lit neighborhoods of downtown Baltimore.

Another issue apart from transportation has been the time needed to take a bus two ways and squeeze a concert in between rides on a school night. It's not atypical to find me in full sprint bursting out of Newman with half a slice of pizza crammed down my throat at 8 p.m. on a Thursday night. Finding time to make it to these shows has been a struggle between the former and class, work and homework. Every once in a while, a show has given me license to take full advantage of a professor not having an attendance policy for an evening class. And in the rare case where I have nothing else to do on a Thursday night, there is often pressure to go out with the rest of the Loyola student body. Realistically, I can't convince my roommates to all come to some indy-pop concert in Charles Village with me, nor do I expect to run into that girl from history at the 2640 Space.

The largest risk comes when you get the front door of a venue, and you don't know what the inside looks like. Or what the band even really sounds like. Or what kinds of beret-wearing, combat-boot-sporting eccentrics are already gathered around the stage as they take a hiatus from Occupy Baltimore.

But all the stressful aspects of concert Thursday—all the uncertainty and logistical nightmares and transportation issues—become the most integral and exciting part of the experience. The walk home from the Metro Gallery on a cool fall night, although long and not particularly wise on my part, allowed me time to discuss the show with my friend and gave me the opportunity to consider doing this every Thursday. Skipping my late class on Thursday in October allowed me to attend the most entertaining and high energy concert of the year (for free), courtesy of We Are Augustines. Even missing the bus this Thursday gave me time to reflect on my experience in Baltimore this school year during the short walk back to my building. Thursdays always having me hustling from place to place and stressfully dragging my hands through my hair. But that doesn't mean it hasn't been worth it. Thursdays are what I look forward to now, and I have Baltimore's music scene to thank for that.