Wooch. I'm all goofy and bleary-eyed today from being up far, far too late past my bedtime due to attending last night's Jim's Big Ego show at Iota in lovely downtown Arlington. It was worth it several times over. Rediscovered how rewarding it is to be a fan of these guys; Jim Infantino is just a damn nice person, as are his bandmates, and they really make you feel good to have come out and given them your time. There should be more bands like that.

(So go and tool around on www.bigego.com, if you haven't already. Get a copy of NO PLACE LIKE NOWHERE and the companion book of Jim's lyrics and poetry, LEGITIMATE GRIPES. Well worth the time and money, and it supports the cause of good, smart, fun music. See how long it takes before you're inflicting it on everyone you know, and waiting for JBE to come play in your area.)

AND I got to hear my contribution to the obligatory Napkin Poetry segment made into a call-and-response refrain ("Bean soup - Too much curry!"), and meet Seth Cohn (if I'm spelling that right), also formerly of the Boston singer-songwriter circle, or community, from whence Jim hails. We talked briefly about how easy it is as songwriters to find that you're suddenly writing stuff with an Infantino sensibility, and that there are worse fates. And then Jim sang one of the verses of "Slow" as Tom Waits. A fine evening, plus we earned our fanboy moments of hanging out with the band by pitching in as on-the-spot roadies. It was a privelege.