Here is my best Iota story. I confess it makes me look less than a perfect gentleman, but for the sake of the tale, I tell it here.
One time my wife and I went to see Bobby Bare Jr. at Iota. He had a sticker with his cell phone number on his guitar case. We wrote it down. The next time he played Iota, we called his cell phone number and left a message asking if he wanted to get an ice cream with us before the show. He did not respond.
The next time he played Iota, we left the ice cream message again. We also put in a request for an old Bare JR song that he never does live, but hey a couple can dream. I can also sort of pinpoint this as the night my child may have been conceived, but that's another story.
Anyway, midway through the set, a group of rowdy drunk 20somethings entered the room. It seems like you got these people at every show at Iota. They were looking for another drinking spot and didn't give a shit about the music. The group proceeded to dance wildly to the music and make a bunch of noise. The dancing totally didn't match the music, they didn't give a shit about the music, it was all about being drunk and rowdy.
One girl in particular repeatedly danced into us. Yes, there was actually a time when Bobby Bare Jr could actually pull a crowd and the floor was full. But anyway, she kept dancing into us and others with no regard for those around her. Finally, I had enough. I dumped my cup of water on her head. Her drunk male friend, about half my size (meaning he was a midget, I'm not that big), stepped up and started threatening to kick my ass. At which point the friendly bouncer stepped in and politely asked us all to leave.
Later, I heard from our friend who had joined us at the show. Our friend, who is the perfect gentleman slightly anal type who gets upset when his wife farts in front of him. Surely, he would call me out for being a douche and dumping water on someone's head (I did feel a bit guilty about this after I did it.). But instead, he said that he witnessed the whole thing, and applauded my every move.
Then he told me that after we left, during the encore, that Bobby had played the Bare JR song we has asked him to play, announcing that it was "by request."
It still breaks my heart that I missed that song. But I got a kid out of the night.
