Oh hi! Didn’t see you there! Welcome to a new, hopefully regular feature here on Scratchbomb called The Crooked Frame. The name comes from a quote from Chuck Jones: “When you have 10 pictures on a wall, the crooked one will get the attention.” At least that’s how I remember it goes. If I’ve misquoted you, Chuck, please do not drop an anvil upon my head from The Great Beyond.

What this is is this: I ask people I like and think are fun to share their most memorable “live” experience. By “live experience”, I mean any sort of performance-type event that one observes as an audience member or participant. That could be anything from a rock-music concert to a comedic monologue to a chicken race. I do not discriminate.

By “memorable”, I don’t mean one’s best or most favorite such experience, but the one that made the most firm impression on one’s mind. For instance, I have a few candidates for the best baseball game I’ve ever seen in person, but the most memorable one I ever attended is undoubtedly this one. What I’m looking for, really, are instances where one is overwhelmed by discomfort and overall oddness, or where things don’t quite work out as envisioned, yet the overall experience becomes indelibly imprinted on one’s psyche.

I’m very pleased and excited to kick off this feature with one of my favorite people in the world. Franz Nicolay is a musician from Brooklyn; formerly of the Hold Steady and the World/Inferno Friendship Society, currently of his own damn self. You can catch him this Tuesday 8/16 at Death by Audio, along with the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players, and on Friday 8/19 at Union Hall with Fishtank Ensemble. Those who like to plan ahead can mark their calendars for 9/12, when he will participate in Kurt Braunohler and Kristen Schaal’s Hot Tub Variety Show at Littlefield (all these venues are in Brooklyn, by the way). Without further ado, here’s Franz’s tale.

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