“This is what’s terrible, is like, I forget the first line of a song, and then I’ll do it, like, twice, and somebody’ll go, ‘Oh yeah, he did the thing where he forgets the first line.’ No, my friends. Would that I were doing the thing where I forget the first line. No, I’m doing the thing where he shot too much speed when he was a teenager. I’m doing the thing where he used to drink whole fifths of vodka as an impressive party trick. I’m doing the thing where I stay awake for three days at a time because it feels kind of awesome. Front row: can anybody up here give me the first line of Up The Wolves?”
- John Darnielle at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, May 16, 2008
