Estamos Aqui

November 6, 12:24 or 1:24, depending on what’s up with daylight saving time here.
With some trepidation, we tore ourselves away from the Atlanta airport and got on a plane. Throughout the ten hours of flying, we wondered at what Buenos Aires would hold in store. What would the baggage claim room at the Buenos Aires be like? Would the duty-free store have everything to fit our needs? What about getting a cab? Or would the Festival hire some van guys to pick us up.

Never to worry. Maru had our back, as the kids used to say. As we wandered out of the baggage claim, exhausted, broken, each of us wondering Wither Yid Vicious, there she was, a vision of calm, serene authority, an eye in the storm of airport vexation. Mere seconds after we spotted her holding aloft the “Yid Vicious” sign, it was as though we’d known her for years.
FACT: After the initial introductions and mind-bending hoopla, the first thing Maru said to me was: “You look tired.” AMAZING! I DID look tired. And in fact I was! But Maru was undaunted and dispatched her duties with aplomb, delivering us to our destination, negotiating the wild South American traffic and bureaucracy to keep us safe and insure that the project moved forward.

And move forward it did. We were driven from the airport to the hotel. This I can say with some authority. There was some waiting involved. We knew we would enjoy luxurious hotel rooms. But when? Thankfully, there are hotel lobbies. You can wait in them in comfortable chairs. Hotels have certain routines. If you upset their routine, i.e. by showing up way before expected to check in, you may spend an inordinate time in the hotel lobby with No Sports Bar. Which is fine. Yid Vicious has plenty of time to find excitement. And plenty of time to find an awesome sports bar.

Since we don’t have to play our music until tomorrow night, we will drink. Heavily. Uff-da!

Atlanta

November 5, 5:30 PM
Atlanta
Eventually we were able to pry ourselves away from the amazing awesomeness that is the Fox Sports SKYBAR and, following an uneventful two-hour flight, spent several hours ambling around the Atlanta airport. Escalators were used, food and drinks were consumed, things were bought. During our perambulations we walked by a sports bar that looks EVEN MORE AWESOME THAN THE FOX SPORTS SKYBOX! If this trend continues throughout the trip, Buenos Aires will have the most super kick-ass sports bar ever in the history of both sports and bars!
To review, first we went to an awesome sports bar in Chicago, then we walked by an even MORE awesome sports bar in Atlanta, whose awesomeness was such that we DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO GO IN TO SEE HOW AWESOME IT IS! And the sports bar in Buenos Aires? FORGET ABOUT IT!! Needless to say, Dear Reader, we’re gearing up for some super-extra excitement way down in the Southern Cone. Read all about it here at The Vicious Traveler, where we always say: “Read about it at The Vicious Traveler, because those other guys all suck.”

O Hair

November 5, 10AM, Chicago

The members of Yid Vicious, except for one, convene at the airport from which we'll be embarking, Chicago O'Hare. It's a very good day for embarking. All the members of YV are extremely excited about all the embarking. Maybe they'll make it to Buenas Aires eventually, but for now they've found something better: the Fox Sports SKYBOX. This is an awesome bar and grill RIGHT INSIDE THE AIRPORT, with drinks, tvs, cocktails, sports paraphernalia on the walls, beer, ambience and booze.

How would we ever leave? Could Argentina possibly have anything nearly as awesome as the Fox Sports O'Hare SKYBOX? Do you, Argentina? Do you?
Or does Yid Vicious have to put you ON NOTICE?

Update

Okay, Perspicacious Reader.
I pulled an all-nighter and did some exhaustive research. To wit, I hit the button on the computer that made the link below work, the one to the website for Klezfiesta. Looking at the website makes the event seem like a real thing, with, eg, pictures and text that don't look fake at all. So there probably is a real klezmer festival in Argentina. Getting to the bottom of this type of mystery using research, moxie, and good, old-fashioned shoe leather is just the type of thing we do here at The Vicious Traveller, so you best get used to it, buddy!

KlezFiesta: Ask Fez Let I

Valves are being oiled, bows rosined, and travel pants waxed as we make preparations for our trip to Argentina Nov. 5-25 to perform at KlezFiesta in Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Mendoza. Check this travelblogue for various musings, photos, and video, and tune in to the Friday 8:00 Buzz on WORT 89.9 FM for weekly reports.

When we tell people that there's a klezmer festival in Argentina and that we'll be attending it, the usual response is a mixture of astonishment, incredulity and, ultimately, pity.

1) Astonishment: The hapless recipient of this information is at first caught off guard by the sheer improbability of it all. Argentina, after all, is in South America, but KLEZMER ISN'T SOUTH AMERICAN MUSIC! Oh, the incongruity!

2) Incredulity: After several minutes of gathering her bearings, perhaps aided by a stiff drink or two, the person becomes suspicious. Perhaps this "klezmer festival" is a fabrication. Maybe the members of this klezmer ensemble are nothing more than a band of scheming confidence men, bent on the pursuit of spreading falsehood for their nefarious gain. And yet...

3) Pity: ...these Yid Vicious people don't really seem bright enough to conceive, let alone carry out, such a diabolical plan. No, they're just dreaming up absurd stories in order to gain attention and feel important. Poor dears.

Whether or not there is indeed a klezmer festival in Argentina, the members of Yid Vicious plus their entourage have secured airfare to Buenos Aires. We leave in several days. Soon enough, Gentle Reader, the truth will be revealed.