Week 9 of the Elbo Room Trivia Tournament

Boy did I need this. Nothing like a Thursday night at the Elbo Room and a round of trivia as part of the $2000 money tournament being held there.

As of late, I had struggled at the tournament, and although my Street Academy team (which on Thursdays consists of my wife Vicki and me) were on the cusp of not being one of the top eight teams for the finals, I had hope that at some point the questions were going to come my way.

And last Thursday, they did. And for two of the questions, I was able to call on my experience as a writer for Goldmine magazine, the music collector’s biweekly.

The first question that cleared out the room was a six-pointer, “The product known as ‘Music Minus One’ is today better known as what?”

After much thought, I remembered that the “Music Minus One” series began as a collection of LP’s that contianed the top hits of the day – minus either the guitar parts, or the drum parts, or the vocals, so you could play or sing along with the band.  Hmm… You could sing along – must be related in some way to karaoke.

And it was.  And I picked up six points while the rest of the teams either skipped or guessed incorrectly.

Later in the night, there was a triple-bonus question, three answers good for eight points apiece.  “In the Tom Petty song ‘Free Falling,’ the first two lyrics of the song features a good girl who likes what three things?”

This was tougher than it sounds, especially when you’re trying to think of the song and go through the lyrics, while the jukebox is blasting the Derek and the Dominoes song “Bell Bottom Blues” throughout the bar.  I remembered that one of the three “likes” was Jesus, but with that other song blasting in my head I was thinking that she was a good girl, loves Eric Clapton, loves Jesus and bell bottoms, too…

Just then, our server Tamara came up to our table.  “Do you know this?” she asked.

I mentioned that we could use some help.

“I love Tom Petty, I know all his songs.  She’s a good girl, crazy about Elvis, loves horses and her boyfriend, too.”

I wrote those answers down on the answer slip.  Then I went back to my meal.

A few minutes later, I realized that waitaminnit – I hadn’t handed my slip to the host.  I was about to leave the table and hand my answers to the announcer, when Tamara returned to our table.  “Oh my God, I just realized I gave you the wrong lyrics.  Those were the second likes – it’s supposed to be that she loves her Mama, loves Jesus and America too.”

Quick scribble, quick cross-out of the old lyrics, a quick run-up with the answer, and a quick 24 points to the good for Street Academy.  And a larger tip on my bill for Tamara.

Final question, and I was in second place with 122 points.  Strategic bets were not an option, in that Big Red Machine were four points ahead with 126, Stern Fans were behind me in third place with 120 points, and Woo Hoo a Go Go had 118.  The category was museums.  I bet 120 points, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

“The largest museum in the United States that is devoted to one person, the Andy Warhol Museum, is located in what American city?”

At which point my wife Vicki let out an ecstatic cheer that rivaled the first time she ever saw Barry Manilow in concert.  For she knew the exact location of the Andy Warhol Museum, as she had accompanied me there when, in 2002, I attended a museum function as part of a panel on music collecting and record album art.

Yep, that was the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  I nailed the answer, knowing that tonight Street Academy would pick up playoff points.

The Big Red Machine, who had the top score that night, also knew the answer was Pittsburgh, so they claimed the five playoff points and the overall lead, while Street Academy took three points for second.  A new team, Nasty Nate, came in third and got their first playoff point.

So after nine weeks, here are the standings, and remember – only the top eight squads get into the final round.

Elbo Room Trivia Standings – Week 9

	Trivia Team	Points	Totals
1	Big Red Machine	5	15.3
2	Mayhem		14.3
3	Stern Fans		13
4	Street Academy	3	8
5	Touched by an Uncle		7
T-6	Brown Van Experience		5
T-6	Clay Aiken’s Skid Marks		5
T-8	The Third Wheel		3
T-8	Woo Hoo a Go Go		3
THE CUT LINE
9	Monkey Knife Fights		2.3
10	Dr. Occam’s Razor		2
T-11	Nasty Nate	1	1
T-11	The Wrong Guy		1
T-11	Overqualified and Unemployed		1

Three more points for Street Academy, and a more secure position in making it to the finals! WHOOO!!!!