On Wednesday night, Middle Distance Runner (one of DCist’s favorite bands) played a successful show at Arlene’s in Brooklyn with The Sketches, Fools & Horses, and Justin Jones. The show only happened by the grace of The Sketches and their borrowed equipment, because earlier that day MDR was greeted by a very unpleasant scene:

While parked in front of an elementary school in Brooklyn, sometime between 1:00pm and 5:00pm (the middle of the day), someone thought it would be nice to smash our van’s side window, reach in and steal a bunch of our stuff. We lost 2 guitars, a bass, and all of our drum hardware. The drum hardware would be impossible to track down, and we are just considering that an immediate loss.

The band is not cancelling this Saturday’s show at the Black Cat. Between borrowing equipment and buying some new stuff, the show must go on. On that note, if you’re in the D.C. area and have a hot tip on some unused guitars or basses, send an email to hi (at) middledistancerunner (dot) com. Ian Glinka, the band’s bass player said, “We need to get back on our feet again… it’s not going to be easy, either. The window for the van is going to end up costing us $700 alone. We’re really in a bad spot right now.”

And if you find yourself strolling around some pawn shops in Brooklyn and see any of the following, let MDR know.

-Fender Jazzmaster 1962 re-issue (sunburst w/ tortoise pick guard)
-Fender American Telecaster (sunburst w/ white pick guard)
-Fender 5-string Jazz Bass, HM model (white w/ paint chipping off near pickups)
-Drum hardware … cymbals, stands, tambourine, cowbell, shaker, etc…