Earlier in the day I had to attend a birthday party for 3-5 year olds in the Deep Dark 'Burbs.. It was a good reality check for Umlaut. Tickets for this sold out show were selling for up to $111 EACH on Ebay. I know, neither would I...
Dude, they opened with Regular John and followed it with 5 more songs from their first album! A very nice Old School way to open the show and confuse their new fanbase. A laugh was shared when Queens gave props to S.F.'s own Huey Lewis by throwing in a bit of I Want A New Drug during Feel Good Hit Of The Summer.. However, Nick is definitely missed in the lineup. It's the Josh Show now and the results are mixed IMO.
The Weekend Warrior "I'm fucked up on 4 beers"-vibe slowly washed over the crowd as the show progressed.. It spiked when the two jockish guys in front of me had their arms around each others' shoulders and clumsily tried to shake their fists in the air to the music. The band's fanbase is odd these days.
BEST QUOTE -
Capt. Fireball: "When was the last time you were at a show with this much pot smoking?"
For the first time in many moons, Umlaut and Joey Acid King were alone together in public unchaperoned. I had flashbacks to a Jesus Lizard show or two. "Give me something to stop the bleeding..." Thanks to S. for letting Joey come out to play.
Beer count = 2. On the way back to the car some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. In the car Joey and I discussed String Theory... and after I dropped him off Zeppelin's The Lemon Song came on the radio. Natch.
As if the Queens show wasn't enough for a Saturday.. There was this too:
Dude! The Michael Schenker Group on Rockpalast from Hamburg, Germany - January 1981 on DVD!! As Umlaut said to Capt. Fireball: "Holy Fuck!"
Screencap from Rockpalast DVD... "Rock Bottom!!"
In December 1980, Umlaut stood in the rain for 7 hours waiting for the doors to open in Oakland to see MSG on their 1st tour. We didn't use umbrellas because we didn't want to look like pussies waiting for a rock concert (stupid kids!!). Once inside, my clothes were soaked and I was crushed down at the front waiting for MSG to hit the stage. Steam rose off of the crowd from the body heat and wet clothing. As the houselights went out and the crowd crushed forward I can still hear the announcement "Oakland!! MSG.. Armed and ready!!!" in my 16-year old ears. In hindsight, it was a defining gig for Umlaut's Music Geek development. Standing in the rain for 1/3 of a day to see an opening act and then being crushed by a couple of thousands people while watching them. I wore the MSG 3/4 sleeve tour jersey I bought that night until it literally fell apart.
I went to the show with my cousin, with whom I'd originally gotten into Hard Rock (KISS, UFO, Ozzy, MSG...). Sadly, he grew up and now does regional sales for a huge industrial chemical company. If I were to tell him about the MSG DVD he would probably say "I haven't listened to them since I was 15.." Meanwhile, I haven't been this geeked out about something since... oh... last week. Hope I die before I get old.
Thanks as always to Capt. Fireball for the DVD hook up!
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ADDENDUM:
Umlaut and his Geek allies can be so fucking scary... This image is courtesy of the Capt. Fireball Archives:
The 1980 MSG tour jersey... I never thought I'd ever see it again. Tis like seeing the face of long dead love again... Trapped in time... never to fade.... or something like that.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die..." - From "The Nameless City" by H.P. Lovecraft
