Dreamscape

The other night I had a weird dream where I was seeing the early 80's U.S. Metal band Riot at a venue whose stage seemed to shift back and forth from being indoors in a club to outdoors in a parking lot. Despite the fact that it kept shifting between inside and outside, the stage itself was exactly like the one at the defunct San Francisco club The Old Waldorf. The stage in my dream was the same knee-height and had a carpet rolled up against the front (the carpet at The Old Waldorf would be rolled out to cover the club's hardwood dance floor for certain events); I used to kneel on that rolled carpet to take photos of bands in the days before I could buy alcohol legally...

As the band started playing in my dream, I was snapping pictures with my current Canon XSi, which was odd since digital photography was mere Science Fiction when Riot and The Old Waldorf were going strong. At one point one of the guitarists was totally mugging for the camera.

Riot - 'Swords & Tequila' Live - 1981

After Riot's set I wandered around to meet friends and / or family (my dreamscape wasn't clear on that detail)... It was then announced that "the bus" was leaving town. I looked at the parking lot in front of the stage (the stage was "outside" at this point in the dream) and a line of people was waiting to board a bus. This was good news, since it meant Riot's next set would be less crowded! Excellent.

As the bus was being readied for departure, I went back to Umlaut's Prius that was parked in a nearby garage. I traded my Canon XSi for my Canon PowerShot to use during Riot's next set. However, as I started taking pics of Riot again, the low battery warning flashed on the PowerShot... and my dream started going downhill from there.

First, I couldn't take any more pictures of Riot.. much to my frustration as they smoked the stage with their brand of no-nonsense early-80's U.S. Metal... THEN I couldn't find the parking garage where I'd left the Prius... THEN I realized my only way home was via that bus and it was GONE.. THEN I noticed my cell phone wasn't in my jacket pocket. THEN panic set in....... THEN I woke up.

Flash forward to the morning after this dream and I learned that King Diamond will be appearing in the upcoming Guitar Hero: Metallica game. WTF!? KING DIAMOND in a VIDEO GAME?!! A video game that will be in the homes of millions of impressionable young minds?!! Was I still in an alternate dream universe?? Cue the Mercyful Fate song 'Evil'..

Courtesy of Metallica.com

Dreams... Fantasy... Reality... I'm not sure if I've taken the blue or the red pill here in the 21st Century. "Drizzle, drazzle, druzzle, drone. Time for this one to come home.."

Riot - Live at Wolfgang's, San Francisco - 12/27/83