Home Cooking

Children Of Bodom / Death Angel / Tyr
The Fillmore, San Francisco
February 28, 2014

No offense to the other bands on this bill, but the only reason I was at The Fillmore on this Friday night was to see Death Angel on their home turf.  Only 20 days earlier, the band had made a brief homecoming to play their old friend's Horror Convention and then the next day they were off on down that Lock 'N Loll Road again.  Tonight found them back in their home area code for another brief time as part of this odd bill sandwiched between 2 Scandinavian bands.

Umlaut arrived earlier than expected and passed the time watching the enormous merch line snake from the back of the main room all the way to the stage.  Impressive... but as Tyr begin their set I knew I wouldn't be long for the main room.  Tyr have very good musicianship but their neutered brand of Metal is something that mystifies me.  The early crowd assembled for them reminded me of being at ComiCon and when a nerdy guy in the lobby wearing a Tyr shirt said loudly "I've never seen this many Tyr shirts in one place before!" he kind of summed it up perfectly.  Anyway, after a couple of songs I found myself sitting in the upstairs bar with other bored Death Angel fans.

A minute or so later around 6 bored Thrash kidz walked into the room and they immediately endeared themselves to me as they debated each other on "real" Metal bands with one of them saying "I've seen Motörhead twice, dude!"  It was like looking into a mirror back at my 20th Century self; those kidz are going to be alright.  Dog bless them.

I was curious to see how a Children Of Bodom crowd would respond to Death Angel, but I didn't anticipate how much home cooking would influence tonight's set.  As the houselights went down I was standing down front at stage right and realized I was pretty much surrounded by Death Angel friends and family members... and the energy level from the first note was completely off the hook.  It was obvious tonight was going to be very special.

[All photos courtesy of Photo Ray]

The new song 'Left For Dead' set things off and the set seemed longer than the mere 45 minutes Death Angel were allotted.  However, when it's a band playing at the level that Death Angel is here in 2014 it's simply a matter of all killer and no filler. Quality over quantity.  For the entire set I wasn't sure if it was just me who was caught up in the emotionally charged fury.  However, as I looked around at the crowd and watched the pit action I realized the smell in the air was the sweet smell of home cooking.  I could tell the band was digging into the home cooking profoundly as well.

I was impressed that the set was mainly new songs but it did not matter at all, so when Death Angel started up the DeLorean and took us back in time to the vintage 'Mistress Of Pain' things went completely nuts.  It's not often you see a support band completely take over a stage and make it their own, but tonight Death Angel did just that.  Although not on the same level of course, tonight reminded me of Metallica with Ozzy in 1986.  Not the same level, but definitely the same vibe.  There is no place like home.  The next day Mark of Death Angel posted the following message that caused me to get a bit teary eyed:

"Last night was one of my most satisfying, and gratifying San Francisco shows that we have ever played!"

If you had bought one of every Death Angel merch item you would have paid around $110.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Despite my previous intention of staying for the headliner, as they blazed through their set I was at the Mel's Drive-In on Geary where I had the weirdest and least satisfying chicken fried steak ever.  Hmm... obviously not all home cooking is good after all.

The Home Team

Testament / Overkill / 4Arm / The Butlers
The Fillmore, San Francisco
January 30, 2013

The feeling of Bay Area pride that I felt in the air as I entered The Fillmore was thick enough to cut with a fictional knife.  It's been amazing to witness so many bands from back in the Murder In The Front Row days who have gotten a second (or 3rd... or 4th..) wind in recent years and come back stronger than ever.  Testament is one of those bands from the 415 / 510 who are now seemingly immortal here in the 21st Century.  The Butlers were already onstage and a lot of old friends were there early as well.

Umlaut generally loathes cover bands, but The Butlers are so good that I must admit I dig them.  The band features former members of such veteran Bay Area bands as Exodus, Jetboy, and Ruffians so their musical chops are as real as the Golden Gate Bridge.  It was a nice 35 minute warm up of Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, and Alice Cooper tunes.  Then the band played their trump card by bringing out their buddies Phil Demmel of Machine Head for UFO ('Shoot Shoot') and then Rob and Mark of Death Angel for Judas Priest ('Green Manalishi'!).   Dude, it was one of those only in The Bay Area moments!  I thought it was funny that the kid on the rail with the Machine Head back patch on his denim vest got WAY more excited about Rob and Mark then he did for Phil.  Kind of awkward...

Rob of Death Angel and Craig of The Butlers

[Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

I spent the entire duration of 4Arms set in the upstairs bar getting some food / beer and quality hang time with old friends (Hail to Photo Ray, Cable Car, and The Behrhorsts!)... and then this happened:

[Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

Yes, Phil Demmel of Machine Head (and Vio-lence) carries around his copy of Murder In The Front Row with an old school written-on-a-piece-of-paper autograph hit list of people in the book.  His list is not just band people but also old friends and local Metalheads who are in shots.  So fucking cool... Murder is our yearbook.  Yes, I was on his list.  Anyway, meanwhile downstairs there was a Metal show going on...

Overkill...I'll be honest.. I've never been a big fan.  Although I do still have their original 1983 'Power In Black' demo tape that an East Coast penpal sent me back in The Day. Overkill are at 2/5 original members these days and they were good.. MUCH better than the last time I saw them. The had the crowd action going nicely all night especially during older songs like 'Wrecking Crew'.. and Bobby did have the best quote of the night with "Sweet baby Jesus in a Slayer shirt we've got ourselves a Thrash show!"   I couldn't have said it better myself... I guess.

It was the first night of the tour, which always means there will be some fine tuning needed.. but despite a couple of miscues Testament destroyed their home field tonight.   The 4 songs performed off their great new album Dark Roots of Earth fit right in with the older material; Testament are a machine of mayhem these days from their seemingly endless touring.  The vintage 'The New Order' was the highlight of the set for me but 'Practice What You Preach' was the quintessential moment when the hometown band became profoundly one with the hometown crowd.

Chuck and Greg of Testament

[Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

It's still mind blowing watching Testament onstage with the legend that is Gene Hoglan sitting atop the drum riser.  The guy is the Cozy Powell of his generation and he never seems like he's phoning a performance in despite the fact he's playing with, what, 2 or 3 bands at the moment?  Drum God.  After the main set, and after a good chunk of the crowd had already left, Chuck Billy and the guys came back out for an unscheduled version of 'Over The Wall' that was not on the printed setlist.  Nicely done.. Home cooking rules! 

If you bought one of every Testament merch item you would have paid around $220.  My only question is why don't they have a simple logo tee?  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  Five days after this show the Niners returned to the Super Bowl for the first time in 18 years and lost because they couldn't score from 5 yards out... Ridiculous... but I'm sure Testament were okay with that since they're Raiders fans. 

Merci Beacoup

Gojira / Devin Townsend Project / The Atlas Moth 
The Fillmore, San Francisco 
January 23, 2013 

I was surprised how filled The Fillmore was for this show; not sold out but at least the next best thing.  It's been 3 years since Gojira last headlined in San Francisco and it was cool to see them make the leap to a larger venue this time around.  Thanks to Steve of CM for the hook up.

The Atlas Moth obviously have Neurosis in their record collections.  In fact I ran into Dave Edwardson after their set (Atlas Month had recently supported Neurosis).   This isn't meant to sound negative, but I couldn't stop thinking how The Atlas Month sounded like Baroness being played on 33rpm instead of the correct 45rpm.   Again, not meant as a negative.  That's just my brain making some kind of lazy blog analogy to describe what I heard while Atlas Moth performed.  While not being very familiar with their music I will always appreciate a band with 3 guitars who can weave them into a decent volume web... and Stavros (guitar) is a cool dude.  THANKS for the CD, man!

I know a lot of people worship Devin Townsend... but I'll just save everyone's time and say his whole schtick is awful.  Dude, the whole laughing at Metal and not with Metal while playing expensive custom guitars offends me.  Awful. However, he is a super star performer when it comes to making funny faces when he's not at the mic...  Anyway..

There was ALOT of dope smoke in the air tonight; if I closed my eyes I could have been at a Sleep show.  Gojira are the most hippie Metal band going with their songs about the environment and spirituality and whales.  I'd like to think all of their merch is made from free range hemp and printed with hormone free soy inks.   The elegant interior of The Fillmore was perfect for the Frenchmen's cerebral and tastefully brutal take on Metal.  During the changeover before their set, a smoke machine filled the stage with atmosphere (organic free range atmosphere) as some pleasant Euro dance music played over the PA.   Oh, Zee French!

Also prior to Gojira's grand entrance, I had a delightful backstage conversation with the guy who sings Master Of Puppets.  What did we chat about?  Oh, stuff like the art of John Baizley and other high brow subjects such as Mario's drumming for Gojira.  It was cute to see members of one of the opening bands get completely star struck.  Sometimes I forget that people who are my old friends are also other peoples' heroes.  Pretty cool.

Anyway, all sense of decorum evaporated when the crowd went absolutely berserk as Gojira launched into the evening's performance with the new song 'Explosia' and then into the relatively old song 'Flying Whales' (hippies!).  It's not often that The Fillmore hosts a proper Metal show so watching that kind of excellent crowd action within its hallowed walls is always special.

Photo courtesy of Umlaut's iPhone

Gojira wield a hypnotizing blend of Metal, Jazz, and Prog Rock that I find more compelling than most other bands who are their peers.  I have to say Gojira and Meshuggah are the only two bands who utilize drum triggers and blast beats that I absolutely need in my record collection at this point in my life.  Everything else I can probably trade in for credit at Amoeba.  A nice moment was when the brothers switched roles and Joe went behind the drums and Mario took over his guitar and the vocals for a song.  I don't think I've ever seen someone play a guitar onstage while wearing drummer's gloves before.  Oh, Zee French.

As mayhem filled as the Gojira crowd was it wasn't the type of "Metal" crowd that I was used to being amongst.  It was a younger crowd and I didn't see one Slayer shirt.  That being said it warmed my heart to see the French get such a rousing reaction from San Francisco.  As they have at every show they've played here, Joe took a moment to say how special it was for Gojira to play in The Bay Area since the bands from here mean so much to them.  How do you say "pretty cool" in French?

If you bought one of every Gojira merch item you would have paid around $240.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags.  If only Murder In The Front Row had a French translation.

Blast Beat Sunday

Meshuggah / Baroness / Decapitated
The Fillmore, San Francisco
May 6, 2012


The fact that this was a rare Metal show at the historic Fillmore was enough to get me out of Casa de Umlaut on a Sunday night. Prior to the show Photo Ray, Sensory Abuse, and I met at Toronado to have a pint with food from Rosamunde next door. Despite having to overhear a conversation some nerdy hipsters were having about how their ideal woman is Liz Lemon, it was otherwise the perfect way to prepare for blast beats. I'm not making up that conversation.

The Pre-Blast Beat Beer 'n Feast

The show's multi-national bill featured representatives from Poland, the United States, and Sweden. It was kind of a reminder that, like, we're all one planet and people, etc. hippie shit etc. hippie shit etc.. However, people were being turned away at the door since the show was completely sold out. Along those lines, I was not on the guest list as planned. However, THANKS to Cecilia of The Fillmore who made that extra effort on my behalf and got me sorted anyway! HAIL!

Decapitated were the 2nd band from Poland to come through San Francisco within the past 2 weeks. The Poles play that kind of samey Metal that reminds me how disturbingly much Pantera has influenced a couple of generations of bands... for better and worse. If I had a dime (pun!) for every guitarist who I've seen onstage wielding a Dimebag Dean axe I could buy something nice for myself. How do you say "Fucking Hostile" in Polish? That being said, I thought Decapitated were great, not really because of their music, but because it was obvious they were just happy to be playing in San Francisco in front of a large and enthusiastic crowd. It beats a day job back in Poland, dude!

Baroness are part of the new breed of Southern Rock that includes Umlaut favorites Mastodon and Kylesa. The last time I saw Baroness was 2 years ago and I was not into them at all, but I've mellowed since then. I've gotten back in touch with my sensitive inner Music Geek who appreciates Jazzy melodies again. Also, having the cerebral Baroness sandwiched between the blast beat bookends of Decapitated and Meshuggah was a brilliant piece of tour packaging.

As Baroness walked onstage, a guy wearing a Tool shirt standing next to me passed out and hit the floor hard. Tool... HAHA! Baroness brought a different, thoughtful heavy groove to the night that I think the hallowed walls of The Fillmore probably appreciated more than the European volume bludgeoning. I also think the ghosts of dead hippies in the hall appreciated the obvious clouds of pot smoke that suddenly erupted from the crowd as people lit up during the set. Like I said, I was way more into Baroness this time around... and the song 'A Horse Called Golgotha' was downright epic.

As Baroness' great set ended, I walked through the lobby on the way to the Men's Room and a healthy number of bored Meshuggah fans were hanging out and waiting for the "shitty band" onstage to finish. Diversity is a meal best served cold... I guess. Also, for the newbies who don't know, Baroness guitarist John Baizley is also one of THE shit-hot, most sought after graphic artists in Metal today. Needless to say, the Baroness merch won the Gold Medal tonight.

One highlight of the night was how Rod Stewart's 'Do You Think I'm Sexy' played over the PA during the changeover before Meshuggah for at least 16 minutes solid. At first I thought it was the sound guy having fun... but the song kept playing... and playing... and then finally the joke dawned on me as Rod sang the line "Come on sugah let me know.." Say it 3 or 4 times fast. HAHAHA! Who said Metal bands don't have a sense of humor!?

Some of Umlaut's favorite European bands happen to be Swedish at this point in my life (Ghost, Watain, Amon Amarth, General Surgery...). My how times flies: It's been over 2 years since Meshuggah last sandblasted San Francisco. Seeing Meshuggah live is like being put through a nuclear powered Easy Bake Oven and it's profound how supernatually heavy the Swedes are live.

San Francisco gets Meshuggahed

Meshuggah's performance felt like a full-on sensory cleansing via their Metal meets Industrial intensity. The thing I liked the most about the night was how the crowd wasn't particularly "Metal". It was a more diverse mix of people that went from your standard Metalheads with denim vests to shockingly "normal" looking folks. However, the common bond was obvious once Meshuggah kicked their set off with the new song 'Demiurge' and seemingly the entire room was fully engaged with the performance from the first volume blast; seemingly every person around me was banging their head in unison and the crowd action down front was impressive. It was rather medieval.

The volume hammer of Meshuggah onstage is something that's hard to articulate; I'm weird and I find it cathartic and mentally cleansing. I don't mean to sound all hippie shit on you, but it's almost a spiritual thing. The Meshuggah live experience is like having your soul beaten for its own good by the band's mantra-like volume hammer and your mind sandblasted clean back to reset by their fury. Besides the sound, the performance was fully enhanced by one of the best light shows I've ever seen at The Fillmore; a quality light show and production is easy to take for granted. The Swedes nailed it and the epic show-closing version of 'Dancers To A Discordant System' was the perfect way to bring the entire theme and vibe of the night to a bludgeoning end.

If you bought one of every Meshuggah merch item you would have paid around $300... and one of every Baroness merch item would have set you back around $200. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. Tonight was quite possibly my favorite Metal show at The Fillmore since the 2006 Celtic Frost / Sun O))) (featuring Attila of Mayhem on vocals) / Goatwhore / 1349 gig... and to top it off tonight's poster was done by Umlaut's old friend Mark DeVito! HAIL!


Click HERE to see Photo Ray's Meshuggah photos from the night!

Kidz These Days

The Summer Slaughter Tour
The Fillmore, San Francisco
July 29, 2011

The main reason I attended this year's Summer Slaughter was because it would be the perfect after hours meet up for the creative team behind Murder In The Front Row who have been gathered in San Francisco this week. Yes, production of the tome is proceeding fast 'n furious and the results so far have been both humbling and mind blowing. It's not often you can look back on your life 30 years ago in 6300 dpi glory.

The annual Summer Slaughter Tour features the newer Metal bands the kidz are into these days. These bands are also usually the new Metal bands that make me want to listen to Coltrane, Johnny Cash, or something else that isn't Metal. This year's tour is headlined by Black Dahlia Murder and White Chapel with eight (8) other bands. By the time I arrived at The Fillmore the show had been going on for around five (5) hours and some of The Fillmore staff were openly cranky from dealing with the Metal kidz.

"No Headwalking"... I would bet that sign has been in storage since 1987.. because do kidz these days even have a clue about what that is?

I met my publishing brothers out front at Will Call, was glad to find my name was on the guest list, and we made it inside just as White Chapel started. White Chapel has three (3) guitarists when one (1) good guitarist could do the job. However the kidz on the packed floor were into it and that's all that matters. I like seeing the new generation of Metal kidz having fun... but White Chapel drove us to the upstairs bar where my publishing brothers and I talked business and Old Metal for the duration of the set.

At one point a kid holding a 3/4 full beer cup came up to us and asked "Are you guys 21??" We looked at him blankly and collectively answered "Uhhh... Yes.. Why?"... and the kid mumbled something about how he couldn't finish his beer because he had to drive home and did any of us want it. Oookaay... A nice hippie-like gesture on his part.. but why would we want a cup of his backwash when we can afford to buy our own beer. Silly kid... Now go on your way you little scamp.. Kidz these days... but kudos to the kid for being DUI aware. His parents should be proud.

The thumping from downstairs announced that Black Dahlia Murder were taking the stage so we returned to the main floor. I've seen the band before and wanted to check them out again because the kidz love them and they sell alot of merch.

Again, I like seeing the youngsters have a good time with their moshing and their shoving and their 21st Century version of pit action... but I soon joined my publishing brothers at the downstairs bar. As we chatted over the din coming from the stage, I had a Music Geek epiphany that I didn't expect.. I've been seeing shows at The Fillmore since 1987 and I had never noticed this faux fireplace before:

Does anybody know the story behind this fake fireplace??

Anyway, that was that. We didn't see or really pay attention to any of the bands, but I guarantee we still had a more Metal evening than pretty much anyone else in the building via our conversations. If only you'd seen what our eyes had seen this week... Images of Metal in 6300 dpi from a time before most of you reading this were probably born.

I didn't do a merch audit, but the kids seemed to have a lot of disposable income tonight. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. The show ended promptly at 11:00pm and some of The Fillmore staff were definitely cranky after 7+ hours of dealing with the Metal kidz.. which was funny. To quote Baloff: "Metal rules.. and if you don't like it.. DIE!"

Old School

Jeff Beck & the Imelda May Band
The Fillmore, San Francisco
April 9, 2011

Jeff Beck is one of Umlaut's favorite Guitar Gods... and the chance to see him at The Fillmore was a no-brainer. A historic musician in a historic venue; those who fail to learn from history are destined to listen to crap music.. Tonight was the final show of a brief 12 city tour featuring Jeff Beck backed by singer Imelda May and her band. The inspiration behind the shows was Beck paying tribute to the late Les Paul and also to pay homage to the Rock Music of the 1950's that inspired him when he was young.

While killing time in The Fillmore's upstairs bar before the show it was obvious the crowd tonight was a total Baby Boomer Sausage Fest; it was definitely a Bro Date Night for the Weekend Warrior crowd. The following exchange happened between the bartender and an older gentleman standing next to me at the bar:

Bartender: "What would you like?"
Older Gentleman: "A beer."
Bartender: "What kind of beer?"
Older Gentleman: "In a bottle."
Bartender: (pause) "... a Budweiser?"
Older Gentleman: "Yes."

Hope I die before I get old.

Before the set started Beck announced the tribute nature of tonight's show and then he and the band were off and running with versions of songs by Elvis Presley ('Baby Let's Play House') and Gene Vincent ('Cruising'). I was in total Music Geek alert watching Beck strap on his Telecaster because I knew something special was coming... and then he and the band launched into a rip-roaring version of 'Train Kept A-Rollin' that was done like the original rockabilly version instead of the more famous Yardbirds take on the song. Jeff Beck playing 'Train Kept A-Rollin' at The Fillmore!? Woah..

The saucy Imelda May joined the band onstage about 1/3 of the way into the show for a compelling set of Les Paul and Mary Ford classics, including 'Vaya Con Dios' (of course..)... but Beck & Imelda didn't perform 'Tennessee Waltz'. Hmmm.. wonder why.

Les Paul & Mary Ford

It was interesting to watch musicians from England and Ireland (May is Irish) recreating vintage American Rock Music and coming across completely genuine and not cheesy at all. From a Music Geek standpoint it was also interesting watching Beck switch between different guitars so often during the set; usually he just delivers the goods onstage with a Stratocaster. He went from a Gibson hollow body, to a Les Paul (!), to his signature cream Strat depending on the song. When Beck struck his trademark stance to hit a note, posing his cream colored Strat against his right hip and pointing the headstock towards the sky, you could hear the Music Geeks in the room squeal like little schoolgirls (guilty!).

(Photo stolen from The Internet)

According to the Umlaut Archives this was the 5th time I've seen Beck (dating back to 1983) and it was my favorite performance. I'm a fan of Beck's Jazz work, but this was a completely old style Rock 'N Roll set... and the Guitar God soloed during every song. Highlights for Umlaut were the blistering versions of 'Peter Gunn' and 'Apache'. The version of the latter kind of blew my mind... and there was also a very good version of 'Walking In The Sand' with Imelda May channeling The Shangri-Las nicely. A bonus for the great night was that the free Fillmore poster was one of the best ones I've seen in a long time:

The night had the exact same vibe as when I've seen Lemmy perform with his side band The Head Cat; an evening where a Rock Legend geeks out on the music that influenced him. It was like watching Jeff Beck pull records (vinyl!) out of his collection and play them for us.

Thanks to Cable Car for sorting my ticket tonight!

If you bought one of every Jeff Beck merch item you would have paid around $390 including Wired on vinyl (!). On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. The next day ALL of the 21st Century communication wired into Casa de Umlaut (The Internets / Cable) went down for most of the day. How did people find out about music in the 1950's?!

Contact High

The Black Crowes - "The Final Show"
The Fillmore, San Francisco
December 19, 2010


It still bums me out a little how The Black Crowes evolved over the years from a great American version of the Rolling Stones (when they were cocky and fucked up), Humble Pie and The Faces (Yes, Umlaut's Classic Rock Roots are showing..) into a Hippie Jam Band headliner. I'm not afraid to say that I think the first 3 Crowes albums are good... but then they took off the Keef Richards t-shirt and started wearing one with Jerry Garcia on it. I can't argue that it wasn't a good career move since there are alot of people who still wear patchouli here in the 21st Century. Anyway, I was surprised when the Umlaut Archives told me this would be the 5th time I've seen the Black Crowes... 'cause I don't really remember any of the other shows after 1991.

The First Tour
(From the Umlaut Archives)

This was the last night of a 6-night Fillmore run, the last show of the band's 2010 tour, AND evidently it was also their "FINAL SHOW" before going on an "indefinite hiatus". The band has gone on "hiatus" before (in 2002-05), so I'd take the "FINAL SHOW" thing with a grain of salt. However, I figured I should see the Black Crowes one more time and at least it would be one of those special, only-in-San Francisco Fillmore shows. Plus, as I've said in this space recently, I'm bored with most Metal bands right now so a change of scenery might do me some good.

It was pleasant seeing the inside of The Fillmore decked out in Christmas decorations, but it was overshadowed by the amount of pot smoke clouding the space. The houselights went down at around 8:15pm and the 9 (NINE) members of the Black Crowes live unit walked onstage and toked straight into a semi-acoustic version of 'Remedy' and for the next hour the band played a bong worthy semi-acoustic songs.

As my head started to get hazy from the contact high from all weed in the air, I couldn't help but compare the Black Crowes' Hippie crowd with Sleep's Stoner Rock crowd (click HERE for my 48 hours of Sleep back in September). A Stoner Rock crowd is drawn to the volume darkness and the thundering bottom end while inhaling. A Hippie crowd is drawn into the belief that "the jams" and rainbows will make everything alright while inhaling. In reality, both Hippies and Stoner Rock fans are coming from the same WEED place, but Hippies believe in *the light* and Stoner Rock follows *the dark*. To quote the mighty Saint Vitus: "I bleed black".

After a short break the 9 (NINE) members of the Crowes' live unit returned to the stage for an hour or so long electric set. I enjoyed the 'My Morning Song' / 'Stare It Cold' medley... but then a 10+ minute drum / percussion solo harshed my Inner Metalhead. I spent alot of the set watching the crowd and wondering why I couldn't be as in love with this band and this performance as they all were, especially since I genuinely still like this band's first 2 or 3 albums. Of course, the obvious reason was I wasn't stoned... The guy standing next to me sang along to every song and looked up at the ceiling with his eyes closed and arms held aloft like he was at a Southern Baptist revival meeting... I felt like putting my hand on his forehead and pushing him into a river... but he was taller than me.

Over the course of this Fillmore residency the Crowes had a "tradition" of ending the night as a cover band for whatever reasons. Two nights earlier they closed with cover versions of songs by The Band... and the night before they had closed with a set of Neil Young covers. On this final night of their tour, the final night of their San Francisco stay, and possibly the final night of their career the band from Georgia ended things with 5 consecutive Rolling Stones covers: 'Midnight Rambler' > 'Torn And Frayed' > 'I Just Want To See His Face' > ' Can't You Hear Me Knocking' > 'The Last Time'.

With my recent experience amid Classic Rock Zombies at Jason Bonham' Led Zeppelin Experience still fresh in my mind, I thought ending this way was a total cop out by the Crowes. Now, I don't want to harsh everyone's buzz (especially my friends who are Crowes fans...) but I still can't understand how eager and willing the crowd was to eat up a half hour of cover songs instead of hearing their favorite band play their own songs. However this seems to be accepted behavior with Hippie bands dating back to the Grateful Dead (some of their most beloved songs were covers) to Phish (who became legendary with their fans for playing cover versions of entire albums on Halloween). If a big time headlining Stoner Rock band came out and played a set of Black Sabbath cover songs people would leave and never come back... Just saying. Anyway, given "THE FINAL SHOW" hype of the evening the ending was downright anti-climatic.

Bye Bye Hippies

Anyway, after the show my head was hazy from the at least a half dozen varieties of herb that I had inhaled second hand. For those keeping score, according to the Umlaut Archives this was my 75th gig this year... and I hate to harsh everyone's mellow with my bad trip on the Crowes... but at least I was in good company and saw some members of the Umlaut Nation. A shout out to The Sheriff, Sin, The Talent, and Whitney.

If you bought one of every Black Crowes merch item you would have paid around $350. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. The next day my head was still leaden from my Crowes contact high... Yeah, I'm a lightweight. I need to see a Metal show.

Weather Report

The Dead Weather
The Fillmore, San Francisco
April 15, 2010

Hmm... The last time Jack White and I were in The Fillmore together was back in June 2002 when The White Stripes were there. I must have been on a guest list because I don't have a ticket stub from that gig in the Umlaut Archives, but I do have the poster:


The last time Alison Mosshart and I were in The Fillmore together was last May when The Kills were there. Regretfully, I wasn't able to see The Dead Weather's San Francisco debut last Summer at the Outside Lands Festival. Remember when The White Stripes and The Kills only had enough S.F. fans to play at Bottom of the Hill? Me too.

This show marked a rare concert appearance by Skychick, who has been a way bigger fan of The Dead Weather CD than Umlaut; she has it memorized and I could only admit to liking 1/2 of the disc. In fact, she had to remind me when we arrived at The Fillmore that Jack White plays DRUMS in Dead Weather. IT'S TRUE! Yeah, I've had my head into Metal WAY too much lately.


Several trusted Music Geek friends had already seen The Dead Weather and raved about them live... so something in the back of my head suspected the following might happen: The houselights went down at exactly 9:15 and over the next 90 minutes I became fanatical about the band. The songs that I didn't *get* from listening to the CD finally clicked in my head... Dear Dead Weather, please be gentle pulling the hook out of my mouth.

Dead Weather being called a "super group" is silly to me because (aside from Jack White) it's not a collection of iconic musicians like Shrinebuilder or Damn Yankees... I mean, the band is made up of the boy 1/2 of The White Stripes, the girl 1/2 of The Kills, the guy with glasses from The Raconteurs, and one of the recent guys in Queens Of The Stone Age. That doesn't add up to a "super group" with my math and I'm Asian! However, onstage The Dead Weather prove themselves to be a legitimately great band with enough intense mojo to make them special. It's not often that Umlaut's jaded Music Geek senses are blown away... but they were on this Thursday night in San Franfuckincisco.

The band's staging was predictably dark, but with blue instead of black.. which made the ambiance of the set even more compelling especially when combined with the requisite smoke machine.


They played in blue shadows most of the night, which fit the music and the controlled fury onstage. Despite the draw of Jack White, it was immediately obvious that Alison is the star of this band. I've always thought that when I've seen The Kills she would be amazing fronting a traditional Rock band (guitar, bass, drums) and now that image has become reality. Alison is a true Rock Star and she has a swagger and confidence that only dudes usually display in bands... Stalking the stage with a fag in her mouth... Standing on the monitors to reign over the audience like a Rock God(dess)... Playing a guitar and looking like a guitarist and not simply a girl posing with a guitar. She's a street walkin' cheetah with a heart full of napalm personified. Watching her transfix the sold out Fillmore crowd reminded me of seeing Robert Plant & Alison Krauss a couple of years ago and witnessing that audience realizing the magnitude of Krauss' talent. Just as most people went to see Plant and left enthralled by Krauss, I would bet alot of the crowd at The Fillmore were there because of Jack White but left enthralled by Mosshart... AND isn't it Music Geek ironic that BOTH women are named ALISON!? The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways.

Full disclosure time: As much as the band had me mesmerized, much of the crowd annoyed me. I was surrounded by normal people... hipster normal people... old hippie older people... normal people. I've had my head into Metal WAY too much lately, but when I'm in a Metal crowd I generally feel like I'm with my people. I didn't feel that at Dead Weather... BUT I wasn't there to make friends, right? I was there for THE MUSIC. However, I will say that I came close to punching a guy behind us who got very excited when Jack White first put on a guitar for a song.... and then he fucking TALKED about Jack White playing the guitar for almost that entire song. WTF, man!? Why are you even here??

Anyway, Umlaut's Music Geek friends will be proud of me for this observation: Both Alison and Jack played a style of guitar associated with the great Bo Diddley. Allison playing a rectangular Gretsch and Jack a version of Diddley's custom "Cadillac" guitar.

Someone throw me the horns already! The Geeks shall inherit The Earth. Anyway back to the performance...

So, the band's set mirrored the album by opening with '60 Feet Tall' and it was one of those performances where I was enthralled by how fluid the band played together and how they weaved an air of mystery about themselves. However, instead of being completely aloof, they managed to remain engaged and not distant from the audience. Also, while White was mainly stationed behind the drums, he did play guitar on a couple of songs... and at least a pair of new songs were played as well that fit right in with the current... but the groove Dead Weather dug themselves into during 'So Far From Your Weapon' was especially badass. It was such a deep groove you could have driven a BART train through it.

Despite my annoyances with some of the crowd, this will go down as one of Umlaut's favorite shows of the year. Jack White is obviously a student of Music history, and when he acknowledged The Fillmore a couple of times during the night it seemed genuine. However, the traditional post-show giveaway Fillmore poster was NOT done for these Dead Weather shows! WTFBOO!! BUT you could buy a poster printed by the band commemorating the show at the merch table. That Jack White knows the music AND the business, man. Respect.

Slayer hoodies = 1. If you bought one of every Dead Weather merch item you would have paid $190. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. I know Doom Metal purists will be outraged, but I fucking dig the fact that The Dead Weather covered Pentagram. It's only available on a cool iTunes digital EP that features live tracks and video and also on a limited edition 7" single via Jack White's label Third Man Records:

(From the Umlaut Archives)

It's an inspired cover IMO. They could easily have picked a more obvious song or band, ya know? Me likey... and they definitely play it better than Pentagram did last month in San Franfuckincisco.

Anvil Redux

Anvil / Attitude Adjustment
The Fillmore, San Francisco
February 6, 2010

Yes, this was a show geared for Umlaut's generation of Metalheads. The kidz who wear Meshuggah shirts wouldn't appreciate it, but that's fine; it's a generational thing. The Anvil story has been well documented practically everywhere so I'm not going to repeat it... For Umlaut's history with Anvil click HERE (Slim's), HERE (Umlaut meets Sacha Gervasi), and HERE (The Bridge Theater).

On this cold night, of course there was drama at Will Call... "NOT ON THE LIST.." While this put me in a really bad mood initially, it turned out to be a classic example of the Umlaut Nation proving its worth. After trading a couple of phone calls and text messages trying to get in touch with the band's management, I veered off that standard Lock 'N Loll path. I called Umlaut Nation friend Paula in TORONTO who has worked with Anvil for 20 years (Hi Paula!)... Paula in turn sent some messages of her own and, long story short, she gave me Rob Reiner's cell number... so I called the drummer direct! I explained who I was and why I was there and we had a pretty funny conversation that ended with him saying he'd get his tour manager to sort me right away. Right after this, Photo Ray sent me the tour manager's cell so I called him as well... and he informed me he had already sent my tickets to Will Call (Thanks John!). Brilliant networking Umlaut Nation! I'm still shaking my head that someone in TORONTO sorted me in real time as I stood outside in the cold San Francisco night... That would NOT have gone as well back in the 20th Century using a payphone! Thank dog for iPhones.

We got inside in time to see Umlaut friend Nikki Blakk introduce local boyz Attitude Adjustment to the stage. Trivia: 3/4 of the "classic" 1986 lineup of Attitude Adjustment were with Umlaut at Metallica's first ever show in San Franfuckincisco. The band has been playing shows again recently, but without my 3 old friends, and I have to say it was odd to have a hardcore Punk band opening for Anvil. However, from a Bay Area perspective, it was a nice nod to the old local music scene.. but I have to admit the high point of their set was when they brought out 1986-era guitarist, and one of Umlaut's oldest friends, Scaparro for a nostalgic rendition of the song 'Johnny'. It was nice to see Scaparro under the stage lights again... now he needs to get a Two Bit Thief reunion happening!

After the opening set, I noticed that The Fillmore had filled up respectably and I was surprised there were so few Hipsters in attendance given the movie's popularity. This was the 3rd time I'd seen Anvil since their resurrection... However, aside from the pair of Anvil: The Movie performances last year at Slim's and The Bridge Theater, this was Anvil's first proper show in The City By The Bay in maybe 13 years. Their 13-song set kicked off strong with 'March Of The Crabs' > '666' > 'School Love''; it was like being in a time machine and my Inner 16-year old Metalhead was smiling.

A perfect example of how Metal can transcend generations was symbolized by Umlaut's old Metal brother Hans and his teenage son. The kid was wearing his dad's vintage teenage Metalhead denim vest; I documented HERE how that vest reunited Hans and Umlaut after over 20 years. It was funny having Hans' son tell me his grandmother sewed the patches on for his dad and saying "That wasn't very Metal.. having your mom do that.." HAHA! That kid is gonna be alright.

Denim & Leather... Son and Dad

Anyway, back to the show: Jimmy Page has his violin bow... Lips has his vibrator. He pulled the accessory out of his back pocket during an epic extended version of 'Mothra' and utilized the devices' variable speeds admirably. Note to guitarists: The old school plastic vibrators create a better tone than the modern rubber ones.

It was hard not to get caught up in Lips' excitement over playing The Fillmore (on the same stage where the likes of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix performed)... and because of that positive energy the non-politically correct moments of the set, like Lips making Oriental eyes with his fingers during 'Mothra' and detailing a groupie offering him a sloppy seconds blowjob to intro 'Jackhammer', were endearing rather than causing the typical San Francisco Ultra-Liberal PC reaction ("Ohmygoddidyouhearwhathejustsaid!?").. It was straight up 80's... It was Metal.

Anvil were my Metal Heroes back in the 20th Century, but here in the 21st Century I've moved on; while alot of people my age tend to listen to the same old bands I'm still seeking out new bands that will engage me. During Anvil's set I struggled with how much I was really enjoying the show... My Inner 16-year old Metalhead was smiling, but my current 21st Century Metal self got lost a couple times during the band's mid-tempo songs. In the end, it's Anvil's story that makes them relevant to me and not really their music at this point in my life. Indeed, I bought their first albums when they first came out back in The Day and I still basically know all the lyrics to the Metal On Metal album (I wish they had played 'Tease Me, Please Me'..)... but, as I think I've said in this space before, it's just cool to see an example of how you CAN grow old on your own terms.. and the kidz who belittle Anvil and their story will know what I'm talking about in, like, 10-15 years... or at least I hope they have that realization. Hope I die before I get old.

If you bought one of every Anvil merch item you would have paid $130.. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Yeah, Metal on Metal is still the only way... I just see it from a different point of view... Tangled up in "Blew".. and with that random Bob Dylan reference, I am out of here.

Over The Wall

Testament
The Fillmore, San Francisco
June 12, 2009

In the 3 months since this show was announced it's been one of those big events on my calendar... The type of show where I've asked someone "Are you going?" almost every week... This show was a fucking event: Hometown (well, Oakland!) Metal heroes headlining the premiere hometown venue on the final night of their current North American Tour. Umlaut loves this kinda shit!

In classic old school fashion, Umlaut met up with Old Metal Tim and Photo Ray at the nearby Benihana (Metal?) for a nice pre-show dinner and hang session. I'm pretty sure I hadn't been to a Benihana's since, like, high school... Afterwards we few, we happy few, made our way to The Fillmore.

Given the magnitude of the night, The Umlaut / Old Metal Nation was out in force.. so a shout out to Photo Ray, Old Metal Tim, Pam, Craig, Timo, Erik, Lisa, Quonsan, Jerry, Sven, Jenn, Scaparro, Joe, Nikki Blakk... and at least a couple of others who I'm spacing on right now (sorry guys...).

The Fillmore's floor and balcony were packed as Testament hit the stage and it was obvious they were going to have a great set when the crowd action erupted after the band had been onstage for literally 10 seconds... literally. They kicked off with 'The Preacher' and then things went into overdrive and by the set's 4th song, 'Over The Wall', the crowd action had hit its stride and kept going strong for the entire set. Nicely done, hometown! On the current tour, the band asked their fans in each city to vote online for what setlist they wanted to hear in their town.. so it looks like "Setlist C" won in S.F. and it was tight.

Unfortunately, the mix was rather muddy and the bottom end bounced around like a cannon ball in a rubber room up in the balcony.. Down on the floor it sounded better and the band rose to the occasion of their homecoming by charging through a spirited 90 minute set. I'm not alone when I say Alex Skolnick is my favorite Bay Area virtuoso Metal Guitar God (Sorry Kirk...) and it's always a treat watching him work his axe magic wielding his diverse musical powers. In the bigger picture, Testament are such a solid unit onstage in their current incarnation... and Chuck Billy is larger than life, man.

During 'Over The Wall'

It was cool to see such a large crowd out in force to support Testament's return. The show also lived up to expectations due to the healthy East Bay Old Metal vibe in the room, which of course meant a good number of thrown beers, dudes with neck tattoos, and a more even male / female ratio than alot of other Metal shows. I was kind of surprised I didn't hear anyone shout "RAAAIDEERS!".. but it is baseball season right now. I'm sure some of the East Bay Crew hit the first game of The Bay Bridge Series over at AT&T Park earlier in the evening before marching over to The Fillmore in time for the headliners... Too bad for them Lincecom shut the A's down.

THANKS to Old Metal Tim for sorting me as his +1.

Number of dudes manhandled out of the venue by security = 4. If you bought one of every Testament merch item you would have paid around $355. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. On another note, it was bullshit that The Fillmore didn't deem this show worthy of a poster, especially since it was a local Bay Area band who packed the place on this Friday night. Bullshit.

Hipster Tuesday

The Kills / The Horrors / Magic Wands
The Fillmore, San Francisco
May 19, 2009



The first time I visited The Fillmore was in 1987 to see The Jesus & Mary Chain (Darklands Tour) supported by Opal (Does anyone even remember Opal!?).. Fast forward to the 21st Century and it was funny how much the ghost of that Jesus & Mary Chain show haunted this evening in my head.

Magic Wands (another 1 girl / 1 boy band lineup) was onstage as we entered the sold out Fillmore; their use of drum tracks instead of a human drummer gave me a sense of deja vu back to that '87 Jesus & Mary Chain show and its lack of a human drummer. However, I couldn't really get past the silly stuffed tiger heads the band had onstage. Sorry, guys.. but that's where my head was (or wasn't) at..

The Horrors' debut album grabbed me by the neck with its Goth / Garage Rock Fuzz vibe.. and I had been waiting 2 years to see them since I missed their S.F. debut in 2007 at 330 Rich. However, recent developments with the band made me regret missing that show even more. Much to my horror (pun intended), The Horrors changed their image and sound since their debut; I was bummed out by advance reviews of their new album announcing the band's new direction to a more 80's Electronic thing. As a result, I decided not to listen to any of their new songs prior to the show; I wanted my first live experience to be untainted by further negative preconceptions about the band.

Well, my strategy did not work... The Horrors are like an 80's cover band.. They mimic that era's sound.. They play *the right* vintage guitars and have *the right* look, but they don't have THE SONGS to honor their retro image. This was magnified 1,000x by the fact the band ignored their debut album and only played tracks from the new album... and the new songs are a misguided departure from the sound that made me a fan 2 years ago; the Goth / Garage Rock Fuzz has been replaced by a half ass impersonation of Alternative / Shoegaze /120 Minutes. Long rant short: The Horrors went from THIS to THIS. Sorry.. that was me yawning. Donde esta Dave Kendall?

I've been following The Kills since their 2003 debut, but have gone in and out of being into them over those years. I genuinely like the band; their use of drum tracks instead of a human drummer gave me a sense of deja vu back to that '87 Jesus & Mary Chain show and its lack of a human drummer. They play *the right* vintage guitars and have *the right* look but, unlike The Horrors, they have some good songs. Still, I like The Kills because of Alison's voice and charisma, which manages to transcend any shortcomings in the songwriting department... Needless to say, I'm waiting to see what she pulls off fronting a full band in The Dead Weather thing with the guy from that other 1 girl / 1 boy band.

Alison and Jamie covered 'Crazy', which was ironic since I saw Willie at The Fillmore earlier this year... and for their encore they brought out The Horrors to perform a decidedly lackluster version of 'Baby Please Don't Go' that ultimately went nowhere musically... but I got the point.

The Drunk Hipster of the Night Award goes to the Hipster Girl who, despite having a good 4-5 feet of open space, still managed to careen off course to drunkenly bump into someone. Ironically, the Umlaut Nation was nicely represented at the show.. so a shout out to Timo, Teri, Ray, Miatomic, Dema, Todd, Alan, Photo Ray, and Hard Rock Chick.

Self-Aware Hipster "ironically" wearing an Iron Maiden shirt who would get his ass kicked at a Maiden show = 1. If you bought one of every Kills merch item you would have paid around $120. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. A week ago to the day, I had a much better, and bloodier, Tuesday night; you can take Umlaut out of THE METAL, but you can't take THE METAL out of Umlaut. Click HERE to see some nice photos from that night with the lovely Swedes.

Whiskey River

Willie Nelson
The Fillmore, San Francisco
January 20, 2009



It was appropriate to be seeing Willie on the Inauguration Day of the first President of the United States to publicly declare that he's gotten high. If you missed it, Obama discussed his drug use as a teen in one of his books, and then appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and had the following exchange with Leno:

Leno: "Remember, Senator, you are under oath. Did you inhale?"
Obama: "That was the point."

A new day is dawning in America... and it's 4:20 at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Being from the Bay Area I did not grow up with Old Country music, but I grew to appreciate it some years back when I was obsessed with Alt-Country bands like Uncle Tupelo. A friend once described seeing Willie as "frustrating".. and I tend to agree.. His meandering, jammy onstage style isn't my thing. However, his songwriting legacy is without question and with the passing of so many old heroes recently I got off my ass to see Willie this time around.

It was appropriate that my platonic bro date for the evening was The Drummer, who is a native of the great state of Kentucky. You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.

At just past 9:00PM the houselights slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) went down and the band entered from the backstage area on stage right... Then Willie sauntered in from Geary Blvd. via the door at stage left; it was a funny entrance. I imagined Willie had been taking a nap on the tour bus and was basically hitting the stage running, as much as a 75-year old man can hit the stage running!

Willie and the band launched straight into 'Whiskey River' and for the next 90 minutes seemingly played all the hits ('Crazy', 'Bloody Mary Morning', 'Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain', 'On The Road Again'...) and even dropped 'Me And Paul' into the middle of the set.

Yes, Willie was in classic meandering, jammy form... sometimes singing off-key as well.. but his charisma and magnetism were still infectious. His nod to Waylon (R.I.P.) with 'Good Hearted Woman' was nice, but my fave of the set was 'City Of New Orleans' because, for some reason, the song had been going through my head all day as I watched The Inauguration.

This was the final night of Willie's sold out 5-night run in S.F. and it was cool to see The Fillmore decked out to celebrate Inauguration Day, with a big American flag behind the main bar and red, white, and blue bunting and balloons decorating the upstairs balconies and stage. Willie acknowledged the historic day by saying "It's time to take back this country.." and then played a song called 'Peaceful Solution' that he co-wrote with his daughter, who also joined him onstage to sing. To top it off, the standard giveaway Fillmore poster for the evening was a special "Inauguration Celebration" one that differed from the poster given out on the previous 4 nights. Nice. Dog Bless America!

I was wondering what kind of crowd Willie would draw on a Tuesday night... The sold out house was mostly enthusiastic and, because it was a school night, not very drunk at all.. However, a noticeable number of attendees were the short attention span types who talked loudly during songs. Why the fuck would you pay to attend a concert and then not pay any attention to the performance?? Idiots..

THANKS to The Man for sorting my +1 for the evening.

Number of Hell's Angels = 2. I wasn't in the mood to do a merch audit, but my educated guess is that if you bought one of every Willie merch item you would have paid around $300. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Here's to the upcoming 8 years of the Obama Administration and, in the spirit of his call for public service, don't bogart the joint, dude!

"Good morning America, how are you?"

Pioneers Of Punk

Pioneers Of Punk
Flipper / The Avengers / The Mutants / Negative Trend
The Fillmore, San Francisco
July 26, 2008

The evening began with an excellent dinner at Jitlada Thai on Buchanan @ Sutter! Wow.. It was really good and one of the best opening acts I've had for a show in a long time. Unfortunately, we missed Negative Trend because of the excellent dinner... Pad Thai over Punk, dude.

The Umlaut Nation Assault Team for this show consisted of Timo, Teri, and Todd. THANKS to Todd for getting me in.

The Mutants had a good time onstage.. Most of the crowd had a good time while they were onstage. They had a couple of their kids and / or grand kids dancing onstage with them. An upbeat, fun set... Unfortunately, I wasn't in the mood for an upbeat fun set... but that's just me.

The Avengers looked good.. Performed good... They have 2/5 (I think) of the original lineup intact and also the drummer from Pansy Division, who looked like he was 16, but who was easily the best drummer I've seen onstage in awhile.. BUT they were too slick.. not loose.. not "Punk" enough.. Yeah, yeah.. "Punk" is a state of mind.. but The Avengers are more of a "Rock" band onstage.. which is NOT a bad thing.. I'm just saying the show was billed as "Pioneers Of Punk". Penelope Houston did spit once onstage though.

Flipper were sloppy. Flipper were loud. Flipper were great. Flipper made me glad I stayed up late on a Saturday night. Raise your hand if you can honestly say you recognized Krist Novoselic on bass. LIAR. He looked like someone who has a pilot's license and flies his own private jet... Oh wait.. He does have both of those things.. but everything I knew about Flipper I learned from the Melvins anyway.

Best Quote: "HE was in Nirvana??!" - Teri

The clock struck 12:30AM and we hit the exit 'cause we're old... but Flipper had already played 'Sex Bomb', 'Way Of The World', and 'Sacrifice' so I was happy. To be honest, when these bands were in their full glory at The Mab in the early-80's, Umlaut was across the street at The Stone being Metal; I didn't like the Punks... but then they showed up at Motörhead shows and I realized they were alright and maybe we could get along after all. YAYY.

Number of Ramones shirts = ZERO!! WTF... Todd said he saw 1 Ramones shirt, but I didn't see it myself... and yet I did see a DEF LEPPARD shirt. WTF... The show was billed as "Pioneers Of Punk".. Am I wrong in saying something about this? I completely spaced on doing a merch audit, but since Flipper didn't have any girlie shirts Teri scored a Kid's Large that fit her for $12 instead. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Almost 12 hours later the Umlaut Nation Assault Team was back at the same parking garage for The Dark Knight (!) at The Kabuki.

"Why so serious?"

Footnote: After the movie, the Umlaut Assault Team retired to The Confessional at The Irish Bank, where we were sadly informed by our regular waitress that she's returning home to Eire in 2 weeks.. What a bummer, but good luck and godspeed Kate!

Then it was a quick stop at Amoeba so I could pick up the new CD by the wonderful Fucked Up... and then home to Casa de Umlaut.

The End.

P.S. I'm listening to Year Of The Pig, the new Fucked Up CD, as I type this.. Fucked Up are a band who are moving forward with their sound, but in an unexpectedly great way. Kudos to those crazy Canadians.. !