Full Circle

Devo
The Fox Theater, Oakland, California
June 28, 2014 

This show represented THE most full circle thing ever for Umlaut!   Flashback to 1984 in Berkeley, California...

[Photo courtesy of Harald O. - From Murder In The Front Row]

The teenager wearing the DEVO tee is Tour Manager Doug with members of Slayer, Exodus, Suicidal Tendencies, and Possessed.  At the time Doug was a member of Slayer's first road crew.  It's an iconic photo for many reasons, but for me because Tour Manager Doug's favorite band was Devo and he wore that t-shirt to practically every Metal show.  He suffered the abuse of his Metal peers who did not appreciate Devo but he never wavered from his support.  Fast forward almost 30 years later and that photo and friendship led to this on a Saturday night in Oakland here in the 21st Century:

 

This is what happens when one of your oldest friends ends up working for the first band he ever saw live in 1980 and who are also his favorite band.  Yes, that teenage Tour Manager Doug from 1984 is spending part of his Summer issuing backstage passes and looking after Devo here in the 21st Century!  The Fox Theater is not far from where that 1984 photo was taken as well.  Like I said, it's the most full circle thing EVER!  A-MA-ZING!

The pre-show backstage scene was very quiet and it took me a moment to realize it was Mark Mothersbaugh and Jerry Casale who were floating around the room.  Sadly, with the passing of Bob2 in February, this brief tour could very well be the final trek for Devo.  What impressed me is that on this tour the band is only performing songs from their formative years of 1974-77 and none of their 80's hits that made them famous.   

 [Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

Most other bands would simply go back out on the road and play the hits, no matter how painful it might be so soon after losing a founding member and brother.  Not Devo.  This tour is a tribute to their salad days when they were weird kids in Ohio trying to figure it all out.  It's a nod back to a time when things were innocent and life probably felt indestructible for them.  The Devo-ised version of 'Satisfaction', 'Be Stiff', 'Uncontrollable Urge', and 'Jocko Homo' were my obvious touchstones that kept me engaged with the show, but I literally didn't know the rest of the songs... and I was fine with that.  Umlaut is not a hardcore Devo fan but this show was charming, emotional, and simply great.  I vicariously fed off the energy and excitement of the fans around me who understood the theme of the show and embraced it completely.  To be honest, I don't think any of the most important bands from my salad days could cause me to react like that; I'm just that jaded unfortunately.  Honesty is my only excuse.

The night closed with a song called 'Clockout' that was being performed live for the first time on this tour... and joining the band in Oakland (and I believe in Los Angeles the next night) was Bob2's son Alex filling in for his dad.

 [Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

How full circle is that?  Bittersweet.. but still full circle.  I was introduced to Alex Bob2 Jr. briefly after the show and evidently he's a huge SLAAAYEER fan!  FULL. CIRCLE.

If you bought one of every Devo merch item you would have paid around $150.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. It was a perfectly surgical evening.  A big THANKS to Tour Manager Doug... and Peace In Rest, Bob2... and long live de-evolution!

No Sleep 'Til...

While out and about the other day I happened to walk past 2 young hipster dudes just as one of them said:

"I once fell asleep at a Metallica concert.."

That random quote inspired this:

John: "My dad fell asleep at a 1980 Van Halen concert he took me to."

Chris: "I fell asleep during Joshua Redman's set at Zellerbach Hall last year, which was sad because I was really enjoying it. Proof I'd been working too hard."

Suzee: "I fell asleep at a Flipper show at The Mabuhay Gardens.. Had been up all night prior keeping a friend from swimming in the ocean."

Umlaut: "I fell asleep during Journey at a 1980 Day On The Green after Black Sabbath, Cheap Trick, and Molly Hatchet had played.."


Greg: "I have a friend who left the recent D.R.I. show early because he fell asleep standing up. He is notorious for this.. When Judas Priest toured with the reunited Anthrax we found him passed out in a port-o-john before Priest."

Devin: "I slept on the back of Tom Hunting's drum riser during a 45 minute Exodus set."

Tom: "I fell asleep at Hot Tuna Electric at The Warfield in the balcony, well into their 3rd hour. Got a good doze, woke up and they were still playing. I left. For all I know they're still playing."

Chris: "I fell asleep at Def Leppard years ago.."

Tony: "I fell asleep during a L.A. Guns set as they were opening for AC/DC..."

Brad: "I slept through most of a Megadeth set at Ruthie's Inn when they were a 3-piece.. They weren't great, but it wasn't them, I'd done an all nighter or two for final exams that week and refused anything stronger than Peet's Coffee to keep awake."

Shaxul: "I was so fucked up when I arrived at Thrash of the Titans in 2001 I sat hunched over, drooling, passing out and then waking up only to fight the urge to puke. I finally recovered at the end of Death Angel's set I think. I missed everything before that. Didn't drink Jameson for years afterwards."

Cyndy: "I was working my ass off, in a heat wave, on tour with the Rolling Stones in 2003. I knew I was going to doze off during one of the shows in Paris, so I strategically propped myself up on some road cases and managed to sleep standing up. I was busted when my boss came over and asked me a question. My coworkers ribbed me about that for months."

Laura: "Day On The Green 1982 with The Who and The Clash. Got in line the night before, slept outside the gates all night waiting to be first in line. I stayed awake for most of The Clash, which I hated, and then fell asleep for The Who. Never again."

And finally, The Man... The Myth... The Legend:

Tour Manager Doug: "April 30, 1984 - Slept through Bon Jovi opening for Scorpions at the Cow Palace, I don't really remember why I was so tired, although I think I spent the night in my car in the parking lot, so that might explain it."

"September 10-14, 1985 - I don't remember exactly which show it was, but back in my t-shirt selling days Rising Force played Austin - McAllen - Corpus Christi - San Antonio - Dallas on consecutive nights. I drove between shows, so I tended to not get much sleep. At one of those shows I was so tired that I grabbed a power nap on top of the merch table during Yngwie's set. I knew that I wouldn't make it through the entire show without falling asleep, and there was nobody to cover for me, and I was worried about shirts getting stolen, so I stacked all of my stock on the table and slept until somebody woke me up to buy a shirt near the end of the show. I think I may have written a sign the said "Wake me up if you want to buy something"."

"March 4, 1989 - A Flock Of Seagulls - FM Station, North Hollywood - I had a bad cold, after the band went on I slept in the tour motor home until the show was over and we needed to load out. I live about 1/2 a mile from that building now."

25 Years Ago Right Now

Thanks to Tour Manager Doug's extremely organized database, Umlaut was reminded that 25 years ago RIGHT NOW Slayer had just started their debut European Tour. Yes, Tour Manager Doug was on that original Slayer crew... and much blood was spilled... among other things.


"Doug's Big Adventure" is the stuff of legend... but a story best left for another time (or just keep reading this post...).

Poster for Groningen, Holland - June 1, 1985
(From the Tour Manager Doug Archives)

Meanwhile, here in the 21st Century: Tour Manager Doug is currently back in Europe again and about to start yet another European Tour with his current band. In another mind-boggling example of how The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways, check out this story from a couple of days ago... HOLY SHIT this is a GOOD ONE!

Submitted by Tour Manager Doug:

After the band rehearsed in Amsterdam a few nights ago, I stayed at the venue for a couple extra hours trying to get caught up on some paperwork and ahead of the game with some other stuff. When I was ready to head back to the hotel, one of the runners was assigned the task of getting me there.

We were making small talk on the drive and he mentioned that he was driving me because he lives farther away than the other runners, so he was heading home after he dropped me off. The night before, I had gone to dinner with some friends, and because of its 25th anniversary, talk had turned to the first Slayer tour, which of course reminded me of stories of Poperinge, Eindhoven, Copenhagen, London, Amsterdam and the legendary (for me) Ritterkirk, so when the driver mentioned that he said he lived in the south, near Rotterdam, I asked if he had heard of a place called Ritterkirk, which he said was close to his home.

I didn't say anything else, and we drove silently for a couple more miles. Then, out of the blue, he said:

Driver - Do you like Heavy Metal?

Me - Um, yeah, I do. (for the record, I was wearing nothing, and had said nothing, that would identify me as either a past, present, or future Metalhead)

Driver - Ritterkirk (he paused after he said the name of the town, obviously thinking about days gone by)... Do you know that Slayer played there many years ago?

Me - (playing dumb) Really? Cool.

Driver - Oh yes, it was in a small club, maybe 500 people.

Me - Wow.

Driver - They were very very good... (proudly) I was at that show.

Me - Wow, really? That's pretty cool. (still playing dumb)

Driver - That is a very famous show.

Me - Really? Why?

Driver - Yes, it was from that show one of Slayer's roadies got drunk and tried to hitchhike back to Los Angeles.

Me - (laughing out loud) Really?! No way!

Driver - Yes he did, it actually happened.

Me - Well, actually... That guy was hitchhiking to Amsterdam, not to Los Angeles, the story has been told wrong from the very beginning.

Driver - (confused look on his face)

Me - When he was asked what he would have done if he hadn't hooked up with the band at the next show...

Driver - (listening wide-eyed, trying to look at me in the passenger seat, and keep his eyes on the road at the same time)...

Me - ...I said that I would have flown home to L.A. because since I had all of the band's money with me I could have easily bought a ticket. That was combined with the fact that I had been attempting to hitchhike to Amsterdam when the police told me it was illegal. So I had taken a train instead, then Metal Mike printed it in Aardschok, and it became the truth. But, I was never standing on the highway with a sign that said "Los Angeles".. I was going to Amsterdam.

Driver - You are not...?

Me - Yep, that guy was me and, I wasn't drunk, I was stoned out of my mind on hash.

Driver - Oh my god.

Me - It was all Dave's fault. And K.J.'s for going home with Metal Mike and taking the keys to our van with him. (Umlaut Note: Dave = Dave Lombardo... K.J. = K.J. Doughton..)

Driver - Oh my god! You are famous! Oh my god! I can't believe you are in my van!

Me - We all refer to that story as "Doug's Big Adventure", and now you are a part of it.

Driver - Oh my god.

Then we got to the hotel. And I went to my room to get some more work done.

... and 25 years of Old Metal came full circle just... like... that! Fucking amazing, right?

Random Rock Star Moment: Ronnie James Dio

The companion post to Like Rainbows In The Dark.

Tour Manager Doug and Umlaut have known each other since before we could buy alcohol legally; legend says we met in line at a Krokus concert. Here in the 21st Century, Tour Manager Doug enables Millionaire Rock Stars to be Millionaire Rock Stars... and I'm sure he's the only person who has worked for Slayer, Beck, Cannibal Corpse, Shakira, AND Green Day (among MANY, MANY others). However, what's most important is, despite his high status in the Lock 'N Loll World, Tour Manager Doug still remains Old Metal at heart and soul.

Submitted by Tour Manager Doug:

The day before Ronnie James Dio died, I went to my mailbox place to pick up my mail and noticed an autographed picture of him on the wall. I asked the guy who owns the place if Dio came in there, he said no, but his best friend did.

I knew, as most people did, that Dio had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and that the prognosis wasn't great. I also knew, as few people know, that Dio had long ago helped to make me a better Tour Manager, and I had always wanted to thank him.

I started to write him a letter that night, my plan had been to give it to my mailbox guy, who would (hopefully) pass it on to Dio's friend.

I didn't get very far, as you can see, I knew exactly what I wanted to say, but phone calls regarding plans for my upcoming European Tour got in the way, and led to the letter turning into a bunch of notes about flights vs. the Icelandic volcano. It got late, so I finally went to bed, with plans to finish the letter in the morning. Well, I woke up to an email similar to emails and texts and calls that many people got.


Dear Ronnie - Once upon a time I was just a kid who went to rock shows. Like many others in Northern California, I was excited to hear that the first live Dio show was going to be in Antioch at The Concert Barn. I often went to Antioch, because my uncle and his family lived there, which gave me a leg up on South Bay and S.F. comrades, many of whom had no idea where Antioch was. None of us had ever heard of The Concert Barn because, as far as we knew, there had never actually been a concert there, but we were ALL going to this one.

At this point I would have given Dio a run down of that day, but it's been well documented on this site..

(Umlaut says newbies should click HERE and HERE to read what Tour Manager Doug is talking about....)

The Concert Barn, Antioch, California - July 23, 1983
Tour Manager Doug's Ticket Stub

The Concert Barn, Antioch, California - July 23, 1983
Umlaut's Ticket Stub

After the show, I somehow worked my way backstage. I have a vague recollection of buying a pass at the box office of the venue, but I can't find the actual pass, so I'm not sure if that happened, but that vague memory is part of the reason why I prefer to use my own passes at shows to this day, instead of the promoter's passes.

The backstage area was kind of like a patio area surrounded by a few dressing rooms. There weren't a lot of people on the patio area, because everybody was in a dressing room. Shortly after I found my way to the patio, a door opened and I saw you. More importantly, you saw me. Then the door closed. For us kids going to rock shows, it was all about the eye contact. Everybody at any concert saw all the band members, but it was those moments where HE SAW ME that were special, and belonged to nobody but us.

I stood in the same spot for probably another hour, each time that door opened hoping for another glimpse, I saw Jimmy Bain at one point, and Vinnie Appice, and of course Vivian Campbell, but I didn't see you again, until, finally, the door opened, and you were standing talking to somebody. The door was being held open as some people left, you glanced over and saw me. Then the door closed. Then it quickly opened again, and you pointed at me and motioned for me to come over.

No way.

I looked behind me.

There wasn't anybody behind me.

I looked back at you and pointed at myself. Me? Are you pointing at me?

Again, you motioned for me to come over, so I did.

Ronnie James Dio (RJD) - You've been standing out there for an hour.

Teenage Tour Manager Doug (TTMD) - Yes, sir, I have.

(My parents and my job in a grocery store taught me to call everybody sir or ma'am.)

RJD - Call me Ronnie. What are you waiting for?

TTMD - I was hoping that I could get you to sign this poster for me, please.

(I unrolled the show poster that had already been signed by the rest of the band.)

RJD - You've been standing out there this long just so that you could get me to sign that poster, well thank you so much, that's very kind of you. Of course I would be happy to sign it.

TTMD - Thank you, etc, mumbling about a great show, and the great album.

(He proceeded to sign my poster, thanking me for the opportunity, and generally just making me feel like the world revolved around me.)

TTMD - Would you also sign my extra ticket, please?

RJD - Of course I would, why do you have an extra ticket?

TTMD - I had a friend who was going to come with me, so I bought two tickets, but I ended up coming by myself, because he couldn't go and nobody else where I live has any musical taste.

RJD - Who should I sign it to, you or your friend?

TTMD - To me, please. I'm Doug. He didn't come (my friend) so he doesn't get a ticket (Laughing). I bought them both anyway.

He then signed my ticket "To Doug - Magic - Ronnie James Dio"

RJD - (handing my ticket back) Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, I guess you get to go home now and get some sleep. It's pretty late.

TTMD - I won't actually get much sleep tonight. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive home and I need to be at work at 9 am

RJD - What!? You have to drive 2 1/2 hours and be at work at 9!? It's already after 2!

TTMD - Yeah, I know, oh well, no rest for the wicked, right? (Laughing)

RJD - You stood here for the last hour waiting to get my autograph, knowing that you have to be at work early and you need to drive that far home? Thank you very much, that is very kind of you.

(Dio was shaking my hand and telling a couple people near by that "This guy has a 3 hour drive home so that he can go straight to work and he's here for my autograph isn't that nice of him")

RJD - Give me that ticket back.

TTMD - Um, ok…

I hand him the ticket that he just signed…

Ronnie then wrote "& Drive Carefully" on the ticket and handed it back to me.


We again shook hands, and we parted ways. I headed towards my car, he went back into the after-show party for what was without a doubt one of the most important shows of his career.

I usually got kind of tired about 30 minutes from my house on those drives back to Cloverdale after shows, but that night I was wide awake the whole time, singing and playing air guitar and air drums to the Holy Diver album a few times along the way. Anybody who had been in the car, would know why I'm a roadie, instead of a musician.

So, how did Ronnie James Dio make me a better Tour Manager?

Because he cared about the fans, above everything else.

He took time out of his life, away from his friends, family and business associates, not just to scrawl an illegible squiggle in the middle of his current conversation, but to actually have a conversation with me, a fan.

I wasn't a friend of a friend, I wasn't related to somebody, I actually had no business being anywhere near him. He knew that. He could have had Security throw me out. But he didn't. Because he cared about me. Because I was, and I am, a fan. I took that as a lesson. A lesson that I use as often as I can, and I hope that every once in awhile, I am able to help somebody have a memory of meeting one of my bands that's as nice as my memory is of Ronnie James Dio.

Thank you Ronnie.

Like Rainbows In The Dark

What a terrible day for Old Metal... Ronnie James Dio AND Debbie Abono moved on to the next level within hours of each other earlier today.

The First Ever Dio Performance
(From the Umlaut Archives)

All told, Umlaut saw Dio perform 11x over the years with Dio and Black Sabbath / Heaven And Hell. For those who are interested here are some Dio rants from past postings on this site:

• Sweet Savage: Dio's first ever performance up in Antioch in that barn in the middle of nowhere.
• 22 Years Ago Today: Dio at the San Jose Civic.
• Neon Knights: Umlaut's Music Geek memories about Dio with Black Sabbath.
  

I met Dio once... It was backstage at The Forum in Los Angeles at an Iron Maiden show in 2008. As I entered the hospitality room backstage my companion said "Hey, there's Dio!"... There were maybe only 5 other people in the room... I was completely starstruck and although I was introduced to him I completely blanked on asking to have my picture taken with him. Regrets... but I'm thankful I at least met him after all these years.

Debbie Abono is one of the great unsung heroes of the Bay Area Metal Scene. Her story is one that kidz today probably can't comprehend: A grandmother who came to manage local Metal bands like Possessed, Exodus, and Vio-lence and who brought her grandmotherly charm and kindness to shows at rough venues like Ruthies Inn and The Omni. It was people like Debbie who made that original Bay Area Metal Scene so special and maybe even unique in the history of Metal.

Debbie with Larz and Krk
(Photo by Harald O.)

Last week at a show in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Metallica dedicated 'Nothing Else Matters' to Debbie. Nicely done, lads.

Dedication at the 0:50 minute mark...

A couple of years ago I saw a mutual friend who now lives back East and he said Debbie would love to get together with me while he was in town... lunch... coffee.. whatever.... Just to catch up and chat about The Old Metal Days. Unfortunately, that reunion didn't happen because of scheduling and life here in the 21st Century. Huge regrets now.... HUGE.

Rest in Peace, Old Heroes; one who was onstage and one who was backstage. Both of them affected and changed my life in their own profound ways. Both Debbie and Dio also reinforced my philosophy that age is only a number and simply a state of mind. Once you start thinking you're old you become old.. So live for today, tomorrow never comes... DIE YOUNG.


Submitted by Tour Manager Doug:

Debbie Abono

One of my favorite people on the planet.

Like Maria Ferrero, Gary Holt, Craig Locicero, and the others who have had comments on Blabbermouth and in other places, words can't express the love that was felt for Debbie by everybody who she ever crossed paths with.

I laughed at a comment posted somewhere that referred to her as Mrs. Abono. I never, ever, heard her called that. To anybody she met, it was Debbie. I know that the person who posted meant it with all due respect, and I know that Debbie would have smiled and said "Oh dear, just call me Debbie".

She was involved, behind the scenes, with one of my earliest tour manager gigs, for Death Angel in August 1987.

I have so many fond memories of Debbie, but there is one that I think captures her essence.

I handled a tour for her in 1992. Her band Obituary were headlining, the support acts were Cannibal Corpse, Agnostic Front and Malevolent Creation. Debbie wanted all the bands treated as if they were the headliner, food, drinks, etc, no special treatment. She said, "because we're all in this together".

While the crowd was mostly metal, Agnostic's fans added another dimension. I'll never figure out how Nazi skinheads can be fans of Puerto Rican punks, but I suppose the same question could be asked about a lot of our favorite bands whose members are of not quite white heritage (Slayer?).

The first two shows of the tour were festivals. In Milwaukee, Debbie was a bit annoyed when some of us took the time to pee in the shower meant for Dogstar (only Dogstar), but she appreciated the intended point. The third show was the first with only "our" four bands, it was at a club called the Marquee in Detroit.

Detroit has long been known as a great city for rock, and that generation of metal was no exception. Big Mick, legendary soundman for a little ol' band called Metallica, was at the show that night. He came not necessarily because he cared to see a bunch of loud bands on his off day, he came so that he could spend time with Debbie. He ended up running lights. Because she asked him to.

At some point in the night, probably during Agnostic Front's set, the combination of metalheads, and punks, and skins became to volatile and a full scale brawl broke out. There were peacemakers on both sides, trying to bring calm to the storm but to no avail. Then, in an instant, it all stopped.

"You boys stop that!" she yelled as she waded into the middle of it. I think she would have been 62, maybe 63 years old.

She was practically in tears, actually, I think she was crying, they were the tears of a mother who couldn't stand her siblings fighting.

Everybody. Metalhead. Punk. Skin. Everybody stopped. Heads bowed in embarrassment. Sorry Debbie. The aim of everybody in the room was no longer to beat the crap out of somebody, it was to make sure that Debbie was ok, and not mad at them. Sorry Debbie. Even the ones who had never met her until that moment. Sorry Debbie. Everybody felt that they had disappointed her, and that was way worse than anything else.

We were all her kids, she loved us.

And we all love her.

Click HERE for Tour Manager Doug's remembrance of Ronnie James Dio...

Gates Of Steel

Devo
The Regency Ballroom, San Francisco
November 7, 2009



Devo marched into San Francisco for a two night stand to perform their seminal debut album on the 1st night and their breakthrough Freedom Of Choice album the next night. The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways and I found myself with a +1 for the 2nd night and for the 2nd time in 3 days I found myself seeing a band from Ohio.

All Music Geeks know that the band's classic Live EP from 1980 was recorded at The Warfield in S.F.. Although I grew up during the Devo Generation I was not a fan as a kid; in 1980 when Freedom Of Choice came out my favorite bands were Cheap Trick, Van Halen, and Black Sabbath... but I came to be a fan as I grew older and wiser. The last time I saw Devo was way back at Lollapalooza 1996 when they shared the main stage with Metallica, Soundgarden, The Ramones, Rancid, and Screaming Trees. In hindsight, that was a helluva bill..

Fast forward to the 21st Century and this was probably the easiest show of the entire year for Umlaut... Lori Acid King and I breezed through the overbearing Regency security check and got to the Will Call table... where the woman acted as if she knew me (I'm sorry.. I didn't remember her!) and complimented my Cheap Trick shirt before handing me the passes from my guest list envelope... Then we got a beer and found seats at the rail in something called the "Reserved Seating Area - Proper Pass Required" section directly above the soundboard. Fucking perfect; all shows should be this easy.

I've never seen the floor of The Regency as packed as it was tonight; it was solid humans from wall to wall and I was thankful to be above all of that, but the mood in the room was nothing but happy. The houselights went down at 10:00pm and the vintage music videos from the Freedom Of Choice era were shown on the screen behind the stage: 'Girl U Want', 'Whip It' (best MTV video ever?), and 'Freedom Of Choice'... As soon as the last video played the band came onstage and a Card Guy walked to the front of the stage holding a sign that read "Track 1" and the band launched into 'Girl U Want'... and for the next 35 minutes Devo rolled through the Freedom Of Choice album, with each song being introduced by the Card Guy and his signs. FUNNY! 'Gates Of Steel' is one of Umlaut's favorite songs, so of course that was my favorite of the night.

'Gates Of Steel'

It was a solid performance... fueled by nostalgia of course... but it was solid fun. After the main set, the band returned for an encore of 'Be Stiff' and 'Beautiful World'. The latter featured an appearance by Booji Boy, who told the crowd that if Michael Jackson could dig his way out of his grave he'd agree with the song. I think we'd all like to believe that, right?

Devo's set ran 55 minutes.. The houselights came up.. I drove Lori Acid King home.. I stopped at Taqueria Cancun to get a burrito to go.. I docked the Prius back at Casa de Umlaut at exactly 11:37pm.. It was an insanely easy surgically precise night. THANKS to Tour Manager Doug for sorting my +1 even though he's in the middle of conquering Europe again.

Trivia: Yes, this is the same Tour Manager Doug whose first concert was Devo on the Freedom Of Choice Tour at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma, CA (a show that is available on DVD!) and who can be seen wearing one of his Devo shirts circa 1984 in the Slayer box set.

Tour Manager Doug and his Devo shirt with Slayer, Exodus, and Suicidal Tendencies
(Pic from Slayer's Soundtrack to the Apocalypse box set)

If you bought one of every Devo merch item you would have paid around $290. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. I can't remember the last time I've seen a non-festival headlining band play such a short set, but you can't talk shit about Devo! Everyone leaving the venue seemed happy from the show... and that's all that matters.

"A man is real... not made of steel.."

Record Store Day 2009

Umlaut friend Ray and I arrived about 5 minutes before Amoeba opened.. There was already a sizeable crowd waiting for the clock to strike 10:30AM, and several slack jawed Record Dork guys aggressively made sure they were at the front so they would be the first ones into the store on this special day. The expressions on their faces made it seem like they were about to see a chick's tits for the first time or something.. Kinda scary and pathetic.

It was a good thing we arrived at Amoeba early, because the feeding frenzy around the limited edition Record Store Day releases was in full effect immediately. Number of girls in the initial Record Dork feeding frenzy = 2. Number of guys in the initial Record Dork feeding frenzy = around 15. Hey girls, you gotta like those odds, right?

There were a couple of those aggressive Record Dorks who stuck their elbows out so no one else could look in the 7" single bin with them... such bullshit.. so I did what any seasoned Music Geek would do and said "EXCUSE ME!" and pushed past their elbow. Fuck those guys... Buddy, I could give two shits about that Decemberists 7".. Besides, dude, I don't give a shit about the Elvis Costello and Springsteen either so just go wrestle the other Record Dorks for a copy. Ray and I were mainly there to snag the limited edition SLAYER 7" single for their new song 'Psychopathy Red' (a ditty about Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo).

It cracked me up that the Record Dorks were almost fighting over the Elvis Costello and Springsteen records (yawn...) when the SLAYER 7" was easily THE coolest Record Store Day exclusive: The sleeve is done like a Russian police crime file folder, complete with a string tie at the back... and the inner sleeve recreates another Russian police document AND the 7" single itself is BLOOD RED. Indie Rock sucks... SLAYER!!

For those keeping score, Umlaut returned to Casa de Umlaut with the following Record Store Day exclusives:

• Dead Weather (featuring Jack White and members of The Kills and Queens Of The Stone Age) - Hang You From The Heavens 7"
• Jesus Lizard - Inch 7" Box Set (#494 of 2,000)
• Leonard Cohen - The Future b/w Suzanne (live) 7"
• MC5 - Kick Out The Jams b/w Motor City Is Burning 7"
• SLAYER - PSYCHOPATHY RED 7"
• The Stooges - 1969 b/w Real Cool Time 7"
• Tom Waits - Live From The Glitter & Dome Tour 7"

Another benefit of arriving at Amoeba early was scoring the "deluxe" gift bag with my purchase that included an Amoeba t-shirt and assorted other swag like Amoeba buttons, magnets, stickers, and coupons plus various sampler CDs... and a poster for the new U2 album. Umm... one of these items is now in the garbage can.. Can you guess which one?

Quote of The Day by some Record Dork as he greedily clutched Record Store Day exclusives to his chest: "I'm going to sell these for alot of money.."

Despite the "Only 1 Copy Of Each Record Per Customer" policy for the Limited Edition records, Ray and I dropped our initial purchases off at the Prius and returned so we could snag extra copies of the SLAYER single for friends... 'cause that's what Metalheads do.

Afterwards, Ray and I retired to The Irish Bank for the obligatory Saturday afternoon pints and fish 'n chips... and we sat outside as the sun broke out over San Francisco and the afternoon blazed. A perfect day! SLAYER!!

BONUS TRACK: Tour Manager Doug reported from SoCal about Record Store Day 2009 there and his quest for the SLAYER single:

Boy, that was complicated...

Slayer’s website lists 3 indie stores in my end of The Valley, I called the one close to my house, but they didn’t answer the phone. Since I needed to go to Trader Joe’s and it’s close to them, I stop by and am told that they didn’t get sent any. He suggests another store (that’s not particularly close).

I called the other place that’s close, but they don’t carry vinyl. I called the 3rd place, which is the same one that the first guy suggested, but they don’t answer their phone, even though they are open until late tonight.

I feel for the first guy, Atomic Records, the owner (I assume) seemed to be a combination of bummed and pissed that he didn’t get sent any Slayer singles, actually it sounded like he may not have gotten any singles. The second place, Back Side, should carry vinyl if they want to be “indie”. The third place, Freakbeat, should answer their phone regardless of whether they want to be “indie”, or not. How can you run a business with a generic computer voice answering your phone and taking a message?

So, I went grocery shopping, dumped the food at the house and went into Hollywood where Amoeba is its usual busy self (maybe because they carry vinyl and presumably answer their phone). The lot under the building was, as usual, full but I parked in a loading zone on the street. Walked in, grabbed the single, jumped in line, 30 seconds until I’m at the register, pay in cash, out the door. 3 minutes tops in the store, maybe closer to 2.

Gene Simmons was walking in as I was walking out. I was surprised that he would spend part of his non-touring time walking around Amoeba in full costume carrying his bloody axe shaped bass, I also was surprised that he seemed shorter than me in his boots.

2 hours out of the house, I listened to the Dodgers win #7 in a row on my way home. As I was walking out of the store some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag. If I had bought one of every item in Amoeba I would have maxed out all four platinum Amex cards in my pocket and a couple of relatively famous bands, who I don’t actually work for at the moment, would have wondered what the hell I was doing.

Oh, all that, and I don’t have a record player. Hahaha!

METAL.

Note: Evidently Ace Frehley was doing an in-store at Amoeba Hollywood this afternoon.. which sort of explains why "short" Gene Simmons was there.

THE FLIP SIDE: H82WAD reflected from Milwaukee about Record Store Day 2009 there:

Your story made me sad as the shop my sis and I frequented has gone under (Atomic Records). They were one of 2 independent shops that sold tix for the shows I produced while at UW-Milwaukee. Rich was very passionate about his biz.

Umlaut never visited Atomic Records, but I'm lucky enough to have a couple of their cool t-shirts. R.I.P. Atomic Records.

Deja Vu

For the record, Umlaut is having an amazing Music Geek month of April so far...

Green Day
The Independent, San Francisco
April 7, 2009

Let this be the first post of Umlaut's Stalking Tour Manager Doug Tour 2009-10! For the newbies: Click HERE for the details about the last time Umlaut stalked Tour Manager Doug (TMD) around the world while using Green Day as an excuse; the tally was 6 shows in 4 cities and 3 countries.

When this show went onsale online at 3:00PM (a mere 5 1/2 hours before the doors opened) it sold out in less than 5 minutes. It takes a show like this to get Skychick out of the house, but it takes TMD to make it magical! This time TMD waved his magic laminate and Skychick and I found ourselves watching the soundcheck for Green Day's first show in 3 years with maybe 15 other people (most of them band crew):

(Pic by Umlaut)

As the band sorted out parts of new songs before the doors opened, I couldn't believe that we were among the very first people outside of the band's circle hearing the new songs for the first time. I almost soiled myself... figuratively speaking of course. Hmm, during soundcheck the band had an awesome new banner hanging behind the stage featuring a martini glass / upside down cross and a Satanic goat's head... but it was taken down and not seen again that night. Hmmm.

Green Day jumped onstage for the first time in 3 years at around 10:30PM and kicked into 'Welcome To Paradise'... and followed it with an hour of new songs; basically the entire new album I assume. For the record, I think American Idiot is a perfect album; every song is amazing and it's an old school album (i.e. a musical journey where each song tells a chapter of a story) versus simply a collection of songs. The new songs felt exactly the same way; they seemed to be telling a bigger story, but individually they were so great.. Amazing: I think Green Day might have struck music gold again! My initial thought was "This is what it must have felt like when people saw The Who play Tommy for the first time, before the songs became ingrained in music history".. I couldn't believe we were in the first audience hearing these songs. Mindblowing.

The new material was causing "The Who" to pop into my head.. and another song had a guitar part that caused "Mott The Hoople" to pop into my head.. I've been saying this a lot this week, but my head was spinning, this time from the catchiness of the songs, the power of the songs, and the variety of stuff going on in the songs. Also, the 2009-10 version of Green Day has an additional 3rd guitarist (!) in the lineup for the new songs, which makes them the Skynyrd of Power Pop. What song is it you wanna hear? For those stuck in 1994, Green Day haven't been a 3-piece onstage for awhile; they are now a full blown ROCK band with 6 musicians bringing the volume.

After debuting the new album, the band came back and played over an hour of hits and requests from the crowd... starting with 'American Idiot' > 'Jesus Of Suburbia'. Holy fuck! Seeing those songs being played in a club was like seeing an old friend again who I haven't seen in several years, but it felt like no time had passed. Just like at their epic show at The Warfield in 2005, Billie Joe took requests from the audience.. 'F.O.D.' was my fave request.. but 'J.A.R.' was a good one too. They also threw in other oldies like 'Christie Road' and, of course, 'Longview'. After almost 2 1/2 hours, Skychick and I stumbled out onto Divisidero... where we immediately ran into The Sheriff and Mrs. Sheriff.. and The Sheriff was then interviewed by some guy who claimed to be from Spin magazine. Weird.

Green Day are one of those great live bands who don't develop that often... They may have started as Punks, but Green Day here in the 21st Century are a Frankenstein-like hybrid of Punk > Classic Rock > Power Pop all driven by an incredible chemistry between the band members. People who are stuck in 1994 and think Green Day are merely a "Punk" band are completely missing out on one of the greatest ROCK bands ever. Oh well..

According to the Umlaut Archives this was my 11th time seeing Green Day dating back to 1991... and The Independent was the smallest stage I'd seen them on since back at Brave New World (R.I.P.) and that art warehouse space in The Mission; what was the name of that place? Me love Green Day long time.

Thanks to TMD for sorting out my +1. For the newbies: Legend says that Umlaut and Tour Manager Doug met at a Krokus show in 1982... which may or may not be true, but our Inner Metalheads definitely had many playdates together.

If you bought one of every Green Day merch item you would have paid NOTHING because there was none for sale. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. The Rock Godz have blessed Umlaut this month already, first with Cleveland and now Green Day. Ironically, TMD sent me a text afterwards that The Drummer was visiting his band's dressing room. HAHA!! Man, with all due respect, The Dane should retire and give Tré Cool his rotating drum riser. All the young dudes, carry the news..

If only I could relive this night again...

Tour Manager Doug: The Podcast

It had to happen eventually!

Posted on the Roadrunner Records site:

GOD LISTENS TO SLAYER! - 6.16.08



There are three ways to access this podcast!

1. Subscribe at iTunes.
2. Click the download button at the top right of the Skull Sessions page.
3. Stream the episode from the music player in the middle of the Skull Sessions page.

SLAYER! The Early Years: On this second episode of the Shockwaves Skull Sessions, host Bob Nalbandian is joined by author/journalist Joel McIver and Doug Goodman. Joel is the author of the brand new book The Bloody Reign Of Slayer (Omnibus Press 2008) and Doug Goodman was Slayer's original tour manager from Show No Mercy / Hell Awaits era. Doug and Nalbandian share some classic stories about SLAYER from their very early years that are revealed for the first time in Joel's new book including the band's first club shows in Orange County as well as some great road stories told by Doug! This is a must listen for any fan of SLAYYERRR!!!

JOEL MCIVER: Joel McIver is an author, journalist, book and magazine editor and album compiler. He's written 11 books and lives for Bay Area thrash, Swedish death metal and British grindcore but isn't just a drooling headbanger, taking in hip-hop, jazz, downtempo, classical and funk along the way. He writes or has written for music mags such as Record Collector, Metal Hammer, Total Guitar, Kerrang!, Classic Rock, Bass Guitar and Future Music. He writes about films for DVD Review magazine and is an occasional talking head on music TV, as well as appearing on radio from time to time.

Books By Joel McIver:

• The Bloody Reign Of Slayer (Omnibus, 2008)
• Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (Omnibus, 2006)
• Sex Pistols: The Making OF The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle (MQ Publications, 2006)
• The Making Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers's Blood Sugar Sex Magic (MQ Publications, 2005)
• No One Knows: The Queens Of The Stone Age Story (Omnibus, 2005)
• Extreme Metal II (Omnibus, 2005)
• Justice For All: The Truth About Metallica (Omnibus, 2004)
• Nu-Metal: The Next Generation Of Rock And Punk (Omnibus, 2002)
• Slipknot: Unmasked (Omnibus, 2001)
• Extreme Metal (Omnibus, 2000)

DOUG GOODMAN: Doug Goodman tours the world with whoever will pay him as a tour manager and a tour accountant. His first tour was in 1984 in Tom Araya's Camaro, and 3000 shows later, it's still among his favorites. Doug has toured with bands as diverse as Ben Folds Five, Cannibal Corpse, Jewel, Steve Earle, Beck, Smashing Pumpkins and Green Day; but none were, or are, as heavy as Slayer. When he's not on the road he and his wife, Michele, can be found watching a baseball game at Dodger Stadium.

Roudness

For the newbies, Loudness (pronounced "Roudness") were (are) a Japanese Metal band. To be honest, I haven't followed the band since around the time Back To The Future came out... but for a moment in time their brand of Nipponese Steel was something I worshiped.

This post was inspired by an innocent Flickr post of an old photo Umlaut took 25 years ago at a Roudness show:

Loudness - Wolfgang's, S.F. - 7/11/83. They didn't speak English so the singer had this cue card next to his monitor with stage banter to say to the crowd. After the show I snagged it and hung it on my bedroom wall.

(From the Umlaut Archives)

Then, in that magical Metal way that only this space seems to inspire, some of Umlaut's Old Metal friends commented on the picture:

Dalia: "I was there!"

Umlaut: "You were probably standing next to me. Y&T were sitting in the balcony that night."

Dalia: "...and Lars was hitting on me."

John S.: "I never did see them live, but I remember taking BART up to the Record Exchange in Walnut Creek so I could get them to sign my records. They all had confused smiles plastered on their faces as all the metalheads attempted to talk to them in English. It eventually devolved into everybody just giving each other "thumbs-up" signals."

Big Wayne: "I remember the 3 1/2 hour bus/BART ride to Walnut Creek with John for the autograph session. When we made it back home, we stopped by the music store that now is Armadillo Willy's BBQ in Cupertino and I left the signed music book in the store. I did get it back the next day since they didn't sell any Japanese metal music tablature and they knew it had to be mine."

Hiro: "They also said, "Pureez well cuum flom Jaappan, Roudness!"

Of course, Umlaut also documented the Roudness cue card in his Whiplash #1 review of the event:

I continue to be amazed how something we were all involved in 25 years ago continues to bind us together. Thanks friends! This pic is for you, which has not been seen by human eyes in over 20 years (!):

Wolfgang's, San Francisco - July 11, 1983
(Pic by Umlaut)

Can anyone burn me the first 3 Roudness albums onto CD?? I still only got 'em on vinyl.

Fast forward 24 hours: Since I originally posted the above, more members of the Umlaut Nation have come forward to share about Roudness.

Tour Manager Doug illegally sent me the first 3 Roudness albums from on tour in Europe via the magic of the Information Superhighway. It wasn't nearly as romantic as getting a package of cassette tapes via Air Mail.. but it did the job. Thanks, brutha!

Scarpetti: "Me and my brother rode our bikes to The Record Exchange to see Loudness. They really didn't have a grasp of the English language yet. They signed my metal patch jacket, but that is long gone. I have some pictures. They spent most of their time behind the counter so most of the shots are of the tops of their heads."

You funny guy, Scarpetti! You make me wraf rong time!

And thanks to Old Metal Asian Brutha Konaquon for this gem:


How much was $5.97 worth in Yen back in 1983??

Fast forward 5 minutes since I posted the above and Tour Manager Doug said:

Yen to the dollar
1983-07-01 240.52
1983-08-01 244.46

METAL.

Old Metal Brad sent this gem over: "From Japanese t.v. ~1981, 'Loudness' and 'Burning Love' live on a t.v. show. No lypsynching, incredible mix with clear bass, drum , etc.. A mini interview with Akira at the start. Dig the audience clapping with bewildered expressions, and a couple pairs of Headbangers nodding in their chairs. Ang of course in the ghastly rock star gear. :))) Akira could be an extra in a John Waters flick."



Trivia: Umlaut friend Takoyaki informed me that the clip is from the long running music variety show HEY! HEY! HEY! Music Champ.

Sad News: LOUDNESS Drummer Diagnosed With Liver Cancer - Apr. 14, 2008

LOUDNESS drummer Munetaka Higuchi was diagnosed with liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma) earlier this month, according to Japanese media reports. He is still in the hospital, where he has been undergoing radiotherapy for HCC.

LOUDNESS will play the three previously announced Japanese dates with a replacement drummer, whose name hasn't been revealed yet. After those gigs, the band will be put on hold indefinitely until Munetaka gets his full strength back.

Here's wishing Munetaka the best! Rock on "Devil Soldier"!

Wolfgang's, San Francisco - July 11, 1983
(Pic by Umlaut)

Sister Christian

Ben Folds is opening for John Mayer all Summer... However, judging from the comment cards left by attendees of the June 5th Mayer / Folds show at San Jose's HP Pavilion, some of Mayer's fanbase lack both a sense of irony and a sense of humor. Evidently Folds' cover of Dr. Dre's 'Bitches Ain't Shit' was a bit much for some in the suburban crowd:


Irony is a dish best served cold... and now you know why Umlaut left San Jose for The Big City... But wait a minute! Dude! My baby sister was at the San Jose show!! Should I be outraged too? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Also, I had no idea John Mayer was a "children's" act? Wasn't his first big crap hit song about some chick's body being a wonderland? At least that's what I read in Rolling Stone once.

Thanks to TMD for sharing this and for giving my sister her first +1.
SLAYER.

You've Had A Busy Day Today

With this post I will stick a gun in my mouth and blow my Metal Cred out of the back of my head.

Recently Tour Manager Doug and I had a conversation about the fact that, despite our well documented Metalhead history and experiences, we actually have no Metal cred at all: Doug because he loved the 1st Violent Femmes album and he didn't know about Dante's Nine Circles of Hell and me because I saw Prince on the Purple Rain Tour within 2 weeks of seeing Iron Maiden on the Powerslave Tour.

With that in mind, I will now state publicly and for the record that I fucking love this song:

• Elton John
• Ben Folds
• Dave Grohl
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Almost Famous

"Pirate smile, you married a music man.."

Tour Manager Doug (TMD) says: "I hereby officially request that you reword your blog to include reference to my Devo shirt, which saw more Metal than "The Kidz" today will ever know."

TMD and his Devo shirt with members of Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, and Exodus
Aquatic Park, Berkeley, CA - August 19, 1984

Umlaut says: TMD wore that Devo shirt to almost every show back then. His Metal Cred was blown almost from the start but we were all too young and clueless to realize it....

Not On The List

Live 105 BFD
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
June 9, 2007

At this point in 2007 some things have fallen back into place for me, and other things have become jagged and out of sync for me with certain people and things. This day completely exemplified all of that.

To start the day, I had a weird incident at the car wash in the morning that threw me off early. Then, my scheme to attend the ever-popular annual Live 105 BFD show took a jagged turn and, long story short, I found myself heading to Mt. View solo..

In a twist of fate, along the way I happened upon Big Wayne and, like we were starring in our own version of The Wizard of Oz (or The Wiz), we eventually found ourselves standing in front of Shoreline being told "Not on The List..." and "You're going to have to try and contact him yourself... I can't help you..."

Being told "Not on The List" is so Lock 'N Loll, right? Of course, this wasn't the first time for Umlaut, but the way this played out made it memorably warm and fuzzy. I don't believe in Santa, The Easter Bunny, or Jesus anymore... but I do believe in Tour Manager Doug (TMD)!

From 400 miles away, TMD made everything right. Long story short, after I sent a text message to TMD we made the trek back to the car. Just as I was unlocking the car, my cell phone rang: It was Mommy's Little Monster's apologetic tour manager. He said TMD had informed him of the situation and things had been taken care of; tickets and laminated pieces of paper had just been delivered to Will Call for me. This display of coolness will inspire me to either have that band from Orange County in heavy rotation on my iPod this week or I'll get Skellie and "TMD" inked on my neck. We'll see...

Once inside the venue, the laminated pieces of paper gave us access to a fenced off area where we were given the privilege of paying $10 for a draft beer or $9 for a mixed drink. After getting our drinks we were then privileged to be able to watch a man who was significantly older than us pawing girls who were significantly younger than us... It was like watching Hugh Hefner trying to work towards the next refill of his Viagra prescription. Ummm... bile.

After finishing our $9 refreshments we wandered around in the privileged area until we got to the "Artists" compound, where our path was finally blocked... so we returned to the "real" world outside of the privileged area to mix with the common people.

When we reached our reserved seats who should be sitting directly in front of us but Umlaut Nation members The Sheriff, Kathy, and Shannon!! Whoa... And then a tap on my shoulder informed me that my former swag colleague Dominique was sitting 2 rows behind us. This was all unexpected.. Very cool. Quality hang time ensued.

Due to our adventures Big Wayne and I missed all of the 2nd Stage acts, but we arrived in time to see the 4 bands I wanted to see on the Main Stage...

Kaiser Chiefs: English bands can get away with more shenanigans than American bands. I kept tripping on how the drummer looked like "someone" but I couldn't place who it was... Oh well. KC played 'I Predict A Riot' which is, like, my fave song; when they broke into it I couldn't help but smile. For the record, 'I Predict A Riot' was designated my personal anthem for 2007 awhile back; don't ask me why.. it just is.. KC were probably the best band on the bill to pogo to, if you were so inclined. Walking through town is quite scary, and not very sensible..

Interpol: I haven't seen Interpol since their bassist looked like George McFly circa 1955; now the dude looks like Wyatt Earp complete with pointy cowboy boots. That nut.

Judging from the packed reserved section and gushing fan response, Interpol probably should have been headlining... I only knew 2 songs in their setlist (since I haven't bought their recent albums) so I didn't smile during their set... but they sounded good and I can imagine myself asking someone to burn their latest CDs for me in the near future... Also, those dudes spend serious bucks on their clothes for sure; the best dressed band of the day.

Sidebar: This old man is of the mindset that nothing has neutered the concert experience like the Shoreline-style sheds. The thing I can't stand about seeing this type of multiple act gig in an amphitheatre is how people sit down during songs they don't know and stand up for the songs they've heard on the radio. I miss good old fashioned GA arena / stadium shows, where the real fans would jam themselves down front and the casual fans simply sat up in the stands; punters were given a choice about how to enjoy the show. Anyway...

Queens Of The Stone Age: QOTSA had a ridiculously big stage show for this type of gig (complete with giant chandeliers) that took 25 minutes to set up for them to play a 40 minute set. For the record, it took their crew only 8 minutes to break the staging down. Man, they were brutally LOUD and it's my opinion they cranked the volume on purpose to punish the non-QOTSA fans in the audience. An indication of how successful they were was the number of seats that became empty during their set. QOTSA played 'If Only' which is, like, my fave song; when they broke into it I couldn't help but smile. The casual fans all stood up during 'Go With The Flow'. Josh Homme has got to be the most top heavy Rock Star since Glenn Danzig.

Social Distortion: An indication of how little the Live 105 audience appreciates an old style Rock band was the significant number of empty seats in the prime reserved section just prior to Social D. hitting the stage. However, you could also tell Social D. were the next band by the number of dudes and chicks sporting black Dickies jackets and neck tattoos moving down the aisles trying to scam into the good seats. No worries, cool kidz - C'mon down! The last time Big Wayne saw Social D. was on 9/13/85:

Back To School Show - Exhibit Hall, San Jose, CA

Big Wayne says: "What a show! Violent Coercion (pre-Neurosis with Dave Ed and Scott), Arsenal (Chris Wilder), Christ on Parade. Yowza."

In a gesture ripped straight from today's headlines, Mike Ness dedicated 'Prison Bound' to Paris Hilton. Social D. played 'Bad Luck' which is, like, my fave song; when they broke into it I couldn't help but smile. In contrast to QOTSA's significant staging, Social D. only had toys, a fez, and other thrift store brick-a-brack displayed on their backline. Is it just me, or does Mike Ness have THE cleanest Les Paul tone out there? Discuss amongst yourselves. The casual fans all stood up during 'Story Of My Life' and 'Ring Of Fire', which was the last song of the set... and after which we headed for the exit 'cause I don't like Bloc Party.

Muchas gracias to Tour Manager Craig for sorting us out and to TMD for, well, for being TMD. Keep it real out there, for The Kidz.

Iron Maiden Purgatory shirts = 2. I forgot to bring my pen and notepad so I blew off trying to do a merch tally, but I will say QOTSA had the coolest shirt of any of the bands (featuring a graphic of B-17's dropping their payloads during WW2!). On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. When I got home, Eddie The Cat wouldn't leave me alone but the dogs just went to sleep.

Epilogue: The same jagged and out of synch theme continued the next day. My brand new cell phone that I've had for a mere 35 days crapped out and my provider (whose name is the opposite of "jog") told me I'd have to pay $55 towards a replacement phone. WTF?!! A top of the line cell phone crapping out after a month is acceptable quality control these days?? In the end, the store manager turned out to be reasonable after I bitched and she gave me a replacement phone at no charge... but the initial jagged encounter was unnecessary, ya know? Later in the day Timo and I blew off going to the Haight St. Fair and made our monthly visit to The Bank instead... and, unfortunately, even my interaction with The Bank was infected by the same jagged and out of synch theme... Is it so hard to find acceptable wait staff these days?? Cue that Old 97's song 'Jagged'... but only after some Social D...

"You're always scratchin' at the Eight Ball, no one really knows the reason why..."

"I'd give anything not to feel so jagged..."