archive one

feb 28 sat The Damned at Maritime Hall, S.F.

Well, We got there fashionably late due to drinking in an abandoned park across the street, so we missed the opening band, but was told that we didn't miss much of anything, so that was A-OK by us. The Damned were great, the second they started, all the goth kids up front were squished by the throngs of people who started pogoing and moving around, so that was good for a laugh. I couldn't get close enough to the stage, due to the continuous drink I seemed to have appear in my hand. It was packed with both older and newer punks/goths, and generally a lot of fun. It was good to see Captain Sensible, and Dave Vanian were having such a great time, and there was a general sense of fun with each old song they sang (aside from the near endless guitar solos that popped up with each song. The addition of that chick from Sisters of Mercy was a good choice, she didn't miss a beat.

The unofficial worst part of the show was when they were about to start their second encore, and I got trapped near the edge of the pit area with two near-full drinks...Waa Waa Waa Waaaaaaa, easy come, easy go.

Feb 22 Sun Toy Dolls, Guttermouth, The Criminals at Slims in SF...

What can I say, I liked the Criminals, I haven't seen jesse in at least five years, and he was certinaily entertaining... But they play every week in the bay area, so people are tired of them (time to go on an extended road trip?). I saw Guttermouth around four years ago in Portland, and I liked them, they had a crazy energy that seems to come from quite a few bands from the Huntington beach area, and they were damn funny. Well, they've sold a few hundred thousand more records, and they are a little fatter, but just as energetic and funny. Athough the sound sucked so bad , that we had to strain ourselves to understand anything Mark Adkins sang. The Toy Dolls were fun too, normally I'm not too into their type of straightforward UK punk music, but they were fun and exciting.

Feb 21 Sat Zeke, The Candy Snatchers, The Loudmouths at the Bottom of the Hill, S.F.

I liked the Loudmouths, they were cool, and collected, snotty, and a bit raw, but I expected worse than what I heard. I really liked the Candysnatchers, I'd see them again anytime. Zeke is a band from Seattle (I gather), and the headliners...Cool, I really hope that the rest of Seattle has gotten away from the grunge crap. (although I didn't really see any sign of that happening when I went there). Zeke was great! they took the abuse that all the old-school punk scene could throw at them, and dished it out right back. I would have gotten one of their merchandise, but after about 10 drinks, it was time to stumble home.

Feb 8 Sat Filth, Exodus, 1332, and Grimple at some cool warehouse in Oakland...

Probably the best show I've been to in all my years of doing the punk thing, and that's about fourteen years. This was definitely the place to be, it was a wake for Lucky, and all the bands there knew him from his years of doing stuff. First up was Grimple, the shortest band in Oakland, and they just rocked. They, of course, have been broken up for years, but they played a solid set and it was really great to hear all those great songs live instead of on the few tapes iv got. Next up was 1332 and as always they played a great set. I'm a little irritated about the name change from El Dopa, but I guess it needed to be done with all the lawyer stuff they would have to go through. Anyway, they played for almost an hour, and played almost all the sings from their record, and both songs from the 7 inch. Totally awsome!

Third up was, cough, Exodus. What can I say? They played Bonded by blood, and just all their old songs, it was definitely something to see. I never thought I'd see the day where Filth and Exodus would play the same show... I guess punk music has come full circle... again. WIERD.

I ran into Jake Filth earlier, and asked him if Filth was really going to play, and he said, "yea, but we're going to suck, after 7 years of not playing." Not true, they were great, Iv always wanted to see them, and I finally got my chance. Every song was sung along by the whole damn crowd, and it was just fucking crazy. People were bowling me over, and just being there was incredible. Which is good, because I missed a free ticket to go see X on the same night. Oh, did I mention the free beer, cheap ass mixed drinks, and the fact that about ten people I knew from Santa Fe were there... BONUS!

Feb 3 Tue Logan's Run at the Red Vic.

Wow, it must have been geek's night out that night, I started the evening at the haight street bar and restraunt The Kan Zaman (Highly Recommended!) with a few beers, and then headed to the Red Vic to watch the sold out showing. My friend Harmony was with me, and she actually hadn't seen the movie which I thought was surprising, it being a sci-fi classic and all. To be blunt, It was really cool to see LR on the big screen, and all the scenes were great and full of 70's charm. I urge all to see it at least on cable if they find it playing.

Jan 30 Fri Hi-Five's and the Heebee Jeebees at Bottom of the hill

We missed the first band, which was kind of unfortunate because the show was basically a celebration of their CD release, but we just had to get a few beers down before the show. So we walked over to the Bottom of the Hill (which is quickly becoming my favorite place to see live bands) and the Heebee Jeebees were starting. I don't like the Heebee Jeebees. I think they are a sad rip off of any cover-band out there, and the whole suit thing is so overplayed. If I didn't like the Hi-Five's I probably wouldn't have gone.

The Hi-Five's, in case you don't know are the remains of the Shatners, the Ne-er Do Wells, and Judy and the Loadies. All those bands did surf revival 60's type music, and were common staples from Humboldt County for at least five years. They are a happy lively band, and are all really cool people. They were great on this occasion, and captivated the audience with their charm. If you are in a good mood, go see them next time they play.

Jan 11 sun Lookout Record's 10th Anniversary Party BBQ and Lookout Records band auditions.

This was cool, I was initially queasy about the whole thing, it being a lookout deal, and all that, but as soon as I got there, I thought it was really fun. Free food (justifying the 4$ cover) and 20 bands. Although I missed the majority of the ands, I still caught the tail end of the last few. It was a shame that all the bands could only play one song (leading me to think that possibly the whole thing will end up on some bootleg CD sometime), cause no-one can judge a band on just one song.

The really funny part was the Karaoke session after the bands were over, the guys from Pansy Division put on the best shows, doing a VERY over-the-top rendition of Pat Benatar's "Hit me with your best shot", I'm sure you can imagine how that was, and Chris from that old North-Cal band The Ne'er Do Wells as well as The Shatners did a grand crooning version of Frank Sinatra, showing that even someone over 25 can still have fun. Incidentally, I saw numerous PR people from Humboldt County there, and even met a cool girl from Redding of all places. Hopefully things like this will happen again soon.

Dec 17 Wed "MASS" (Gothic Night) at the End Up:

Now I haven't done the Gothic thing before, but this seemed like it was pretty fun amazingly enough. Cheesy gothic music, and a bunch of people dressed in their wackiest black clothes. Very overpriced drinks kind of put a damper on the evening, but time just flew by, and before I knew it it was time for last call. One of the highlights of the evening was walking by the Stud and the Eagle on the way home. People are funny.

December 13 sat Lung BuTTer, Macmindo, Human Beans, Majestic 12 at Ptomaine Temple, 3957 San Leandro, East Oakland:

This was a show that basically was in celebration of Russ (the singer of Lung Butter)'s Birthday, and it was pretty good! I personally liked the Human Beans the best out of all the bands, They played fast crazy sloppy punk rock and the singer was totally funny in his Darby Crash impression, although I couldn't