#JackWhite

SXSW 2012: Third Man Records Showcase w/ Jack White & more

 Their is a line that goes something like “People will amaze you with what they are capable of, once they abandon dignity” –
Let me be clear – I abandoned ALL dignity to see this show and I’m not ashamed. Well maybe just a little.

6:30 pm

Though its early and I was buzzed and dehydrated within an inch of my life – I left Stubb’s to go find the venue for tonight’s Third Man Records Showcase – It was not hard to find as all I had to look for was the Third Man Rolling Record Store – a giant yellow ambulance – that doubles as a mobile record store a la fireworks stand.

For those that do not know, the label and all its quirky ambition is lead by Jack White.

Though I was on the guest list and he wasn’t going on till 11pm, I wasn’t taking any chances.
Doors were supposed to open at 7pm and it already looked like the apocalypse outside – I’m not kidding between the customers buying records to the baffling three line system of badges, wristbands, and guest lists/etc it looked like the entire festival was here trying to get in. I started to fear for the other acts, that suddenly the rest of the city was a ghost town and when Eminem and 50 Cent arrive at their showcase to an empty house, the festival organizers have to answer to drawn guns that they made the mistake of scheduling them opposite of the great one.

So after spending waaaay too much money on records and running them to my car I get back to my place in line and here is where shit is going to get really confusing –
When I return the organizers decided to unite two of the lines and so the one I’m in is now expected to snake around to the other one retaining its same formation to varying degrees of success. While in line I meet some pretty cool people – who proved that while holding my place in line while I ran to get smokes.
I was talking to this girl who had come all the way from Denver with her husband just to see this – I was impressed but she started weirding me out with alot of talk about Jack White chat rooms and message boards and couldn’t even get out the sentence “Do you think we will get in?” without starting to cry. Ok – so I guess I’m not his biggest fan.
This dude in front of her notices that I do not have a badge or a wristband (because all that shit is a total scam) and it appears you need clearance from the FBI just to talk to the door guy, and asks how I plan to get in, when I tell him that I am on the guest list. He informs me that the guest list line is where they just had us snake from – So I return and ask the security guy that told us to do the initial snaking if this was the guest list area, which was directly being the record store truck, now totally roped off with an air of seclusion.

He lets me under the ropes and I’m now in this little area that again is hidden between the record store truck and the wall of the venue.
Also this venue, The Stage on 6th looked really cool and I’m sure it was no coincidence that Jack had picked this place to play.
Very country with Willie Nelson murals on the wall – but it didn’t help the crush or control of the crowd because their were several open air windows that allowed you to see directly in without ever entering the place, and everyone on the other side of truck was jockeying for position.

As I enter this weird roped off area on the sidewalk for guest list people, for a about one full minute I’m the only one there, before two people come out with the lists – one female – one male.
We are gonna call the male Brad, and the female Nadia – I approach Nadia because a) she’s cute – b) Brad had this real Abercrombie & Fitch snobby thing happening as he was being totally shitty with the first guest that approached him – giving her the bad news and in no uncertain terms telling her to return from the direction from which she came.
Nadia was really friendly, I told her my name, she checked me off her list and told me to stand against this wall with a line that was forming of other people she had checked off her list.
Ok cool – now we just have to wait to go in – I start to relax and have a cigarette. And we wait and wait and wait – I realize that I’ve been in these series of lines for an hour and a half.

8:00 pm

To makes matters even more infuriating as its totally unclear what we are waiting on to be told we can leave our little queue and go in, the entire time Brad and Nadia are greeting people they clearly know and/or were expecting and without even looking at the list wave them on through. To illustrate the military like approach this event in order to gain access (from our area) either Brad or Nadia had to give the nod for you to two security guards who then had to walk you to two SXSW officiates who would suit you up and then you go in.
Fucking ridiculous. Over the course of more waiting, one by one between Nadia and Brad they have told everyone but me oddly to leave, as in not go in, but leave this area and go back from whence you came, but Nadia told me to stay – but still not the go ahead to go in. What the fuck is going on?

9:00pm

I start to get a whiff of what’s up when I overhear a conversation between Brad and a gentlemen we will call Patrick –
Patrick is easy to spot as a member of the organization as Jack White always has his roadies/staffers not in the usual jeans and wifebeaters but dressed similar to him – in 3-piece suits and bowler hats – I’m sure they are wonderfully comfortable to do heavy lifting in.
He’s outside complaining/co-miserating to Brad about the first band that is currently on that apparently isn’t a part of the showcase, as they are going over their time – Obviously unimpressed with the band’s lack of status, Patrick establishes himself instantly as a right asshole as he cuts them into pieces and is threating to pull them off stage if they play one more note.
Where this conversation become informative to my situation is that Brad and Patrick, obviously working on the same team. Brad says to Patrick “Hey while I got you here, I wanted to tell you that we have alot of people coming up to us who are on Reggie Watt’s list, and we still don’t have his” –
Patrick who is completely unsympathetic to this, and apparently Mr. Watts isn’t one of the acts at his charge, Patrick declares his only concerns are those pertaining to the acts he’s responsible for and makes a cruel joke at the expense of any poor bastard who just happens to be on Reggie Watt’s guest list, as he alludes to whom might be responsible for its dismissal.

The puzzle is coming together now as I suspect Nadia knows this and doesn’t want to tell me yet, just have me hang out till the list arrives or in the case that all of her guests have arrived than only then will she permit my entry. I have an existential crisis that I’ve made decisions that has landed me on a sidewalk for hours awaiting the go ahead from some 90 lb unpaid intern to tell me that I can go have fun.

For a good stretch its just Brad, Nadia and I, sans for the occasional hopeful who has entered our little space to petition the guest list only to be given the bad news and directions to return back under the rope. During this time, I try to make conversation and appear cool while smoking. Not in an ass-kissy way, but definitely in a display that showed me as being patient, appreciative and the furthest thing from harassing. Nadia is avoiding me like I have the 10th Plague, conversation with Brad is not much easier – I learn in our few brief exchanges that (he claims) to work as part of the team that manages Jack White.

I’m still leaning against the wall, trying not to draw his ire, when he is clearly tired of my presence – when behind the other side of the rope, suddenly Sam appears with 12 of his friends he’s hoping that I can get them into the show, shouting my name loudly. Bad timing Sam, and I’m normally very patient with him, but I just had to look at him and shrug him off, but he’s insistent – Bad timing Sam.
This gets Brad’s attention and so he walks up to me – and unbeknown to me he had no idea why I’ve been standing here for so long – and here is where I could have pulled a fast one -and I might have if I had understood the hierarchy a little better at that moment.
Brad says to me “Hey I know Nadia already checked you off her list, so what’s the deal? , you waiting for someone? –
Right then I could have lied my ass off and said, “Yeah, I was, but I’m tired of waiting so I’m just gonna go ahead on go on in now” – And in hindsight I could have with no problem – but my need to be honest, actually alerted him to my situation!
I didn’t wanna be sheisty, or suffer the embarrassment of Nadia saying “Wait a minute he’s not clear to go in yet” – and I didn’t wanna be there under some false shit, so as I’m trying to explain that Nadia checked me off the list but for reasons that are unclear she told me to wait, to this already established asshole, here comes Sam, sensing my conversation with Brad was his only chance for entry ambushes me, and that was all Brad needed to tell me that I needed to wait on the other side of the rope with everyone else and he escorts Sam and I back to the land of the rejects, after all that waiting. Thanks Sam haha

As I’m trying to explain to Sam that I am busy and we would have to talk later, he’s trying to introduce me to his friends. I don’t want to be impolite but this could quickly turn into a case of disqualification by association, by occupying this little space with an agenda unbecoming of its intent. So as I’m trying to escape this, I actually see Reggie Watts come out and hand a couple of passes to some people in front of me that were stranded for the same reasons as I. By the time I got Sam and his friends on their way, Watts was too far out of reach, and yelling out to him and jumping up and down and waving my arms like an air traffic controller that has to piss real bad was one final indignity that I was not going to suffer. Bad timing Sammy.

9:30pm

Out of desperation and my limit of humiliation had been reached and wanted to salvage my investment, I make my move.
I see a tall, buff gentlemen in his late 40’s come out periodically that thanks to my powers of observation is clearly the boss to Brad and Nadia, who seems totally cool. Isn’t it always the case that those who are actually the boss are usually pretty relaxed, where as those that are pretending to be the boss are the uptight assholes that wanna push people around. I can always detect these parasites like a fart in a car. Still on the other side of the ropes I can tell my new found brethren are dead and have no chance of getting in, and I’m about to break away from the pack.
The older gentlemen we will call Martin – I get Martin’s attention, still in a dignified manner and articulate to him, who I am, what I do and what the situation is. He perks right up and whispers to me what I already know, that the Reggie Watts list turned into a fiasco.
He also tells me that Third Man had 650 people on their guest list – for a venue that holds 700. And that’s what they never tell you –
Their are literally at least a thousand people trying to get into this thing and they would never admit that they were only going to let 50 people that are not on the guest list, and all of those will surely be badges. I wanted to go tell the people with wristbands to enjoy themselves elsewhere and never buy one of these again. If you want to get into anything at this festival, more often than not, you have to be on a band’s guest list – those badges and wristbands are not worth the paper they are printed on.
Martin was totally cool, familiar with my company and assured me that he would get me in – he just asked me to be patient. Not to rock the boat but I felt compelled to tell him that I’d been waiting for quite awhile. I didn’t want to embarrass myself by telling him just how long I had actually been waiting, and feared that it could potentially dissuade him from wanting to help me.
I decide to roll a cigarette and if Martin doesn’t return by the time I’m finished smoking I’ll have to raise the white flag.
He returns almost immediately, though making a beeline for me he is looking at everything but me, but when we make eye contact, it appears that him memory was triggered or I’m just reading way too much into it.
Martin walks right up to me, but now the rapport is very different, but he is there to deliver good news:
“I’m going to go ahead and walk you in, since its gonna be quite awhile before they start letting people in again” –
Fucking victory – but he seems put out by me now for some reason, like the security guards let him in on how long I’d been there, or he was just taking on the cadence that comes when someone wants to remind you that they are helping you – whatever.
He lifts the rope inviting me, seems super annoyed by my cigarette, tells me to put it out and to follow him – he secures my entry – I thank him intensely and make a genuine offer to repay the favor – he yeah yeahs me, seemingly simply satisfied that I was now in his debt.
Whatever the case, I was crossing the threshold, passing the security guards that seemed to be actually rooting for me at this point, and now I was in – fucking victory – Total wait time: 3 hrs 15 mins

Ok so now I’m scanning the scene and realize just how small this place is – Its perfect for this – I see that their is a permanent stage inside that is small, in the corner and the one I”m praying that he is going to play on (I’m sure the people outside were praying for this as well) – Their was another temporary erected tent/stage in the open air large courtyard in the back. Reggie Watts is winding down on the front stage and I catch the end of his act:

He was really funny as always and now I had some to time to roam the grounds in the back. I was amazed at just how NOT sardines-like it was in here and was grateful for that. I go outside and I spot someone that I know to be a part of this production, because I would see her periodically come outside to check on/chat with Nadia during my life-sucking wait.
She sees me and smiles, clearly recognizing me from before – she’s friendly, introduces herself – we will call her Laura – and makes an earnest, non-sarcastic platitude of my entry. We are chatting and both being charming when she informs me of her contribution to this soirée, one for which she was eager to announce, was that of publicist. Not ot mention but at one of the most prestigious boutique firms in the biz – Nasty Little Man
Some of you may know this little factoid – the Beastie Boys have an album called Hello Nasty, and what its referencing is their publicity firm – Nasty Little Man and in 1998, NLM had 200 active clients and were so busy that when they would answer the phone, they would just say “Hello, Nasty” –
Ok, so I’ve got Laura so charmed that when suddenly we are approached by the president of the fucking company, who is one of the kings of NYC, that she eagerly introduces me to him – who we will call Steve –
A nice introduction is made, however with a slightly inaccurate mention of my position for which I quickly recant for her. Now I wasn’t falling all over this guy, but in my experience in NYC, often my politeness and Southern manners are often mistaken for eagerness or even sometimes weakness. So, with my genuine enthusiasm for meeting Steve as well as the self-imposed demotion of my status, she seemed to regret the whole thing before I had even finished saying “Pleased to meet you” – Ok.
She bails, leaving Steve and I alone – I make informative strides at conversation and he is polite and responds, but he offers little else to the point where after the fourth exchange, though he is never rude, that this is a one-sided conversation and he is showing zero interest in me and this is not a conversation but a Q & A with the dude from Nasty Little Man – Ok.
I follow up with suggesting that I need a drink and would he like one as well – This he seemed impressed by but also declined as it appeared that he feared that by accepting my offer would mean he would be stuck with me for the rest of the night.
I get a beer from just a few feet away but taking the hint I don’t return to the land of Hello Nasty.

Ok, so how about some music? In the back tent, the all-female band the Black Belles were setting up, who were all dressed up like the Wicked Witch of the West – The band is lead by Olivia Jean – If you saw any of the shows Jack White did with Wanda Jackson she was that smoking hot bass player, they were also on an episode of The Colbert Report.
Cool look and with a heavy sound I was looking forward to seeing them, but I’m afraid to say that I was very underwhelmed. The sound in that tent was horrendous but I’m not sure I can let them off that easy. I was watching in the back, so I thought I would snap a quick picture, when my hands hadn’t even been fully lowered before this junkyard dog of a security guy aggressively grabbed my arm, and threatened to toss me if I didn’t delete the pic right then and there – More on this in a bit

 

I was obviously super excited to be there but the vibe of this whole thing, not to mention the sting of what had taken place in my three hours outside was just not what I had in mind, and I’m sure I’m projecting idealism here, but not what I would think Jack White would want it to be either.
I know that actor John C. Reilly is going to perform next on the smaller indoor stage so I go in there to check it out. What a weird dude and one of my favorite actors –

 

You might remember he played a farceful character, Dewey Cox in the movie by the same name and actually went on tour as that character so I knew he was an actual performer but I didn’t know what he would be performing besides the two singles he did for Third Man. It was some really slow and very quiet bluegrass music that was not very entertaining. He did start things off with a joke that befits him: “Knock knock – (crowd) Who’s there? – See mop – See mop who (crowd) – Ha! I just got everyone to say see my poo –

Up next on that same stage was Jack White’s (most recent) ex-wife Karen Elson – have you ever seen a guy get along better with his ex-wife’s than Jack White?

She was really good, I really liked her voice, she sounded alot like Loretta Lynn and she is also really beautiful.

Ok we were now getting down to the moment of truth (or so we thought) – After Elson, we all knew it was now time for the main event and the man of the hour would soon be taking the stage. (Editor’s Note: I had not seen his appearance on Saturday Night Live yet, and it seemed that most others in attendance had not either as the speculation of just what he was going to do was completely in the air)

The whole place, indoor and outdoor began to make that nervous lunge forward to the tiny indoor stage in the corner. I have to say that what looked the apocalypse happening outside and no one else getting in, it really wasn’t that tight inside and in some places actually roomy. So I was happy in that regard that it really wasn’t that uncomfortable, I was about to find my discomfort elsewhere.

On the way to the indoor stage, I passed Nadia who was now inside the venue, to let her know that I finally made it in and to thank her for her patience (when perhaps maybe it should have been her thanking me for how infinite mine appeared) – She wanted nothing to do with me and seemed resentful that I went over her head to solve the problem. Whatever.

Ok, so I make my way to about the halfway mark, about 10 feet from the stage, still being mindful that I’m taller than most here to not get too close. You would think that after all the waiting I had done tonight that I could withstand anything. The wait at the Department of Motor Vehicles would seem like a moving sidewalk compared to what I’ve been through tonight but oh no –

As I mentioned earlier, now matter how impractical, Mr. White has his stagehands dressed alike in probably the most restrictive formal wear imaginable, and maybe that was the culprit, but it took six fucking guys to set up a simple 3-piece drum set, one guitar and two mics over a fucking hour to strike that fucking stage. The people around me were insufferable and this one dude to my left I could already was gonna be a real problem. By the time Mr. White finally took the stage, I was murderous.

Patrick, the patriarch asshole from before finally takes the stage to make the formal introduction – Remember about me attempting to snap a photo of the Black Belles earlier? – Well Patrick actually said something profound and not only cool but made me feel a bit of a hypocrite, but not really 🙂 – He declared that no photography would be allowed – period -and the penalty would be your personal removal. It was his explanation for this that I cheered – He said that they wanted to play to the people, not a wall of cellphones – that your memories should live in your memory not on Facebook, and it would be prettier than some shitty Iphone picture – a total indictment of our current culture that is paralyzed by their goddamn cellphone – an indictment that I support completely – This was their statement – All right Patrick, your not so bad.

At long last – you could hear the cheers coming from outside as he entered the building at walked up to the stage, flanked by six females, all dressed in white, that were reminiscent of the sirens from Homer’s Odyssey.

Dressed very Grand Old Opry he gets right to business and starts the set with the White Stripes’ Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground and the place and I completely explode – There was the vibe that anything could happen, what was he gonna play??

He followed that with a couple of quiet new songs from upcoming solo record, before returning the Stripes’ catalog with Hotel Yorba – One problem, my prophecy about the gentlemen to my left was coming true immediately, hell we were all excited but this guy’s reaction, was that of a guy watching Black Sabbath in 1975, and mimicking Ozzy’s non-stop, two-fisted long-stroke to the sky – however with such wild abandon in such a tight space, this presented a problem – fueling this was, I don’t know what this guy was on, but he wasn’t just excited, he was like rabid, crazy – even kinda scary. He keep elbowing people with these thrusts, some even to the face without a care in the world, and perhaps not out of rudeness, but just out of the fact that he was so fucked up he was completely unaware.
Well with that elbow now constantly being a distraction and grazing my cheek a couple of times, and that he was screaming so loud maniacal to this quiet music that making him aware was now my duty.
Right before Hotel Yorba – I got his attention, which was not easy, he either proved my theory that he was in a world all of his own, or he knew exactly what he was doing and thought if he ignored me he wouldn’t have to answer for it. I finally grabbed him and said: “Hey brother, I want you to have a good time but when your arms are constantly in my face and I can’t see and your hitting people” –
He just nodded and went right back to what he was doing, with the full support of couple of other assholes behind him.
This proceeded and he actually hit the guy with his elbow in the face several times and when the guy told him to knock it off he just kept going. I spent the next two songs dodging this guy’s elbow and when he finally hit me with it, fueled by the baffling aggravation of the evening’s proceedings, I grabbed him a second time and said this: “Motherfucker they will drag me out of here in handcuffs before that fucking arm hits my face again!!” –
He moves over a couple of feet, but he’s right back at it doing it to somebody else, so when they move he find himself right next to me once more, and god help us if Mr. White plays a song this dude knows because then the screaming and elbow flying really takes off.
Here I am, 10 feet from Jack White, my hero, actually hoping that he doesn’t play any familiar songs because of this and the two dudes behind us let the guy know that I start any shit that its gonna the three of them against me.
Fuck this – this isn’t worth it – I came here to enjoy this, so I surrendered my up close position to retreat to the back, where I discover it was roomy, and I could actually hear and see better. I hadn’t been in my new comfortable space for one entire song before he declares that they are gonna take a short break – What? – A short break? After all this waiting? – Again I hadn’t seen SNL so I wasn’t privy to his plan.

Female Set – 

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (White Stripes song)
Missing Pieces
Sixteen Saltines
Hotel Yorba (White Stripes song)
Love Interruption
Weep Themselves to Sleep
You Know That I Know
Freedom At 21
Hypocritical Kiss
I’m Slowly Turning Into You (White Stripes song)

I go out to the patio for a welcome sit-down and a smoke, still pretty furious, but pretty jacked about how good the set was, but still a bit quiet with new songs that I don’t know -and sure that’s what we are here for.

I go the bathroom and when I come out I see Jack White – he points to the Van Halen belt-buckle I’m wearing, he doesn’t give me the nod or even a smile, but still a clear acknowledgment of approval , hey enough for me, then he starts talking to John C. Reilly as Bill Murray comes walking up to them. Bill Murray sightings at SXSW are becoming less rare these days and it seems he shows up every year and gives everyone a good story to tell.

Surreal just the same – I’m standing behind this but I’m not gonna approach anybody – I see David Fricke from Rolling Stone Magazine, one of the world’s authorities on music walking up with rock royalty, Scott Asheton, the drummer for the Stooges. He I speak with and he’s actually happy for the recognition and we have a nice talk. I notice that Jack has left, and Fricke knows Reilly and Murray, so we sorta combine our conversations.
I’m getting a kick out of this when suddenly, Jack returns from behind us, now dressed in all black, is all business and strides back to the stage with an urgency that was downright scary (and totally awesome) – He came to play, and this time he brought an all male backing group with him, grabbed his custom guitar and tore right into the Stripes’ My Doorbell.

 

Talking to Fricke paid off cause now the four of us are heading side-stage and I can’t fucking believe what’s happening. He fires up my favorite song, Hello Operator like he’s picking a fight in an alley – just ferocious – and it only builds from there. It was like I wrote the set-list – what followed was a mind-boggling career spanning set that included songs from every entity practically that he has been a part of, I was beside myself. It was so strange to hear these White Stripes songs with a full-band and they sounded massive.

This went from being one of the most aggravating evenings ever, to like seriously one of the best nights of my life – everyone felt it, strangers in disbelief were talking to me and each other about how this was like the greatest thing they had ever seen.
How does he take it farther? – I know that’s like the cool indie-rock thing to do to ignore your hit song if you have one, but Jack White is not concerned with that bullshit, but it still seemed a little out of the question if he would do Seven Nation Army –
He starts the song with a slight different instrumentation but when it starts to build and everyone starts to recognize it, as dramatic as it sounds it created a unification of everyone actually singing the bass riff that lifted me off the ground. He walks to the outdoor window and leads the thousands that had gathered outside in a sing-along that you could hear inside even over the amps –

Suddenly hot bartenders are Coyote Ugly-ing their way on top of the bar, even Bill Murray gets in on the action and is dancing on top of the bar, the whole place just shook and when he led us through the sing-along I’m not ashamed to tell you that I was actually crying.
It was a beautiful moment, and a crescendo to a magical evening that I’m still in disbelief that I was fortunate to witness.
To end the set, he cooled the crowd off with another sing-along – the perfect coda of Leadbelly‘s Goodnight Irene – the perfect touch of class to a stupefying set of raw power – Strangers were hugging me and everyone else in gratitude and in song.
An absolute perfect moment – I grew an inch taller.

Male Set – 

My Doorbell (White Stripes song)
Hello Operator (White Stripes song)
I Cut Like A Buffalo (Dead Weather song)
Two Against One (Rome song)
The Hardest Button to Button (White Stripes song)
Steady, As She Goes (The Raconteurs song)
Top Yourself (The Raconteurs song)
Ball and Biscuit (White Stripes song)
Seven Nation Army (White Stripes song)
Goodnight Irene (Leadbelly cover)

As I exited the venue stunned, one of the security guards saw me and grabbed me and said: “Oh my gawd, you finally made it in, we saw you passing back and forth for three hours, congratulations mate!” (he was British) –

SXSW 2011 w/ Jack White, QOTSA & more

March 16th (Wed) – The official start of the music

So after a long morning of meetings and filling out endless forms, by noon I was already sick of the biz aspect, and decided to walk down Congress and get something to eat. I hadn’t walked 100 ft, when I turn the corner to see a sizable crowd forming around this yellow truck, that if I hadn’t looked twice, I would have mistaken for a school bus. What got my attention besides the crowd was a logo that I’m very familiar with, (and have flirted with the idea of it being my next tattoo) the Third Man Records logo – As a subscriber to its Vault Series, and dedicated fan of everything Jack White blesses, you could say it had my undivided attention.
As I got closer, before the crowd really started to build, I recognize two people right by the door of the bus, Alison Mosshart (the Kills/Dead Weather) –

Something is about to go down, you could feel that everyone was waiting on who was coming off this fucking bus next, and I had heard about a rolling record store, so this must be what I had been hearing about. Then the bus door flies open, and the Captain himself, Jack White steps off, sets up a microphone, and immediately goes into Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground –
Right there, out of nowhere, in a freaking parking lot at noon on a Wed, one of the most memorable, musical moments of my life just went down. If you know anything about Jack White and his style, then you have heard about during the White Stripes days, where they would do impromptu shows on city buses etc. and here it was happening to me, so completely unexpectedly.
He did one more song, Buddy Holly‘s Not Fade Away – before making a short announcement about the record store and introducing the next singer. Had I been hungry 5 mins later, I would have someone telling me this story instead getting to experience it firsthand.
Not a bad way, to start the first official day of music.

I get there early before the insanity, and I go around back and the first person I see is Hutch, Queens’ long-time soundman. The jokes start immediately and he walks me in so I don’t have to deal with the bullshit around front. I let him get back to work, and when I walk into the backstage bar area, that is doubling as a interview/photo op for Rolling Stone  (they were the hosts of the party)- I approach the bar, and suddenly I’m surrounded by one of the most surreal scenes I can ever remember. I take my beer and sit down at the only seat available, and its at round table that is being occupied by, Duff Mckagan, J Mascis (who had just performed) Dale Earnhardt Jr., a few members of the Strokes and someone’s grandmother. I heard Jack White was hanging around too, but I didn’t see him till near the end of the show, standing behind the soundboard.

Shortly after midnight, the show starts and you could feel the anticipation in the air. I heard that the line outside was stretched for six blocks.

First U.S. gig in three years What better way to remind people who you are, than playing your debut LP in it’s entirety, during the week of it’s re-release?
Of the current QOTSA line-up, Josh Homme is the only one who played on the debut. Drummer Joey Castillo has now been in QOTSA since 2002, and is a totally solid drummer in his own right, but former Kyuss drummer Alfredo Hernandez’s style really gave that first record its unique shape, so I was interested in seeing how this would be duplicated.
Josh looks as if he has bounced back from his recent health scare, guzzling Ketel One onstage and smoking cigs during and in between songs. He was his usual sarcastic and randy self with the crowd, at one point remarking that the band had “the only Mexican drummer in town.” He also swatted down the stringent “no photos” rule at the door,
halfway through the show

Setlist –

the Self-Titled LP

Regular John
Avon
If Only
Walkin’ on the Sidewalks
You Would Know
How to Handle a Rope
Mexicola
Hispanic Impressions
The Bronze
Give the Mule What He Wants
I Was a Teenage Hand Model
You Can’t Quit Me Baby

ENCORE –

Turnin’ On The Screw
Misfit Love
Make It Wit Chu
Little Sister
Tangled Up In Plaid
Go With The Flow

March 17th
We finally find the Ginger Man, only to be told that we had missed Mike Watt by a couple of hours and now we had like two hours to kill before their was something worthy of us walking all the way back to 6th St for. So we just chilled at the place and relaxed for a little over an hour before heading back down.
We get to this shithole, appropriately named the Dirty Dog, for what promised to be a double-bill of crushing metal with Saint Vitus and Helmet. I figured we would catch the last half of Saint Vitus and be all primed for Helmet, one of my all-time favorite bands.
When we got there, they had switched set-times with Saint Vitus and were already 40 mins into their hour long time slot. While I was reading Field and Stream in a mock-speakeasy, they were well into doing all of Aftertaste.
Damn the luck, first Watt, now this? My only reprieve is that the sound was so incredibly shitty that if this is what it sounded like the whole time, I may have done us a favor.

Jack White Rocks Conan & El Rey w/ Wanda Jackson (Jan/2011)

Wanda Jackson w/ The Third Man Records House Band (featuring Jack White) – El Rey Theater – Los Angeles, CA – January 23rd-24th

So its Sunday night, so I’m watching my favorite show – Californication – which is a little more fun when you are watching it in California – before heading down to one of my favorite venues,the El Rey Theater tonight for what promises to be a legendary evening.  To make it all the more real, after I claim my ticket at Will Call the first person I see when I walk in is Hank Moody‘s hot lawyer, Carla Gugino, (who was standing next to Kirstie Alley who was in a deep conversation with Beck and Marisa Ribisi) standing next to me at the bar – Did I somehow will her into existence?

Fearing it could be a Scientology pow-wow, I bolted quickly. It was surreal for certain, not to mention the reality of being here tonight to see one of my all-time idols, Jack White, performing with the legendary Wanda Jackson in such a great, intimate venue. Billed as Wanda Jackson and the Third Man Records House Band (featuring Jack White) they were only doing four of these special show – 2 on each coast (LA/NYC). My history with the El Rey Theater actually starts with Jack White, as over 11 years ago, on my first trip ever to Los Angeles, I came here to see the White Stripes literally incinerate the place. I bought a record at the show that I could probably make a down payment on a house with now. To add to the surreality, I met up with Hutch (soundman for Queen of the Stone Age) and Josh Homme. I’ve been with friendly with both since the days of Kyuss and have maintained that naturally through my work with Claude Coleman Jr. and Ween. It was great to see them both, and all this was happening before a note of music had been played.El Rey’s red curtain opened to reveal the Third Man Records House Band dressed in pink and black swing-goth formal wear. The band teased Shakin’ All Over as Jack White rambled on stage with a swagger that is totally unmatched by anyone. This dude is a freaking pimp. The band was tight as hell and to call the bass player, Olvia Jean (the Black Belles), “hot”, would just be cheapening the whole experience. This girl had style/grace/chops that could kill.

A true raconteur, Jackson amused the crowd with tales from her past that were so charming it got as much of a response as the songs did. Before playing the classic lament Busted, she pointed out that she’d seen Elvis  play in Vegas, then fluttered a piece of paper: “If the King of Rock can have notes, so can the Queen.”
The crowd explodes at this and was red hot for the whole show.

Setlist:Shakin All Over (just the band)
Riot in Cell Block # 9
Busted
Mean Mean Man
You Know I’m No Good (Amy Winehouse cover)
Like a Baby
Right or Wrong
Blue Yodel
Rip It Up
Nervous Breakdown (Eddie Cochran cover)
Fujiyama Mama
Funnel of Love
Dust on the Bible
Let’s Have a Party

Encore:

Heartbreak Hotel
Shakin All Over (reprise w/ vocals)

Conan O’ Brien Taping (musical guest: Wanda Jackson & Jack White) – Warner Bros. Lot 4 – Culver City, CA – January 25th

So the other night at the El Rey Theater for Wanda Jackson and Jack White, I meet up with some of the guys from Queens of the Stone Age, and they graciously gave me an extra ticket they had to the Conan O’ Brien taping where Wanda and Jack where set to perform.

Score right? – I wouldn’t say that I’m a dedicated Conan fan (though you couldn’t tell it by me catching 3 of the shows on his tour last summer) and my main motivation was to see Wanda and Jack again, but was very excited to see it in this setting. I’ve been to a few TV tapings before and I’m always fascinated by the process so I was really looking forward to this. I’m sure you have heard the whole story about his shakeup with Jay Leno, etc. and it showed just what a chord he strikes with young people as a groundswell of support rose up for him, so these tickets were impossible to get, so I was very grateful to the Queens guys.
I get to the lot and its a lot of standing around and waiting, and be filed like cattle in a series of different lines. Then you are walked into the studio exactly like how you were walked into the museum on Field Trip back in elementary school, (except holding hands was forbidden). So that was a little silly, but it was interesting to see the studio.

The other guests were Patton Oswalt, who I’m also a huge fan of, so this was like the ideal episode for me to attend (then again Motorhead was on the next night haha) and Steven Ho, a martial artist that trains people to do fight sequences in movies. He ran Conan through one of these exercises that was really entertaining and funny.

and then it was time for the musical guests and for me the main reason I’m there, of Wanda Jackson and the Third Man Band w/ Jack White. Having seen it the previous two nights at the El Rey, I knew what to expect but still no less thrilled.

Photos –

Lainna Fader
Jackie Canchola
Roy Turner
Meghan Sinclair

Austin City Limits Fest 2009

Wed Sept 30th

Made my way to Dallas and out to Fort Worth to catch the Amtrak train to Austin, TX for this year’s big 3 day Austin City Limits Festival. It didn’t start till Friday but I got there a few days early because Them Crooked Vultures were doing a couple of special shows prior to the festival. If you don’t already know (see the August/Lollapalooza entry below for more) that they are a three-piece comprised of Josh Homme (Kyuss/QOTSA), Dave Grohl and freaking John Paul Jones.
The first show was a taping for the legendary TV show (and the festival’s namesake) Austin City Limits. I’ve always wanted to attend one of these unforgettable performances that I’ve always admired no matter who was playing, but this was not to be believed. (thank you Leslie for the hookup).

  I was surprised that alot of people expected them to actually do songs from their other respective bands, and were disappointed when they didn’t. This was a new band making a new statement (their record wasn’t even out yet) and some people still just wanted to hear the same ol, same ol.

Thurs Oct 1st

Back for round two (three if you count Chicago) as now Them Crooked Vultures were doing a public show at Stubb’s as a warmup to their big coming out at the festival on Friday. This was a fun show and a testament to the legendary careers that all three have had, cause no one had even heard a note of this new music and the show sold out in minutes based upon the member’s collective reputations. That was a neat thing to witness and be a part of. Unbearably packed (but thankfully well mannered) and hot in there, the anticipation was huge and when they took the stage the noise was deafening.
This show was identical to the first show in Chicago.

 A big difference and nothing against Chicago but this crowd was so appreciative that it made you proud to be there. Homme who is known for his quips had a great line when JPJ changed from bass to keytar ” Only John Paul Jones could make the keytar look badass”. Here is the set-list from the show:

Fri Oct 2nd

The first day of the festival was here and I tried to prepare myself for the heat and the crowds. I had a late night the night before as after the TCV show at Stubb’s I went to a party at the Beauty Bar which is basically across the street. Made it downtown to Artist Pickup and got my wristbands and finally got to the festival a little after 5pm.

  This was my third year to attend the festival but strangely the first time in five years. Since then I had been to all of the Coachellas and a few of the Lollapalooza‘s and Bonnaroos, but this is a really nice one to attend. Its put on by C3presents (the same company that does Lollapalooza) and its in Austin and who doesn’t love Austin, Texas?
The Artist van drops me off in front of the artists lounge and the great people that do the nationwide free ice cream campaign are the first people I see with their truck parked right at the front of the lounge. Some of the best people you will ever meet, check out his site, its so awesome – icecreamman.com

  So after getting settled and embarrassing myself with a few rounds of the new Beatles Rock Band, I meet a rad local girl (who ironically was the singer in my newly formed fab four) and we head out to see our first band of the day, Thievery Corporation.

They were really good and I had always wanted to see them. Now some will fault me as the festival started at 11am and I didn’t see a band till 630pm but it was hot and admittedly more comfortable in the back with the free food so sue me 🙂
As soon as they ended we had our shuttle driver haul ass to the other side of the festival to see (you guessed it) Them Crooked Vultures. How’s this for obsessive? – This was only their fourth show in the US ever at this point and at that time I had seen ALL of them and three times in as many days. All of those shows had been club shows or other special events but this really the FIRST show in front of a huge crowd and it had that feel to it. If I had had thought the crowd was loud the night before, it paled in comparison to this ovation. It was interesting to see the appeal that John Paul Jones had on the crowd. Though the majority of the this crowd was the young and hip culture that Austin is known for, it was neat to see that some people had come to see JPJ solely and actually didn’t know who the other two people in the band were. That’s dedication.

    This show was identical to the television taping just a few days prior. Though I had it pretty much down at this point, this is a great new exciting thing that must be witnessed.
My new Austin friend was chomping at the bit to see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs who were thankfully playing on the adjacent stage right after. We scrambled around to watch from backstage but couldn’t really see anything so we got as close as we could up front. Now I don’t really have anything to add to my previous and recent description of their performance at Lollapalooza (see previous entry) and I’m of course biased.
But they were replacing the Beastie Boys again just like this past August but this time they didn’t make the nod to them like that show. They did however put on a very powerful and visually entertaining show as always.
 So after they played my new friend and I walk out of Zilker Park and you can see that this festival has just taken over the whole town. This city is always alive with young, progressive people, but this was total meltdown and all the vendors had lined the streets with tents selling their wares, apparently the demographic is alot of tie-dye and bong hits. Good times though as we danced in the streets with everyone else and made our way to get something to eat.
Her and I had different agendas however as she had a birthday to attend so I had her drop me off at Emo’s where some friends of mine from Brooklyn,  !!! (pronounced chk chk chk) where doing a warm up gig of their own before playing the festival tomorrow. For those not familiar, they are one of the most fun and energetic live shows you will ever witness. They have reached beloved status because of their legendary live show and when they hit stage around midnight people were ready to get down!
I have seen a half a dozen of theirs shows or so and I say this every time I see them but this was one of the best ever. The energy and momentum is incomparable. (Editor’s Note: Since this time and now drummer Jerry Fuchs died in a freak accident in Brooklyn- We miss you Jerry R.I.P.)

 I danced my ass off and had a great time as the ended with the one-two punch of Intensify and Heart of Hearts. Got out of the show around 2am and waited to meet a friend who was coming from Round Rock to have a late night meal with me. She finally shows up around 3am and we go to Austin staple Kerbey Lane by the University. A bit of a wait even at this late hour because of the festival so after we eat and talk and she drops me off its after 6am.

Sat Oct 3rd

The night before Nic (chk chk chk) said that since they are going on at 2pm that if I came to the Emo’s gig I didn’t have to show up early. I wanted to prove him wrong but alas I didn’t get into bed until 7am. I didn’t even wake up till after 2pm and when I did it was really gross and rainy outside. Not the ideal setting for a mass outdoor event (more on this later).
I met up and had lunch with Nic and Paul from (chk chk chk) and I asked them how their set was despite the gross conditions and early start time. Those guys could throw a party anywhere.
Then I ventured out to catch the last half of Trail of Dead, another Austin mainstay that are always great live. It wasn’t just raining, it was a freaking buzzkill. Lightening and misery just made everyone and everything seem gross. I did stick it out to see the first couple of songs from Mos Def, who seemed totally unaffected by the rain and brought a huge posse of dancers and a live band. This would have killed in a club and I was disappointed that the conditions made me just want to be a big wuss and retreat to the comfort in the Artists Lounge.

  One of the things I was most looking forward to today was the arrival of my oldest friend Chris Todd and his wife Tammy. They weren’t getting in till after Day 2 of music was over so I promised him I would check out Devotchka. I know I sound so spoiled but wait till you see the pics of the fucking mudpeople, I hold no since of nostalgia for Woodstock nor a need to recreate it, but I kept my word and checked out a bit of their set, and I’m glad I did, they were fantastic.

Now that the rain had cleared and it was night-time (always a bit of an incentive as far as mood goes) I was ready to experience another Austin export that I’ve hearing about from everywhere, Ghostland Observatory. The cool thing about this was that I literally had NO idea what they were about period. Even based on what I heard they were totally (and refreshingly) different. I thought I was gonna be in for like a Radiohead clone (to illustrate just how removed I was from them) but just as I got up to the scaffolding side stage, these two freaks (that being a Texas native, these two could ONLY have come from the Lone Star State) come walking out, one wearing a Tron/Dr. Who looking electric cape and the other was a cross between Richard Petty and any cast member of Easy Rider. So what is THIS gonna sound like? The crowd is already going crazy and then here it comes: This dancy wailing banshee freak show complete with laser light show, just fucking awesome. It occurred to me however what a feat that they had brought this to such a high-profile level, cause being in this business as long as I have and being from Texas I could easily see this just being something that 50 people in Austin care about (but those 50 would REALLY freaking care).  From my perspective I was able to get a small shot of Mos Def who was dancing a jig behind the drum riser that was completely obscured to the audience.

Then has the show had reached such a high momentum, they did a fun smart thing, that dials right into that Texas local pride by bringing out the UT Austin Longhorns Marching Band to join them for a few songs.

Sun Oct 4th

No sleeping in today, as it was the last day of the festival, and I had to meet with my com padres Clutch who got a shitty time slot of 2pm. However the weather did take a nice sunny turn, but when I got to the site, holy shit, yesterday’s monsoon had just the sheer power of the foot traffic had turned the general population area into mushy peat bog about a foot deep. You could literally smell the ooze in the air, probably because as always there are some good-natured folks who embrace this sort of thing and can’t resist saying “fuck it, let’s become Swamp Thing“.

   So after hitting the Lounge for an early lunch I went to meet up with Clutch, whom I’ve had a long history with throughout the years. It was cool watching them rehearse out in the open and so early in the day down beneath the stage. Now it was showtime and they were all business, so I bid them a good show and took my place sidestage. Obviously given the short set-time they wanted to showcase their newest record Strange Cousins from the West as seven of their nine songs were from that record. For a band I’ve come to know so well, it was great to see them so out of their element which is completely what they strive for and deliver every time.

    

   Next up was time for some other old friends of mine from Fort Worth, the Toadies.  Hadn’t seen them since London over the Summer. They are like the equivalent of Classic Rock in Texas, just perfect for a sunny day in Austin who gave them a hero’s welcome. They played exactly what you would expect in a festival set, right to the hits, no bullshit, and then whipped out Got a Heart, which was a nice surprise.

        After their set I hung out with Mark (drummer) and his wife for a bit catching up and debating if we all wanted to eat or go see the Dirty Projectors. The heat was taking its toll, so food it is (Nourishment 1 – Indie – Trust Fund Rock 0) but the shuttles were so congested we had to wait forever for one (which became the theme of the day,so it made the decision of how bad you wanted something interesting), so we just split up and met back up in the catering tent.
Their merch guy Tony used to be in a Dallas band Hagfish, along with their new bass player Donni Blair and his brother Zach who is now in Rise Against, who joined us for lunch but I don’t know if he was playing that day or not. After eating I took as much juice/soda/water I can carry out to the general population to find Chris and his wife and some other friends of mine to offer them something that no doubt being overcharged for, when I made it about 5 yards in and I literally started to sink. I felt guilty about it but I was getting the fuck out of that mess!
   Now it was time for something I was greatly anticipating, The Dead Weather. To know me is to know my complete and utter devotion to the music of Jack White, and now that would take on yet a different form as he has yet another new band where this time he is playing drums. Another cool thing (and a testament to our friendship) is that although Chris and I haven’t any contact whatsoever is over five years, during that time he had developed a similar obsession, so it was great to share this excitement with him.
Besides Jack White the band is rounded out by Alison Mosshart ( The Kills) , Dean Fertita (Queens of the Stone Age) Jack Lawrence who is White’s partner in crime in his other band The Raconteurs.
This is designed to go down in a small, dark, smokey club around 1am but they killed! My fave set all weekend and perhaps one of the best of the year.

    Now this next part requires a little bit of explaining and a backstory if you like. I was prepared to make an effort right after the Dead Weather finished to go to the other side of the festival to see Girl Talk. As a DJ and a fan of music and a marveler of mashups and as someone who is pretty dialed in to popular culture this was something intriguing to me. I’ve heard everyone back in Brooklyn talking about him, I’ve heard and downloaded his stuff and was very impressed, enjoyed the backstory of this guy being some mad scientist who quit his career as a bio-mechanics engineer to rock the house etc.. I bought it, I was in, let’s go.
Now for this space I’m not gonna lead a pretentious type of discussion about what is truly a DJ, should they be looked at as musicians etc…all that crap you have heard before. I have my own ideas about all of that, none probably original so I’ll spare you and just talk about the experience.
The shuttle driver drops me off behind the stage where there is already a mob of people trying to get a glimpse. I had seen pictures of his performances and it looks like New Year’s Eve everytime so I get the hype. He’s got his finger on the pulse of that FIT, NYLON Magazine reading, 18-20 female crowd, that brings dudes of all ages around as well, so he really can’t do no wrong here.
However, what I witnessed was absolute shit. Call me an old curmudgeon who’s lost the plot but this whole thing had no place for me and I can’t help but feel all the better for it.  As so super lame as it sounds and I hate it myself when I hear people say this, but the entire time I was witnessing it I could hear a little voice of reason saying “This is exactly what’s wrong with everything, this is the defining example of where everything went to shit”.
Now having said that, he played, people danced and smiled (a few even got naked) and I’m sure a majority of people left that with a feeling of a good time and that’s great they should. My problem lies not in the absurdity of its popularity but its power. From behind the stage I could hear people chanting stuff in unison but didn’t know what was leading the charge. I learned later it was the screen they were facing (that I was behind) and all of the requests no matter how preposterous (like…”throw money in mud” ..and a few questionable ones)  were fulfilled.
As I watched this from sidestage, all these people were onstage dancing with him to make it a party, and everyone else was trying to get onstage to join them.  And the admittance regardless of credentials was some super lame velvet rope thing a la Studio 54, with some intern in shades (it was 8pm at night) making the selection. “what the fuck am I doing here?” I exclaimed and the problems only begin with the social aspects of this travesty.
Now again, if you go to FIT, read NYLON and you are reading this you will probably say “Dude, relax and dance” and you will probably be right and if you are everyone else you should criticize me for having waaay too much to say on something so insignificant.

      Now another surprise came but this time from some familiar faces. In the early 90’s I got to experience as a very young person, the great boom of new music that came out of Seattle, that everyone still talks about and makes silly claims about its importance or non-importance. Great time to be a young person and I was right in the middle of it, but because of my punk/metal/thrash tastes at the time I had to be a convert. I liked the heaviness of Nirvana and Soundgarden and my age would dictate that I enjoyed belonging to the something from its beginning. You really couldn’t be into just one of these bands, even though they were sold separately, they may as well just bundled them because once you had Nevermind or Badmotorfinger surely you had to buy Ten to complete the set.  Much like growing up in the 80’s you were surely into G.I. Joe , Transformers, and He-Man, but someone had to be number three.
For me, this is where Pearl Jam has always stood. I really enjoyed them, think they are an incredible band, one of the best live bands I still have ever seen to this day (hell I even worked at Stone Gossard‘s label Loosegroove for a period) but the interest somehow didn’t come as natural after somewhere around that third record.  Working in music I was aware of their subsequent releases, and even if you didn’t who could forget their headline-grabbing (and at times…temple-scratching) decisions like battling Ticketmaster and releasing their entire tours live to diffuse the bootleggers of their profit.
Since I was caring less about the music I was caring less about the cause so eventually I tuned out completely. So that’s why although their popularity hasn’t waned, I really had no idea that since 1996 when I last gave a fuck that this band had become this generation’s Grateful Dead.  Seems that everyone I spoke to only came on Sunday and only to see them. Everywhere you looked on Sunday it was the Pearl Jam nation.
So I thought I should check some of this out, and what followed was a two hour + marathon that would make anyone a believer. I knew that this was a high-profile gig and it has that potential of something special happening, but it was so effortless that it gave me the impression that this is what happens at all of their gigs, hence the cult like following.
I saw Perry Farrell backstage shortly before they hit stage, struck by inspiration going on about how he wanted to get up and do his own band’s Mountain Song and how unforgettable it would be.
Here is the setlist and pics from the show: (including a great pic of when Eddie Vedder joined the mud-people)

 

Setlist –
   1.Why Go
2.Corduroy
3.Got Some
4.Not For You
5.Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
6.Given To Fly
7.World Wide Suicide
8.Even Flow
9.Unthought Known
10.Daughter
11.Hail Hail
12.Insignificance
13.Present Tense
14.State Of Love And Trust
15.The Fixer
16.GoEncore:17.Jazz Odyssey
18.Red Mosquito (with Ben Harper)
19.Do The Evolution
20.The Real Me (The Who cover)
21.AliveEncore 2:22.Mountain Song (Jane’s Addiction cover w/ Perry Farrell)
23.Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young cover)
   I mean fan or not who could fuck with this?, my goodness. What other band could put an exclamation point on the weekend as being the last band on the last day in this fashion? Now I get it, fucking legendary.
I made my way back to the Lounge to catch the shuttle back to downtown. Chris and his wife had made an early exit to get cleaned up from all of the mud and we had planned to meet up a bit later to go to another party. The next two hours became very social, I don’t because if it was the end but everyone was talking to everybody. I first ran into my good friend Sam from LA (who was working the event and ironically was my assigned shuttle driver) as I was taking the golf cart back to pickup I rode with this couple who were on something of a third date and I turned on the cut-through-the-bullshit mode that I’m known for and started asking questions that clearly they were both afraid to ask each other. An hour later they came to find me to tell me that they had decided to make their relationship official and it was because of what I said and they were thanking me profusely. Good times.
As I was walking out some of the guys in Pearl Jam were coming in namely Jeff Ament, and behind him I see Doug Pinnick (King’s X)  & he came up and we had a nice chat.  I knew that he had some correlation to Jeff Ament as its seems every interview I’ve read over the years Jeff has found someone way to talk about King’s X and I think they are working on a project together, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him hanging with PJ, but as any performer who is not scheduled to play its surprising and exciting to see them.
So after I talked to Doug for awhile, Sam told me the van was ready and it was time to go. So I and a few of the performers climbed into the van, and here is where things come full circle. I was to be the last stop as I was going to the farthest and so I could hang with Sam for a bit, and the last two people were me and this other dude who were both going to the same place (Beauty Bar) and as we are talking its starting to occur to me that this is the Girl Talk dude. Greg I believe his name was, was totally cool and really funny and I kinda felt bad for talking shit earlier (but not really haha). He’s telling me that he wants to do a gig right now at the Beauty Bar since no one knows anything about it. All I can think of is the walls caving in with throngs of girls from American Apparel ads (not such a bad thought) besieging the place as their cool status couldn’t sustain the notion of missing something so hush hush once word got around.
I thought now to have Sam take me somewhere else but this is where I was to meet Chris and his wife and my oldest friends works here too who I hadn’t had the chance to say hello to yet. Girl Talk dude and I go into the Beauty Bar and within minutes I’m hearing that the place is not prepared for the headache of what would happen once word got out, so they put the kibosh on it and I saw him leave shortly after.
Two girls from San Francisco were chatting me up and dancing and as the place was closing they asked if I knew of any other after-parties.
I had heard that something was going on at the Congress Bridge, but those things usually get busted and in a hurry, but these girls were anxious to make their last night continue, so into a cab and off to the bridge we go. As we walk up their is Greg Girl Talk dude…again (someone is following somebody).  I had to admire him for wanting to rawk it here as this was about as real deal as it gets, open and to the public.
As expected, he hadn’t got two bars into the first track and here come the police: