I say god damn! God… damn. Best fucking night… ever. I’m still coming down from this show, well trying to (but not really). I finally got to see one of my favorite bands play in concert, and it was worth every penny. They’re from the UK and they don’t play a ton of shows. This tour is only a handful of concerts long, the only stop in Northern California being San Francisco. When I got tickets only the balcony was left, I didn’t care, there was no missing this show. And no, I didn’t photograph it. I’m a fan first, and a metal journalist second. Sometimes I email for a press pass, and sometimes I scream and throw my money before I even know what happened. It’s chill to just be a supportive fan once in a while and enjoy the show instead of being hyper focused on getting “the shot”.
Night of the show I FLEW down the freeway (left late as usual), and ditched my car as fast as possible. By the time I got there the line whiplashed around and down Market street. Moved pretty quickly as there were multiple ticket handlers going at once. In regards to the seats, about half of us were playing musical chairs (I still don’t know where my real seat was supposed to be). But I found a cozy spot somewhere and just sat down and pretty much waited for someone to tell me to “get up”, but it never happened. First band on was R.I.P. and if you’ve never heard of them, you’ve got to check them out. They rocked the stage pretty hard for a good half hour.
Sitting up in the balcony, I overheard three dudes talking about Slayer, and I thought I heard one of them say “Slayer sucks”… so I turn the fuck around like “what did you say?!”. I didn’t hear him right; what he said was that it sucked that he didn’t have Slayer tickets yet. So I start chatting him up on all of the reasons why he needs to hurry up and get Slayer tickets. About ten minutes later, two more guys approach me for the empty seats I was sitting next to. At this point no one was checking for their real seats, it was a free-for-all. I shifted down so I had them on my right, and the other dudes up behind me. We’re all talking about different metal bands killing time, and both groups of guys start lighting up. The group behind me had a fat hybrid sativa joint, and the dudes next to me had some mystery strand in a pipe. And yes, I partook in both rotations simultaneously.
About 15 minutes later, Electric Wizard starts blasting us with the metal and we’re all head banging away. The pipe rotation ended but the joint was still lit. One dude tapped out, so it was just me with the other guy finishing the joint off. I don’t know what strand it was specifically, but it did the job. I was lit… as… fuck. By the time we were 3 songs in, I don’t know where or what I was. I kept staring at the screen filled with psychedelic colors, and videos of naked chicks with gore. I can definitely say it was made for stoners to stare at (and I greatly appreciated that lol). People were going apeshit in the aisles. Some ripped off their clothes and tossed them up. The air was so thick with weed smoke, you would have gotten high whether you wanted to or not. (Ugh take me back!) The sounds (that bass) hit me like waves of euphoria while the screen was tripping me out. At one point we were just enslaved to the metal, possessed even. All banging our heads at once like clones. When the band lost it on stage, we lost it too. The show ended with everyone on their feet losing their minds over the last song. They got three standing ovations from me as well, and it would have been five but I was too high to stand at one point.
It was… glooooorious! All I could think was, “I can die knowing that I lived this night”.
They played the classic favorites and some new stuff as well (I don’t want to give anything away). The show was fan-fucking-tastic. If you’re “not sure” about getting your tickets, consider this a “shake and slap”…. YOU NEED TO GET THOSE FUCKING TICKETS RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!! Even if it’s “shit seating”… do it. Get your best hybrid sativa and get your ass to this show.
They only have two shows left; one in Portland, OR @ The Roseland Theater 5/2 and New York, NY 5/4 @ The Playstation Theater.
GET YOUR TIX!!!
To the guys I met, you dudes are awesome! Thanks for sharing that bud and making last night a more electric experience!