bottom of hill, top of thrill

[rosa]

oh my my. having my wallet stolen was a blessing in disguise.

first, my mom was feeling so horribly about my money being gone that she bought me a purple sweater. second, after lamenting the loss of my i.d., and being sure that I would not be able to get into the show (with my prepurchased nonrefundable ticket), J put me on the guest list and I sauntered in like an angel. no i.d. even requested. ‘hi, I’m on the guest list.’ ‘which list?’ ‘J Mascis.’ ‘what’s your name?’ ‘rosa.’ hand stamped.

went in bathroom to relieve bus-delayed bladder. came back out to bar just as first opening band was starting. black russian got me through their boring songs and flat vocals. you would think, if a band wrote its own songs, it would write them in a key that was attainable for the singer. but they were earnest and local and they made lots of comments about the Giants, and were moderately well-received.

second band impressed me. Cobra Verde. although, what is with everyone trying to be mick jagger this year? lead singer wore red shirt, black tie, moppy hair. rocking chords with silly lyrics like ‘what’s with the tear gas / what’s with the perfume’. it made me want to riot, but with nerf guns.

after a brief break, J came on in a longsleeve brownish shirt and ‘stooges: funhouse’ t-shirt. after he set up his equipment I gave him a tiny cow with a tag around its neck that said ‘thanks for getting me in’, and he smiled the warmest smile and nodded. placed cow on his backpack, facing the audience.

his voice was tip-top, as was his guitar after he got some sound problems straightened out. I espied OSX three people over, setting up his own equipment. lots of fancy cameras. we hadn’t met yet but we kept giving each other funny looks, then looking away. haha.

J played a wonderful mix of old and new. the girl next to me, with whom I had a great time, asked for ‘keep the glove’ and he actually did it! much freaking out ensued, and he let us all shout the title verse, which was awesome.

other highlights were ‘the lung’, ‘quest’, and ‘alone’. he did the little loop trick again and the girl next to me giggled and said ‘I like the cut and paste!’ she gets the award for cutest comment of the evening.

although, at one point he said ‘any requests?’ and some lady shouted ‘marry me!’ and everyone else wished they had thought of it first.

he played for a full hour, then came back on with two members from Cobra Verde and did a half-hour electric set. the blue sparkly Fender. ‘if that’s how it’s gotta be’ through ‘freakscene’. oh, my my. see rosa drown in mess of purple sweater and sweat and ripped jeans.

I’d like to thank the Academy. actually, seriously. I want to thank everyone who made my night so incredibly great. thanks J for your compassion and generosity and all-around warmth. how cool was it to see my name in your handwriting. thanks big Jeremiah for pulling all the strings I couldn’t reach. thanks to the lady who drove the first bus I took, who directed me to the next appropriate station because her route was different tonight. thanks Stephanie and pot-smoking guy behind me who helped me get a good camera angle. and thanks to the asshole who stole my wallet, you made me feel like a queen.

I was able to take a bunch of pictures, trying to be respectful and use the flash as little as possible. hopefully a few came out okay. I will get them developed this weekend; will probably have them next week. I know, I’m the only person who still uses gelatin film. frickin sue me. or don’t.

I finally caught up with OSX at the end of the night. he was absolutely darling and gave me some photos he’d taken at the last show. and OSX I’m so sorry I missed you outside, but my ride was waiting and I had to split. but email me, okay?

okay.

[Bucky Ramone]

Hey Rosa, having your wallet stolen really sucks <img> !

Thanks for the great story/review <img>

….and you’re not the only one out there using old-fashioned film…..

[FlyingCloud]

hey rosa, thanks a lot for the report <img>
now, that was good luck for you in a bad situation, that you managed to enter the guest list <img> <img> <img>

[SG]

Thanks for the review Rosa,too bad about the wallet <img> but at least it worked out <img>
The Mick Jagger thing,I don`t know,you think in 2002 no one would want to be like Mick,it`s a strange world,the Stones get critized for being too old to tour and then people try to be like them <img>

[fata morgana]

Hey Rosa, here’s to blessings in disguise…

[AGAP]

Gotta love that story, shame about the wallet but talk about turning a crappy situation into… <img> Purple sweater and all <img>

Sounds like a wicked nite, big props to the cut & paste comment…too cool. Looking forward to those pics, you’re not alone with that film thing. With my short attention span I usually go for polaroids, that whole instant gratification thing and I usually never bring in the other film to get developed <img>

Hey at least their going for the cool jagger versus… <img> But I think its probably a combo of jagger, stewart/faces, Johanson/New York Dolls & Iggy being put out there by a certain black suited band and CV in that cool tribute kinda way <img> At least thats how I see it <img>

Allison <img>

<small>[ 10-26-2002, 01:57 PM: Message edited by: Valentine Frankenstein ]</small>

[squeapler]

hey rosa great review, glad the nite worked out so well for u! add my voice to the "shitty camera" brigade, although i’m looking at flashless options as i think my poor band acquaintances have suffered enough. as for Cobra Verde, John has been trying to be Mick Jagger since about 1989, maybe one of these years he’ll get it right <img>

[buckingham rabbit]

that is "hella" cool, Rosa. glad it worked out, and in a major way! <img>

[rambleon]

hey rosa …

thanks for the review and sorry to hear about your wallet being stolen … but thankfully everything turned out ok in the end (except for your missing wallet that is) … and you got to see the show … // and // you had a great time – as if there was any other way –

also … now you have a lovely new purple sweater !

oh yeah … and there’s nothing wrong with 35mm … much cheaper than many other methods, right ? … would love to see the pix when you get them back

[Author]

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