Well it's that special time of year again. Radio Alice in San Francisco put on their annual Now and Zen concert in Golden Gate Park. This year we were treated to sunny skies and mid 80's. Speaking of mid-80's this years headliner was none other than the original line-up of Duran Duran.
This event is becoming one of my favorites. It seems many of my friends have that day available and the weather was picture perfect. Sunny and warm like the love and music. I suggest you gather a few friends (or a lot of them) and go to a concert. Music and friendship just go together. It ads to the common experience and deepens the heart.
The concert
weekend actually started on Friday evening. Alextacy and I went to the
Warfield to partake in "The Ultimate Sunshine Tour". Cheap Trick and
Cake were the headliners. Hey a band from my tender teenage years and
one from Lexi's. This was a double bill with something for both of us.
I had never seen Cake and Lexi only knew one Cheap Trick song. We both
heard and saw things that left us laughing all night. Now before I get
into the weirdness let me say that Cake was inspiring and rocking at the
same time. Their quirky music really came to life on stage. If
you are familiar with Cake then you know what I mean. I was amazed
that they play all that stuff live. This sometime required members to
play more than one instrument at a time. I will pay to see this band
again, you should too. Good stuff out of the way and now the
weirdness.
Cheap Trick is old and they really look it. Robin Zander needs a stylist these days. His face, fat and poc-marked, twisted and growled through the old hits and the new songs nobody cares about. Their sound was ok, but most of the set was made up of songs from their new CD. This wouldn't be a problem if the CD was good, but it's not. The crowd finally got a little excited when 20 minutes into the set they busted out "I Want You to Want Me". Speaking of crowd excitement Lexi and I had front row seats to the strangest love scene ever. A couple was on the floor making out, aww how sweet. No wait EEEEK. The woman was wearing a skirt and since she was on the floor sitting indian style her houcha coucha doucha doo was open for visitors. Apparently is was cold down there because her hand kept disappearing into the shadows (wink). At one point she pulled an ice cube out and flicked it across the floor, it landed on Lexi's shoe and we both shrieked in terror. By now a small crowd gathered with us to watch the second show. We all introduced ourselves and waited till the set change to compare notes.
Too many unanswered questions from the group. I took it upon myself to introduce myself to the male half of the freaky deaky couple. He was actually a very nice guy. Forester was his name and at first he thought I was security getting ready to break up his love fest. Nope, we just want a few answers then you are free to return, sorry I don't really want to shake your hand. Apparently they had just met and Forester was in shock too. He never expected to meet anyone but he wasn't backing down either. The fascinated fans watched us talking and eventually joined me to quiz young Forester. He became a bit of a celebrity that night. Forester's crotch mama never returned but later that night he rapped over Lexi's beatbox out on Market Street. I do mean rapped (like LL Cool J) Lexi held the beat and he let it rip. Oddly he was very good. So good that a random homeless man also joined in for the last two verses.
You can't ask for a better Friday night. A good friend, a few good bands, and the unexpected fun and laughter of meeting new and different people. The weekend was the perfect way to gear up for my new job. Starting Monday I am off to North Carolina then midweek to Dallas finally to return to Leftcoastloveland on Friday. Never waste a weekend people. You can't get them back if you do.
Peace,
Sean