Another Day

Some days are better than others. And then some days are the stuff of legends. Saturday evening brought San Francisco the return of Howie Day and so the Leftcoastlove family planned a quiet night out. Snowy Forest and K-Dog joined Alextasy, Traci, and I to usher the show and have a little sleep over. I first saw Howie live in Dallas a few months back and I have been spreading the word ever since. This 23 year old singer songwriter is making his name one show and one fan at a time. He now has video in heavy rotation on MTV, VH1, and FUSE and his current cd is a critical and popular success. Besides being incredibly talented he is also quite cute and lovable. With his cherub like face and fresh case of bed head Howie can make the girls scream without threatening their dates.

We convened at the Warfield Theater to get our assignments and prepare for the evening of fun. Snowy and Kevin arrived first and I quickly joined them out in front of the venue for one last smoke before getting our game faces on. Alextasy appeared next and once Traci rolled in we had the starting lineup for tonight’s big event. Sadly the show had only sold 1200 tickets so while the floor and pit areas filled up nicely the balcony was only ½ full. This made for an easy night of ushering for all of us. We all drew balcony assignments and this meant we would get a calf and quad workout walking up and down the stairs until we were cut. Alextasy made friends quickly with two Napa girls who were, “like so excited to see Howie, and be out of Napa for a fun night, and staying in a hotel with Mom, and like it was the perfect time to wear this new jacket I saw for $200 but only paid $15 cause it was like on this discount rack…”. They lost me after that but it was still fun to be around people who were really excited to see Howie.

Usually ushering is a low stress activity but for some reason the balcony manager was extra cranky lanky tonight. Assignments and course corrections were barked out, and for those who forgot their flashlights an extra barrage of cranky lanky was unfurled. The show tonight was actually a shared headlining event with Stereophonics. This tight Brit band has had a few hits and usually sells out the smaller Fillmore Theater with ease. In fact I worked a sold out show last years that featured Stereophonics and I was impressed with their musicianship and breadth of sonic signatures. What I mean is that they have a number of different “sounds”, sometimes they rock straight out with electric guitars trading gooey riffs and other times the acoustic piano and acoustic guitar wrap around the singer’s voice to create an atmosphere and feeling that match the song perfectly.

The view with my crew from the balcony was perfect. We were all situated behind the mixing board and lighting board upstairs. With a half empty house we were able to enjoy most of the Sterophonics’ set without much interruption. Snowy, Alextasy and I caught up with each by trading personal current events and Traci played den mother to us all. She checked our coats, replenished water and filled in for each of us so we could take breaks here and there. K-Dog was posted up a few feet away so we did keep a tight flight formation for most of the evening. Buddy check, body count and ever watching for the “man down” signal were all in force tonight. It’s not that we expected trouble but since our posse was so large tonight we decided to play it safe.

Howie took the stage at 9:45 pm and we were cut 5 minutes later. A few of us signed up for the upcoming Damien Rice show and then we were free to be. Traci and Lexi wasted no time redeeming their drink tickets for some frosty ale and Snowy and I ducked out to share a fine American tobacco product before we all converged on the pit. Standing less than 10 feet away from Howie’s feet and guitar my little family settled in for a few songs. Snowy and I snapped a few pictures and took in Howie up close and personal. Lexi quipped that Howie was very cute as well as talented.

Howie had the band he used on his newest release with him and it was also the same band he brought with him to Dallas. The studio time and club tour have turned this collection of American and British musicians into a top notch band. The arrangements and solos were crisp and clean and at one point the guitarist had his axe wailing so loud we decided to move back up to the balcony for the remainder of the show. With only half of the balcony sold it was easy to find a row of seats for all of us. We settled in and put our feet up. The sound in the balcony at the Warfield is perfect. The speakers hung from the ceiling are centered to give the cheap seats the best sound in the house. The view from the pit is great but the sound in the balcony is heaven.

Howie’s music filled out ears and hearts. We sat comfortably with the show at our feet. Howie gave us all his best stuff and he also added a few new tunes. Excellent! A great band, a great venue and great friends were making this evening a winner on three fronts but it was only the beginning. Snowy had joked (or maybe it wasn’t a joke) that we should all go next door after the show and continue the party of five. Hmmm? Next door to the Warfield is the world famous “Crazy Horse” gentlemen’s club. Ha ha sure, that’s funny, all of us in a strip club together.

Here’s where I have to say that from this point on I cannot divulge who actually went into the club and who came out. The story is still worth telling though. I learned a lot and I saw things that changed me forever. The ticket price was a steep $25 dollars for the men and $20 for the un-named lady(s) who dared to join me and K-Dog inside. The ticket price was a shocker but hey they had an ATM right in the lobby and for a mere $5 transaction fee I was able to withdraw enough cash to get inside. We all stood together tightly not knowing what to expect on the other side. What we found was basically a small movie theater type set up. A sloped floor and seats started at the back of the house and ran down to the stage which jutted out into a runway that extended into the house about 20 feet. The seats along the runway were perpendicular to the stage and provided the best views, so to speak.

Since this was a new experience for all of us we took a row of seats halfway back in the house. This allowed us to see everything and learn the proper etiquette. It appeared that the front row seats that straddled the runway were for tippers and those not afraid of direct contact with the entertainment. As a group we weren’t ready for that but we did feel confident enough to venture to the third row along the runway. We wanted our $25 worth. Since the entertainment here was fully nude there was no bar or other distractions. This explained the steep ticket price and the constant reminders from the DJ to tip the staff. The place had the atmosphere and décor of a Motley Crue video circa 1983.

The entertainers were friendly enough and the group was surprised to find out how up close and personal the ladies actually get. There were lots of fake body parts, tattoos, and sexy sneers. Something for everybody. Before the evening was over one of us would make it onto the stage and another would be groped by a performer while still seated. To protect the innocent and not shame the guilty I am not using names or specifics regarding the details of our 90 minute adventure on the dark side.

We did learn a lot though. The crowd was almost entirely made up of men. A few singles and a few groups scattered throughout. Never more than 30 people at a time it seemed. The music was loud and clear and the entertainment was fairly non-stop. The few breaks only lasted 5 minutes or so. Fire poles and mirrors were the set and the girls performed their routines in two parts. The first number was a teaser followed by the fully Monty. In most cases the girls used the first number to introduce themselves and get the crowd ready to share some singles and fives. Tips were placed on the stage and you kept to yourself unless approached or encouraged by the talent. Simple rules and huge security force kept compliance an easy effort. As I said earlier the amount of contact that did occur was surprising. Being the clean freak I am it was easy for me to just observe since I couldn’t apply antibacterial fast enough. My entourage not only survived but we thrived for one crazy night. The clean youthful energy of Howie was balanced by the adult entertainers who shared more than their facial smiles with the brave Leftcoasters who ventured into the crazy world of the Crazy Horse that night.

The night ended with the un-named gathered around a diner table sharing the laughs and recounting the best parts of our night. I even ended up with a few house guests since it was now late, or early, depending on how you tell time. We had rocked and rolled, belly laughed, and finally shared a few milkshakes and fries with gravy. We did good. Nobody permanently scared or disfigured and the un-named now shared a bond and common experience that will bind us together forever. Life is better with friends and friends are proper attire for any occasion. We proved that and then some.

Peace,
Sean