New Years Eve in San Francisco offers plenty of
options. This year Stacey and I decided to work at the Warfield.
Cake was headlining the show and they are always a super groovy fun
time. The older crowd meant less hassles for the ushers and the
band has only gotten better over the years.
Of course half the ushers
called out "sick" so Stacey and I actually had to work our butts off
before we got cut. Our friend Kimmy joined us a patron. She
hung out with Stacey while we she worked the seats in the balcony. We
did get cut right after Cake took the stage so we saw most of the show.
Since we work there at the Warfield we can slide in downstairs onto the floor to watch
the show without a problem.
In
fact there is a little area to the right of the stage where most of the
ushers meet after we sign out. Kimmy, Stacey and I joined our
other friends and dug in for fun time with Cake. I should mention
the opening act The Lovemakers, they are from Oakland and reminded me of
White Stripes. Total high energy thrash rock. I took about
10 pictures of the band and in every picture the guitar player is just a
blur. I hope to see this band again before they blow up and get
too famous, because they will. I'll link back to this page next
year when everyone is talking about The Lovemakers.
The Lovemakers from
Oakland
So back to Cake; they plowed familiar ground and they
threw in some crazy covers such as Black Sabbath's "War Pigs".
Everyone got to dance and most were able to sing along with at least one
song. However our evening was almost ruined at one point. I
don't usually write about these things but this incident was so
horrible....
Halfway through the show someone standing near us
shit their pants. Yes, I believe this is what happened because the
funk was so incredible that it brought tears to our eyes. Now no
man likes to see his girl cry and especially not from the sour ass
cheese that was dumped at our feet. We weathered the shit storm by passing
a beer around under our noses until the purple death cloud dissipated.
We were very close to leaving but thankfully those people left
never to return.
At midnight the band stopped playing and we all
clapped, kissed and made general merriment as balloons and confetti
dropped from the ceiling. The band finished strong with "No Phone"
and then we were treated to group of diaper clad men beating drums.
Drums were pounded and a dragon worked its way
through the crowd. Quite a spectacle I must admit. Then as
we walked out the door we were each handed a poster. I have
already hung this one in the house. Friends and great music made
for a great end of 07.
This page came from the surviving 2006–2008 Classic site. Its original wording and available pictures were retained while the old separate-site header, sidebars, and brittle outside links were removed.