October 6th, 2002 — The Hotel Utah Saloon, San Francisco CA
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Sunday 6 October (Hotel Utah, San Francisco):
Arrived at the Hotel Utah in downtown San Francisco around 1:30pm
after abusing a few "bus only" lanes on the highway - nothing really going
on here at this point - no activity in the bar, just a lone gunman wearing a
faded Mermen shirt lurking around the entrance. He was soon joined by many
other area surf fans who began to form a line & the club was soon open for
business at 2pm - 4 hours ahead of its usual opening time.
Thrilled to be
going on first, The Nebulas loaded in and set up on the small stage,
elevated between the sunken floor and the low balcony. Ferenc of Pollo Del
Mar and Pop Mart had an impressive merch table set up to showcase his wares,
as well as those of the Nebulas & Slacktone. Too hot for flight suits,
Nebulas took the stage in bowling shirts promptly at 3pm in front of a crowd
that would make a Boston bar proud at 11pm on a weekend during playoff
season (you pick the sport).
This time I felt we really played well - this
was "the best show of tour" again. Rudy's amp sounded super loud, clean
and crisp; Dan-O had occasional problems with his tank, but overall we were
really sounding tight + surf footage was being shown behind us on a screen
Finished the set with Redlined/Malaguena/High Tide medley, then encore of
Third Star.
Pollo del mar took the stage soon after & played with
remarkable intesity and passion - as with many bands whose CDs I have
listened to, I
was blown away by the precision of the live performance. I was packing my
gear for the first half of their set, but the drummer's over-the-top-in-5
playing on Mission Impossible was permanently etched in my brain. I swear
one of the best aspects of this tour is being able to see bands that I never
thought I would see - Pollo is a prime example of this.
Someone recorded
this show on cassette & I hope to eventually get a copy - great sets by all
three bands. After signing some posters and CDs, meeting some great people,
and some old friends-turned-San Francisco-pervert-swingers, I headed back in
to catch Slacktone, who again pushed the limit playing even better than the
night before...if that's even possible, but I swear it happened. I'm really
glad we didn't have to play after them this time.
Among some of the folks
I
remember talking to: Stretch from the Submersians, members of The Pyronauts
who we played with in Reno, Mark from the Balboas, Shig from Shig and Buzz
& of The Mach IV - also John from the Mach IV & The Berzerkers. Jeff &
Marty also made the trek up from SoCal for their 2nd Nebulas show in as many
days (3 if you include their brief appearance at the Phil Dirt show). Left
Hotel Utah shortly after Slacktone & headed somewhere else to eat dinner at
Eric's sister's house.
Eventually wound up at Nebulas Hilltop
Headquarters - West Coast...hereafter referred to as Rancho Relaxo in gorgeous
Corralitos, CA overlooking Monterey Peninsula some 35 miles away. 4 guys,
4 beds, 2 bathrooms - and all with a view (not of the bathrooms) - you just
can't beat it.
-TooFastJim
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