When we were in college my roommate Jon and I could drink all night long. Beer, shots, vodka, whiskey - it didn’t matter. Sit it in front of us and we’d drink until 6am with you. This weekend Jon and I went to LA to visit our friends Laef and Allison and I realized something had changed. Maybe we’re getting older but we just couldn’t seem to party as long as we used to.
Here’s some action shots from separate nights in LA:
Jon starts fading (night 1)
Jon falls asleep with a beer in his hand (night 2)
Jon in the worlds most uncomfortable position (night 3)
Jon takes a time out at the bar and is oblivious to Allison
Not to be outdone Allison decided to hammer 8 bottles of sake and pass out in the sushi restaurant.
Which reminds me of her last visit to St. Louis (at Lumiere Place)
You’ll notice none of these include pictures of me. There is some rumor of me falling asleep with a full beer in my hand and then spilling it on myself but with no photographic evidence I doubt it happened.
Update: You can read Allison’s account on her blog.
Last night I took a group of my friends down to the Scottrade Center to see the Foo Fighters. I say I took them because about 2 months ago I got all boozed up and decided to buy four of the most expensive seats I could find. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
I’ve never really been a Foo Fighters fan and I haven’t followed their career closely so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I never had a problem with the band they were just sorta there. They were the guys with a few catchy songs and the goofy videos. Harmless at best. But then two things happened: The band released Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace which has 3 really good songs: The Pretender, Long Road to Ruin, and Let it Die and I caught their acoustic concert DVD Skin and Bones on TV. I was now a full fledged Foo fan.
I was excited to see this show. After settling into our seats around 7:15 the opening act Year Long Disaster ended it’s set within 10 minutes and Supergrass’s set was almost as short. Perfect. I wouldn’t have to put up with crappy opening bands while I waited for the real rock to start.
The place was absolutely packed and The Foo Fighters did not disappoint. They played a blistering 3 hour set. It is easy to forget how many Foo songs you’ve heard before. They really have a lot of popular tunes and they pumped through all of them including Let it Die, One by One, Big Me, All my Life, The Pretender, Learn to Fly, Breakout, My Hero, and Best of You. In the middle of the set a second stage was lowered from the rafters and the band was joined by 4 other members to play an acoustic set. This second stage was literally 30 feet in front of us and some of the highlights included Skin and Bones, Marigold, and an acoustic version of Everlong.
The show was also filled with Dave Grohl’s humorous comments such as "Stay in school kids. You don’t want to drop out like I did. I mean look what happened to me." and "You guys have to work tomorrow. Sucks for you." But the absolute best part was Grohl telling a story from when he was in Nirvana in 1991 and the band stopped at Mississippi Nights and nearly caused a riot when they invited the entire audience on stage. It’s nice when the band goes for more than just reading your city’s name off the back of a microphone stand.
This was a real rock show. It wasn’t My Chemical Romance or The Killers or whatever bullshit is passing for music these days. I would recommend everyone give the Foo Fighters another listen. They have some really good songs and put on a great live show.
Just across the river there’s a lawless tribal region of Metro St. Louis. A place where the bars never close, alcohol is served 24 hours a day, and strip clubs outnumber churches ∞ to zero. That place is Sauget, Illinois.
A friend and I made the trip to this great American city and went to Pop’s to see Cemetery Gatez, a tribute to the greatest groove/power metal band of all time, Pantera.
I never got to see Pantera live when they were still together and ever since Dimebag Darrell was murdered onstage in 2004 I’ve felt like I missed an opportunity to see something special. Dimebag was one of the best heavy guitarists ever so I was excited to see if Cemetery Gatez could pull off this tribute.
The show was intense. The band opened with A New Level and kept the energy up through all the hits including Walk, I’m Broken, This Love, Cemetary Gates, Cowboys From Hell, Fucking Hostile, and Drag the Waters. A large circle pit opened up bringing most of the Pop’s floor into a flurry of legs, elbows, tables, and beer. This wasn’t a dead on tribute however. The vocals did a decent job emulating Phil Anselmo’s growl but the guitar solos weren’t exactly up to Dimebag standard. Cemetery Gatez got the job done however. I was happy to scream along with my favorite jams and ended up having a pretty good time. As I sit here 20 hours later my voice is hoarse and I can still hear ringing in my ears. Maybe I’m getting old quicker than I thought. I will definitely be going to the next show Gatez plays in St. Louis.
The show was opened up by Soul Descenders. Though they all looked like they were 17 these boys could shred. Probably one of the best local bands I’ve heard in awhile. Though I can’t figure out the band name. What exactly does Soul Descenders mean? Shouldn’t the name really be Descending Souls? Well nobody said they were geniuses but they can play.
For those of you uninitiated here is a collection of Dimebag Darrell solos:
Last night I went to see The Kids in the Hall at The Pageant and it was just as good as the TV show. I never saw the show before production stopped in 1995 but when Comedy Central picked it up in syndication in 2001 I used to watch it every day. I would get home from class (probably Accounting or something equally as asinine) and sit from 1-2pm drinking beer and watching KITH in the New Hall dorm at SMS. Ah college was great.
I was worried that the live show wouldn’t live up to the original series’s quirkiness. But it did and more. It was a cross-dressing good time. A few highlights:
The show opened with a video of The Kids planning a new show. For the opening they decide to rape Kevin.
A couple comes over to see a newborn baby but decides the child is pure evil. Quote: “It’s like Auschwitz in swaddling!”
A Buddy Cole sketch in which he proposes that Jesus Christ was a homosexual
Two salesmen promoting a device that can siphon fat from the gut to fuel American SUVs. Quote: “You mean those fat girls we finger-fucked in Texas held the key to the energy crisis?”
Dave invents a time machine which he uses during last call so he can go back in time 3 minutes and drink forever
Kathie and Cathy have lunch and Cathy explains how “tweaking” on meth can help you lose weight
Dave receives a BJ on his B-Day from his wife. Asked if he’s ok with receiving his BJ only once a year he replies, “Oh of course anymore than that and it would cheapen it.” To which his wife replies, “Oh, you’re such a feminist!” Dave then goes back in time about 3 minutes with the aforementioned time machine.
The Chicken Lady having phone sex. Instead of the exploding feathers she shot eggs as she climaxed.
Dave goes back in time (the time machine played an important role in the show) to kill Hitler but then decides he’s not that bad of a guy. He inadvertently creates Hitler’s hatred of the Jews.
Superdrunk! The man who becomes a superhero after getting drunk.
The show closed with The Headcrusher crushing the heads of various audience members then crushing all the Kids (including his own) heads.
This really was a good show. I didn’t even notice I was standing for 2+ hours.
For a special treat here is the newest KITH skit (potentially NSFW unless you work at Quizno’s):
