924 Gilman

01Sep09

So, I’m an avid music listener, and will see live shows as often as possible, thus I was thrilled to see that Made Out of Babies, Giant Squid, Grayceon, Braveyoung, and some other band (Matammus, or Mammifier or something) were playing at 924 Gilman in Berkeley. It’s a small club, allways All Ages, which is a mixed blessing really: Yes, I can get in, but so can a bunch of little 12 year old kiddies (more on this later). Anyway, I talked to Mike a few days beforehand, and he said he’d be down, and could get me a ride.

When the day of the show rolls by, I call Mike, but he doesn’t pick up. I’d forgotten he’d lost his phone in Hawaii (which is another story in itself). I was pissed, and the nearer it got to showtime the more worried I got. Finally I decided to fuck him and take the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit i.e. the train). I was really not looking forward to this because recently the BART cops had killed some fucker, and I was not down for dealing with over aggressive, underpaid, armed men.

For those who haven’t heard about the BART shooting, a black man was riding the train with his 3 or 4 year old child in the early hours of New Years ’09. Some shit went down, and ultimately some BART cop pinned him to the ground. While he was on the ground, the cop pulled his gun and shot him in the back. He then handcuffed him while he lay on the ground  dying, and proceeded to laugh maniacally, and throw on a Klan hood. (Everything after the word ‘dying’ is a lie, but it might as well be true.) Anyway, this was in Oakland, and soon after some crazy shit went down. Full on riots with flipped cars, burning dumpsters, armored police and flying bricks. Because of all this, I was thrilled to find I’d have to switch trains in Oakland, which mean waiting in the station for a good 10 minutes. Joy.

Ultimately I did ride the train, and it was fairly uneventful. The people on the train were about as boring and/or crazy as you expect on a train, and I was fortunate enough not to get shanked, robbed, shanked and robbed, or shot by police on my ride.  I got off in Downtown Berkeley, and checked a map. The route to Gilman St was pretty simple so I started walking. and walking. and walking.

After about half a mile I checked a small map at a bus stop, and realized I’d been going the wrong direction. Fuck. I also realized that the walk was much farther than I’d realized. About 3 miles farther. I started running, back the way I came, and then on the right path. I basically looked like a maniac, running full sprint in curdoury pants, and a heavy ‘Royal Mail’ Jacket with rolled up sleeves. In retrospect, I was lucky the cops didn’t talk to me, because I looked like I’d robbed someone and was running away. Anyway, it was a pain in the ass, but I went all 3 miles dead sprint. About halfway there Mike called and said he’d be late, and that he was in ‘Frisco with his girlfriend. I thanked him for the warning, and for all his help, and set back running, intent on getting there on time.

Finally I arrived, an hour late, but I only missed some shitty opening band (Matammotopus or something like that). I paid $10 for the show, and a $2 ‘Membership Fee’, and got in, although I was considerable poorer. The stamp they gave was noticeable cool, it was a pair of hands pressed together in prayer.

The inside is pretty cool, black walls with grafitti and band names and shit. A few couches and arm chairs in the back. It has a nice tastefully sleazy feel. There was a rules sign that I looked at for a while, and didn’t read. The bathrooms were probably the most frightening addition to the club. I didn’t notice the women’s so much, but the mens had a swinging half door, which lead into a bright room plastered on every surface with sharpie graffiti and stickers. And, when I say every surface, I don’t exaggerate, they plastered the walls, cieling, floor, mirror, sinks, urinal, inside and out, and about every inch of the toilette. After having a feel for the place I decided: It was a classy affair.

After having looked around, I realized that I was thouroughly bored, and wandered over to the merch table. It was then that I noticed the one glaring flaw of this club. Crowding the Made Out of Babies section of the table was 4 or 5 girls, no older than 14, tops, being supervised by a pair of apathetic moms. Each girl had a pair of cheap stunnas (Shitty plastic sunglasses that are worn by: A. Idiots, B. People who are high, C. Idiots who are high, and D. Hipsters and psuedo hipsters.)

I groaned obviously as I walked thhrough them to look at the table. Giant Squid had some good merch there, I decided if Mike ever showed, I’d have him spot me some cash.

Eventually Braveyoung came on. I’d never heard them, and they were pretty good. I was satisfied. The little flock of 12-year-olds seemed bored, and one if not both of the moms left soon after this band. After Grayceon came on, they were one of the two bands I came for. They were legit, as always. They opened with The West, and played a great set, including some new stuff. Mike also showed up about half-way through, which was nice, at least I’d have a ride back. He also brought the llello, and I can’t say I wasn’t a little excited.

Giant Squid was up next, and we were both psyched for them, but we had about 30-45 minutes while they set up, so we went to get donuts (2 Cinnamon sugar ones for the price of one), and hit up and ATM, where Mike spotted me $20. I was good for it, once I got home and whipped out my fat jar full of loose change. The ATM he went to was in a liquor store, and the line for it was quite long. Some people just don’t understand the importance of keeping a large amount of alcohol around.

We get back just before Giant Squid has started, and wait.  The music in the club goes off and the lights go down. Giant Squid’s singer spends a little longer tuning, saying they weren’t exactly ready yet. Meanwhile, I point out this chick in the audience who looks like Donna, a girl I hooked up with a while ago, except the hair was different. This girl had long red and blonde dreadlocks, Donna had shorter ones. This chick had a cuter face than Donna, but Donna had by far the better body. I was satisfied with myself. It later turned out that this girl was Karyn Crisis (Actual Name, check her out), we found it out when she popped on stage to accompany Giant Squid during Throwing a Donner Party At Sea.

Their set was amazing, Panthalassa, Dead Man Slough (Which Aaron Gregory described as ‘Ska’), Throwing a Donner Party At Sea, Blue Linckia, and a few others I’m sure. It was fantastic, and made the night, and the 3 miles run worth it. After, I picked up a CD, and a (very nice) T-Shirt, and Mike and I stepped out side for a refresher.

We each did 2 or 3 lines in his car. Descent coke, and necessary for what was to come. I’m not too big a fan of Made Out of Babies, but I appreciate Julie Christmas in Battle of Mice (another band), and I really had no reason to leave. The coke just would take the edge off the slightly annoying vocals.

When we got in, slightly up, chewing berry gum, and waiting for the drip to hit, all the little kiddies had gathered in the front and were waiting. I suppose they saw the singer as a role model or something. Anyway, Made Out of Babies started, with Julie Christmas mumbling in a fairly insane manner, and the little girls were shrieking annoyingly. The music was ok. The bassist creeped me out though, all he did was stand in the corner and sometimes flip on and off a noise track for the songs. They also were bitches about the monitor speakers.

The upside was that the little girls were trying to mosh, and kept rudel bumping into some guy trying to enjoy it. He was kind enough to give them a firm shove back into eachother whenever they came near him. He almost knocked one over a few times. It was thouroughly entertaining. The drip came and went pretty quickly, but we didn’t do enough for a real trip. Still, it was nice to stim up, loosen out, and be able to dance a little without having to think too much about it.

At the end of the set the singer ran straight off the stage to the bathroom, and the bassist thank everyone and what not. It was chuckle worthy. Mike and I also said ‘hi’ to Aaron Gregory (Giant Squid’s singer, and a very friendly guy.) We bounced and drove back to my place. It was late so the drive was rediculously fast, we probably went at least 80 the whole way. When we got home, I grabbed my box of change, dumped it into a bag(the bag was actually a hat), and we drove to Safeway to dump the change into a Coinstar machine. The total was slightly over $50, and we were cheering the whole time, finding the slow counting awesome. We probably got some strange looks from the few cashiers still there as we were there at 3 AM, cheering as the machine ticked up, and we were probably sniffling a lot.

Using the rejected coins and some of Mike’s change, we bought a blueberry cake. I also paid him back, reminding him that I said I was good for it. After, we went home, and ate it with my younger brother (Who’s 12, and god knows why he was up at 3AM), the we slept. All-in-all, a fantastic night.

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