Going out on Monday night can be tough, especially when you've been raging since Thursday night, but we don't get to pick which night New Years eve is on. I had less enthusiasm for New Year's Eve than ever in this time, around and I would have delightfully passed out in my own bed by eight o'clock without a second thought had I not been included on the guest list for the Neurosis New Year's Eve show at The Oakland Metro Operahouse.
I gulped a shot of whiskey in the kitchen, dragged myself out of the flat at about 9:30, and caught a San Francisco bound train, which was already full of complete YOBBOS going out to rage in The City. Fucking amateur night. Walked down to the Metro from the 12th Street Station, and ran into some buddies at Beer Revolution. I had a quick imperial stout and we were on our way. Of course we couldn't make the two block walk without drinking some cider, then some mushroom tea, and then of course smoking weed.
Got inside just before Kicker began. It was definitely the biggest stage I've ever seen them on. They played for along time, and did some new stuff, and even did a song where Roadie played guitar. It was fun, but I still don't know if Kicker is greater than the sum of it famous parts. Before they were even done, the mushroom tea began to kick take hold of my senses. I hadn't even had much, but I could tell it is was tres forte.
Next up was Neurosis, who played for a very long time, and delved deep into their voluminous catalog. I was in and out of the main room, watching them on and off, trying to find ways to deal with my unexpectedly strong psychedelic journey. During the course of the evening I became engaged in a labyrinthine self delusional paranoia in which I thought that someone was trying to lead me into a trap, and have me violently attacked or potentially killed. This led to some awkward social situations.
Meanwhile, Neurosis played on. They didn't have the usual video display behind them, and this was the first time I'd seen them without it. I realized it was cool just to see them playing, just a band on a stage, not being distracted trying to interpret the film projections.
More than anything else, the show was one hell of a scene reunion; I was running into old friends everywhere, and I could tell that so was everyone else, seeing folks they hadn't seen in years. I also saw a lot of people I was unfamiliar with, who had probably come in from out of town, or maybe were old Neurosis fans who have drifted away from the current scene, but could not resist coming into the coven one more time. .
The gig ended, and I wandered outside, extremely perplexed as to how I was going to get home. BART was running late, but I don't think I could have handled the walk through downtown Oakland and the BART ride with all the puking, fighting hooligans, and puking, fighting, torn miniskirt sluts. Luckily, someone summoned me into Bill's Drunk Bus, and I was whisked to North Oakland. I remember that I kept on offering him twenty bucks to take me home first, but it didn't happen, and I ended up jumping out of the van at 43rd and MLK, walking the rest of the way home in the grips of extreme psychedelic terror.
Thanks to Stacy Young for pilfering a set list:
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