Yes, a very weird show. A weird night.
Halfway through the first set I watched my friend Jeff rip off several strips of Dragon blotter, slurpin' 'em up like Chinese noodles. By the end of that same set Eddy was screamin' "Forget the eighties! Forget the eighties, we're headed straight for the nineties!"
By the end of the show I was feelin' a bit ragged myself and knew I had a van full of hippies to drive back to Fell Street.
I saw Gam, so I asked if I could hold one of his Camels (meaning could I have a cigarette). He looked up over his shoulder, expecting to see a dromedary standing there. He finally, got what I was trying to say and gave me a few puffs of tobacco, Just what I needed to ground me a little.
Everyone was ambling about, not sure of what to do; the show was over, but folks were still mighty dosed-out and nobody wanted to go out into the chilly Oakland night.
Next thing I know, this huge WHISTLE BLAST goes off! Everybody kinda jumps outta their skin!
Bill G. is SCEAMING at this rookie security guard,"Don't EVER blow your whistle in my guests' faces. DO YOU HEAR ME? DON'T EVER BLOW YOUR FUCKIN' WHISTLE!!!"
Francine and I are dancing a figure-eight around the floor, like two figure skaters. I trundle by and say, "Thanks Bill, but let the kid live, will ya!"
Just then, Judy comes by looking for Jeff, hearing he'd got taken to the "Bummer-Tent." I go over to the para-meds with her, Jeff's lying there, saucer-eyed; they tell us, "Your friend is waaayyy too stoned, you better let us take him for the night." I'm thinkin' this is not-a-good-idea. So I lean over and whisper to Jeff, "Do you wanna come home with us, or go to SF General?" Jeff puills himself up just long enough to say, "I wanna go home with these guys." Judy pulls-up Stella Blue (the big blue school bus), and we pour Jeff into the back.
I finally round up my crew and head to The City, Six or eight of us end up at Francine's house for a a post-show debriefing.
What a night!
Later,
JiJi