Front Street blasts into my fair Fairfax!

Front Street takes their name from the old Grateful Dead storage/recording studio/clubhouse on Front Street in San Rafael.  I had seen Front Street three times previously; October 2010, in January and then again in April of 2011. I was especially impressed with the January show, where we got to hear Dark Star!  I couldn’t make Jerry Day in August when they next played north of Felton and west of Willits, but I eagerly awaited their show at 19 Broadway in Fairfax, in our neck of the woods!

Headed out with my friend to Iron Springs Brewery in Fairfax prior to the show, and grabbed the last two seats at the end of the bar. Had of pint of Casey Jones (the best beer in the world, by the way), then walked over to 19 Broadway around 9:30pm, and it was already getting busy.  Mitch Stein of Cryptical fame was filling in on keys for Front Street, as their regular keyboard player Sam Johnston was out this night.  Upon walking in the door I see Mitch, and while I am standing behind him, I see him tilting his head way, way back, doing a shot of something alcoholic.   I walked around him and realized it wasn’t a shot; he was just putting eye drops in his eyes.  I then clapped Jeff Faust (“Phil”) a little too hard on the back and surprised the heck out of him.  Miraculously someone was just vacating the last two seats at the bar to go and get a good spot in front of the stage, so my buddy and I quickly grabbed those.  There was some kind of beer menu on the bar, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.  Holding the menu up, I asked the bartender “What kind of beer do you have on tap?”  He said “Everything on that menu you are holding in your hand.” I looked again at the menu and right at the top it said “On Tap.”

And people say I can’t find anything anymore! 

Beer in hand, it was on to the show, and here is how it went:

Touch of Gray – OK, now I remember the sound at 19 Broadway.  Lots of bass from that huge speaker on the floor in front of the stage, which would be fun for a reggae show.  My buddy was leaning on a bar table for this one, because he still had some room.

Red Rooster – It’s so crowded now my buddy now has to stand.   Delicious tasty jam.  We all nod our heads – “nice.” My buddy heads to the men’s restroom. 

They Love Each Other – Well, my buddy must not have loved it because he didn’t come back from the restroom.

Me and my uncle>Big River – It’s not my buddy’s cup of tea because he still isn’t back from the restroom and I go searching for him.  I find him asleep in a corner of the back bar. While slinking back to a nice spot near the front of the stage I feel a hand grab my arm.  “Dude, you spilled my beer!”  

Suddenly:

It’s 1995 and I am going to see legendary Japanese punk band DSB at a basement club in Tokyo, which was the size of my current garage (ask me about my past punk life sometime).   I’ve already interviewed DSB for a ‘famous’ punk magazine, and they are the nicest of folks.  However, on this night about 30 minutes before the show we’ve already had a bunch of beer on the sidewalk outside the club, and their lead singer has finished off a bottle of very cheap Japanese vodka.   He has then proceeded to waddle down the street with his pants around his ankles, and enter a convenience store where he is proceeding to terrorize the local citizenry by pulling down his boxers to moon everyone while simultaneously screaming in English “My Peach!  My Peach!”  Before the cops can arrive, the lead singer of the first Japanese all female hardcore band, The GAIA, gets him in a headlock and pulls him outside, down the street to the basement gig.  He is semi-coherent, which is perfect for one of his shows, I think.  During the third song, he grabs his microphone stand and starts swinging it above his head.  Now he is in the audience, swinging the stand at people.  Someone in the crowd snatches it away from him, and he then proceeds to pick up a chair.  He spots me in the corner, all alone.  He eyes me, and I think I can see some faint recognition.  I think “You remember me, right?  I wrote that great article about your band, published in the US even, and we shared that twelve pack on the sidewalk 30 minutes ago (which I had purchased, by the way!).  I even grabbed your right belt loop to help get you out of that convenience store before the cops arrived.  You remember, right? Right?”  

Suddenly:

I’m back at 19 Broadway.  I think maybe ‘spilled beer guy’ is the same guy from a Cryptical show back in January.  We must have talked for about 3 seconds that night while waiting in line for the bathroom.  “Nice show!”  “Yeah, nice!”  Well, after that kind of intense verbal exchange, don’t you remember me?  I mean, I remember me, and I seem pretty memorable.  I check out his beer and I say “Hey man, I’m really sorry about that.”  He says “Dude, watch what you are doing.  This stuff is expensive!”

 And then . . .

Candyman – and the crowd goes wild!  To be safe, I’m kind of dancing just with the right side of my body, if that is even possible. 

“I used to love her, but it’s all over now” - all the old frat guys are singing along with this one. 

West LA Fade– I kind of fade to the right.  A song I like!

Cassidy – OK, a decent song.

Might as well – A rocker. 

End of first set, 11:30pm.  My buddy has woken up now.  Stu Allen (“Jerry”) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voEP05Yxo3A is offstage taking photos with fans.  I’m tired (it’s been a loonnngg week).  I have a huge day coming up the next day, so after saying goodbye to my Deadhead friends, my buddy and I take off.  I’m in bed by 12:30am, which if you know me and Dead shows is pretty hard to believe.  I sleep like a baby.

What did we miss in the second set, you might ask?

2nd Set (start time around 12am)

Shakedown

Looks like Rain

Eyes>Playin>Drums

Space

Cryptical>The other one>Cryptical>Stella Blue

Around & Around>Love Light

And the encore:

It’s all over>Playin

Which just goes to prove that old adage;   the 2nd set of a Dead show is usually the best!