BBQ pit that is. No one really does shows reviews anymore, so here is
my review of Bischoff's 666 Goat Roasting / BBQ / 5 band blowout last
night. Let's see....
The UGZ skeleton crew made it's way to Emeryvile at around 5:30 pm
(PST), feeling fairly confident that the 2:30 start time listed on the
flyer was more of a suggested time than an actual time, and we were
correct. After slipping Mark some bills at the gate to help cover
costs (there were costs, you folks that didn't pay), we walked in to
see that the BBQ grills were in full effect and that people, mostly
Oakland punx were grilling and actually participating in the BBQ,
which is a cool thing about Bischoff's. Man, I thought, we shouldn't
have eaten so much earlier on Telegraph, "burp". Oh well. Shit. Where
was the goat? We looked around and saw what appeared to be a fairly
good sized dog roasting on some specialized dog roasting spit that
Mark must have rented for the occasion...hmmmm....no sign of the goat,
just dog. Still evil.
SKINNED ALIVE was playing as we arrived and having just saw them a
couple of days earlier, we mainly listened to them while DaveEd and
Greg Valencia ragged on some metal band, and - to me - SKINNED ALIVE
sounded better on Tuesday than they had at the HazMat on Saturday
night. After the set the entire band emerged, sweaty (except for
Tony), and they seemed happy with their set too. Then there was this
German chick talking about something, and then I said, "Perfect
timing. We got here just in time for SKINNED ALIVE and we didn't have
to see the hippie band that played first," and everybody laughed, then
looked around to see if the hippie was nearby, then laughed again.
What is the world coming to?
We drank some PBR and continued to chat with folks like Loren
Motorhead, Suzie, and Sonny...and Beth, etc. SAHN MARU was already
playing by then, and eventually I made it inside to the front. Sahn
Maru is one of my favorite newer bands, and they were good once again.
Jess was headbanging and sweating so profusely that I had to put my
shades back on. Total crusty, faster, more Scandi sounding version of
what BLOWN TO BITS was doing there at the end of their existence. But,
you already knew that. After Sahn Maru it was a quick trip to the keg
and then back out to the parking lot to kick it a little with WTD
before jamming back inside to watch JESUSFUCKINGCHRIST. JFC are never
a let down, and I watched them do their thang for about 3 or 4 songs
before heading to the pisser. I heard they played a shorter set in
the spirit of keeping the party moving, so that every band would get a
chance to play before some disgruntled neighbor called the police, or
Satan appeared, etc.
While waiting for WTD to set up, old UGZ contributor Jessica showed up
with members of East Bay hip hop group INSPECTOR DOUBLE NEGATIVE,
which was a nice visit at a good point in the party, then it was back
in for some WATCH THEM DIE. Totally went off, and my neck feels like
I have whiplash as I type this. They threw in BLOODBATH and BATHORY
covers, and if they were only as popular in the rest of the Bay Area
as they are at Bischoff's, then it would be less worth mentioning, but
both Sonny (WORD SALAD) and George (HIGH ON FIRE) have really elevated
WTD to a different level. During the set I kept bumping into people
that I knew, which was cool. Folks like Joe Fracas and Yapple, and
Bryan One In The Chamber, Phalyn, Nando...just passing by. This was
at the very front. Oh, and Pete Benumb was at the party too!
Anyway, then there were m-1000s and firecrackers, and people kept
asking, "Hey, where is that goat?"...THEN the police showed up, and we
had to hole up in Bischoff's, drinking beer and doing other stuff to kill an hour or so until they left. Tony S.T.F.U. was physically escorted from the premises by one of the tenants, while singing "Hot
Tub", the Eddie Murphy spoofing James Brown song. Larry Wolfley
finally couldn't take it and made a run for his truck, and everyone
followed his lead, and that was the end. Pretty Much.
666, shit. Off to another party or show or home to watch some evil classics on DVD.
