Sometime around 3 in the morning last Monday night Chris and I finished up our second Off the Wookie magazine for SXSW. We hadn’t slept much the previous few days and I had to be out at 6 in the morn to get to Noise Pop‘s opening night party at Mezzanine in San Francisco. I honestly can’t remember dreading a drive as much as this, mainly because I don’t do well with driving on a couple hours sleep. On the way to Stockton to pick up Julie’s Organic Ice Cream I was dancing with headphones on while trying to stay awake.
Even though it took eleven hours to get to town, I had budgeted just enough time to check into my hotel, shower, shave and make it to the party before things really got rolling. There are a handful of places in SF where we feel welcome and Mezzanine is one of them. Ever since slinging cream there for the Gil Mantera, Grand Buffet, 120 Days show during Be the Riottt, everyone has been extremely friendly and helpful.
The night was filled with a great mix of all things fun. Shepard Fairey was spinning some tunes and David Cross was MC’ing the shindig. On top of that goodness was Extra Action Marching Band, Har Mar Superstar, AND Tapes ‘n Tapes.andas quoted on the Noise Pop site, “Refreshments Courtesy Of Ice Cream Man.” Lauren and Jessie came on down to help sling some cream and Greg took care of all the photos. Since we were parked out back in the alley/smoking section, I was only to duck inside for a few cuts from Har Mar and Tapes n’ Tapes. Both were extremely entertaining in their own, drastically different way.
Sleep was much in need and the Central Travelodge on Market is by far the best deal in all of SF. The best part (outside of parking spot for Bessie) is that it’s located stumbling distance from Delessio’s Market and Bakery. During the four full days I was in town I averaged three visits a day. Their coffee is yummy and they have the best little cupcakes imaginable. Everything I ate there was amazing.what I’d give to have one nearby.
Right around the corner from Great American Music Hall is Edinburgh Castle. Quite the amazing place and definitely worth a quick stop for a pint and some fish n’ chips before heading over for a show. I met up with Taggy Lee, Simeon, Mike, Gloria, and Scott and brought the ladies two mini cupcakes (yes, I really like sweets and love to share them). After some pinball and some of the best fish n’ chips I’ve ever had, the crew headed off to GAMH for Sebadoh and I went on my way to sling around town.
Macromantics and Pop Levi were rockin’ the Bottom of the Hill and I pulled up in the drive way next door to sling a bit. It was slow going but was nice because I could hear the music and got to talk to some cool folks like the driver that put an Ice Cream Man sticker on the front of his limo. As I was about to roll out Sarah and her friend asked if I’d be willing to give them a ride to the Make Out Room in the Mission District. I hesitated at first then figured it’d be a good time. After slinging there and rolling by Beauty Bar to dish a few treats and huck a Frisbee across Mission Street, I made my way back to Great American where I found a parking spot directly out front of the venue. From there I could hear Sebadoh play “Brand New Love” as I started dispersing the treats. I had seen Sebadoh at the Fillmore over a decade ago and the memories rushed back to remind me why I once liked them so much.
Thursday’s afternoon we headed over to Diesel for a pre-funk party. With a little work we scored the front parking spot and hung out for an hour or so trying to convince anyone who walked by that they needed ice cream. Chynthia had just rolled into town, loaded her stuff in the truck and joined the crew. We did a photo shot and some video clips and thanks to Molly, I ended up with a nice new pair of Diesel Jeans. We all headed over to House of Nanking for some wonderful Chinese food then headed to Rickshaw Stop to check the situation. Lauren wanted to see Trainwreck Riders and Langhorne Slim so we dropped her off and did our thing til the door guy got a bit upset at us. Roky Erickson was headlining GAMH so we headed back there and tried to work our way inside with no avail. We heard a little “Don’t Shake Me Lucifer” before the crowd rushed out. We tried to woo them to come across the street for cream but things didn’t really pick up ’til after a spot opened up in front of the club. Roky is a notorious ice cream fan (check his Ice Cream Social while in town for SXSW) so I headed in to offer some only to get cussed out by one of the “Explosives” members.
My friend Jacob had been bugging me to stop by his work, Revolver Records. It was close by so we headed by and got a great group shot of the crew. The whole time I was thinking we should do more group shots on sunny days with ice cream then sell customized Xmas cards. From there we headed by
Guitar Center (the ones who helped make the whole trip possible) to pick up some catalog zines and treat the workers and customers to some goodies. While there we ran into Tyson from Two Gallants who happened to be passing by. For the uninitiated, if given the chance, don’t miss a Two Gallants live show.
We ran into Ted Leo and the Pharmacists while munching more fish and chips then stopped by Mezzanine where The Dandy Warhols were going to be headlining later that night. As we were stealth parked in the driveway we saw a doorman sitting in front of what looked like a normal warehouse/office space. With a little sleuthing we found out it was the headquarters of Kink.com. We had heard it referred to as the Porno Palace and after we heard there was a dungeon inside we had to take a look. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The strangest part of it all was that I had had a dream right before waking up that morning that I had been in jail and now I found myself in one.
Across town at The Independent, Malajube was getting ready to open for Autolux. Their most recent record, Trompe-L’oeil, was one of my favorites of last year. They’re very high energy and the fact that they sing in French doesn’t keep me from trying to sing along. They killed it and I jumped around with my perma grin the whole set. As Snowden was getting ready we headed out to move Bessie into prime placement once the weird Scion radio station cars left for the night. The sound for Autolux was a bit off and when they took a break for “technical difficulties” we stepped out front to put smiles on some faces.
Saturday ended up being the best of the bunch. I had high hopes of catching Ted Leo, Comets on Fire, Clinic, AND Ghostland Observatory all on the same night. Since they were at different venues I knew it’d be tough, but we pulled it off.
The Noise Pop Expo was taking place at the Swedish American Hall just up the road. The sidewalk was extra-wide so we pulled Bessie up right in front of the Expo and made a lot of friends. Chynthia loaded up the shoulder sling cooler and headed inside to take care of the merchants and exhibitors inside. The setup was really cool and there were solo performances from the likes of Ted Leo and Joel Morales from Dios Malos going on in the middle of everything. Once the sun set and people cleared out we slowly made our way to Hemlock Tavern where Comets on Fire was playing a secret early show to prep for their upcoming Australian tour. We didn’t get in at first but once I snagged a wristband from a departing fan, it just took a little weaseling and side stepping to find my way into the tiny room.
Clinic was headlining The Independent that night and I’ve heard way too many stories about them from my friends to miss their set. A lot of their songs sound a bit similar but they mixed everything up and it was so cool to see the majority of the audience bobbing up and down. We knew the Ghostland show would be going on late so we rushed through the cream slingin’, made last call, then darted back across town. At first I wasn’t sure if we made it in time because there was no one outside. As soon as I ducked inside they broke into a song and everyone was getting down. Whooo hooooo. We made it. I swapped spots with Chynthia so she could get witness Ghostland Observatory in all their glory then we tag teamed the cream slinging til Jackie pulled me away to bring some cream to the band. Soon enough I’ll have the pic that was the near perfect capper for the night.
I couldn’t stop freaking out at how awesome the day, and all of Noise Pop, was. I guess there are advantages to not having too high a hopes for things. They can only be exceeded numerous times over. Thanks to Guitar Center and Julie’s Organic for making all the gifting of ice cream possible. Thanks also to Stacey and the Noise Pop staff, all the venues that helped us out, Chynthia, Lauren, and Jessie for the help, and all the bands that played.
On the way home on Sunday we stopped in Paso Robles and dished the remaining Pink Panthers and Power Puff Girls to all the kids at the Skate Park. What a perfect way to wrap up an unforgettable trip.
