October 2, 2009
The happiest place on Earth? If not, it's close to it! I really love my job, but I love it even more when I get to do it from Disneyland! We did my whole show from a patio in Tomorrowland, right next to Space Mountain. The Disney folks are awesome and kept us wasted on sugar all afternoon. We also had a plethora of Disney toys and plushies to play with, our fave being the Blue Mickey! At one point during the broadcast, they wired me for sound in a vest and headset that looked very tactical. So, as they walked us over to the ride, I kept saying things into the headset like, "Stand down Bravo team! Target is compromised. Repeat: Stand Down!?" Tourists were confused, so mission accomplished ;-)
Early Saturday, we hit the Grand Californian. I don?t know why this park isn't more popular, but the short lines were much appreciated. Some of the highlights were A Bug's Life, California Screamin and the Muppet show! The best was the Toy Story ride! It's a 3-D roller coaster where you spend the whole ride going from different county fair booths shooting up everything! The ride even keeps your score and accuracy percentage. It was like ten degrees of awesome! Since the parks get a bit crowded midday, we headed for the ESPN Zone for lunch and watched Stanford kick some UCLA ass! Then chilled at the Grand California pool, which has poolside cocktail service! They also have a water slide! So it was us and about 10 little kids rockin' the water slide for a good half hour.
After a soak in the hot tub, we cleaned up and hit Disneyland! All my favorite rides, Haunted Mansion (decked out in Nightmare Before Christmas decor), Pirates of the Caribbean, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Matterhorn Mountain and on and on! They have a new fireworks show that has a Nightmare Before Christmas theme and is bigger than any 4th of July celebration I've ever seen and Fantasmic is always killer! We even managed to run into a Bonehead in the gift shop! I also brought home my nephew's first pair of mouse ears for his birthday. I can't wait to go back!
Cheers!
Nikki
June 18, 2009
What a weekend Boneheads! Testament killed the Fillmore on Friday night with a set like I haven't seen from them in a decade. It could have been the magic of the Fillmore, that Alex Skolnick was back in the band after so many years, that veteran skin basher Paul Bostaph was behind the kit or even the huge amount of whisky consumed...but damn it was a great show!
Saturday night, I went to the Gillman St. club for the first time in too many years to count. Those who say you can't go home again, have never donned an old pair of Converse and hit the skids on Gillman St. in Berkeley. The club card is $5 now and there's a sign instructing you which snacks are Vegan, but everything else is the same: graffitti everywhere, couches that only the wasted and horny will sit on and a ton of killer indie bands for dirt cheap! Warbringer was the headliner and everytime I see these guys, it's also like stepping back in time. They do good old fashioned Bay Area-style thrash, right down to the black stretch jeans and white Reeboks. Close your eyes and it could be 1986 at the Omni, open your eyes and it still looks like 1986 at the Gillman! Not bad for a bunch of kids from Ventura who were in high school a few years ago.
Sunday, I donated blood for the Red Cross, shortly before heading to the Haight Street Fair to see Death Angel. This would be only my second time seeing Death Angel with the new line-up and while it saddens me to see that Andy Galleon is the most recent original member of Death Angel to depart, they are still an amazingly talented band who can kick some ass! As I was watching, a tourist walked by and said, "Are these guys big around these parts? 'Cause they're really good!" You know when passing-through-town-hippies can appreciate metal, they've transcended more than just genre...they've reached through time and space man...
I wish I could say that I saw all of DA's set and how killer it was, but unfortunately and ironically, during "Falling Asleep," I passed out cold. Thank you to all the very kind people in the crowd, who rushed to bring me water and orange juice (only @ Haight Street Fair, could someone produce a pint of fresh-squeezed OJ - stat!). My dear friend of 20 years Jason, helped me into the Blue Front Cafe, where I dropped again like a sack of potatoes, behind their counter in the kitchen. Nice. They were unbelievably understanding at the Blue Front and will be the only place in the Haight, that I will eat from now on and I encourage you to give them your business as well. These guys let me sit (and sometimes sprawl) in their restaurant for 3 hours, on what had to be their busiest day of the year. Not only were they not irritated, they were concerned and offered help and lemonade :-) They also made a bitchin' sandwich!
I'm not telling you this to discourage anyone from giving blood, quite the opposite! My experience giving blood was quick, easy and pleasant. I also know that an afternoon of discomfort on my part is nothing compared to whatever someone is going through, to need a pint of my blood. Next time I give blood however, I will be couch surfing the rest of the day, cause apparently I just don't have the capacity to drop a pint and party all night...who knew?
The main reason I wanted to write this, was to thank all the wonderful people who helped me and to share with the Boneheads that we are lucky to live in the Bay Area for so many reasons, be it cool street festivals, killer music or selfless people who will come to the aid of a stranger in a crowd. Thank you Bay Area, I'm proud to call you my only home!
Nikki
P.S. Thanks to Pete "sicdude" Sais for the Warbringer and Death Angel pics...and I took the Testament pic myself!
May 6, 2009
Static X at The Grand
I don't know if it was the post-Cinco de Mayo hangover or that Saliva had to drop off the bill because of the lead singer's emergency appendix surgery, but there were not a lot of people at the show. Last couple of times I saw Static X, they filled up the Fillmore. I think it's got more to do with Static X skipping the Bay Area for the last few years. It seems that here in the Bay, we either aren't very forgiving or we just move on faster than other cities. Either way, Static X put on a killer show for those few hundred who hopped around to all the hits and still seemed to dig the new stuff.
The highlight of the night was running into Doug Wimbish, (Living Color and many more) and Alex Scholpp who are playing with Tarja of Nightwish. It's always cool to see musicians get into town early and still choose to check out a show, even though they're on tour. I didn't realize all of Doug's work with the early rap bands until he mentioned it. The scope of which, is mindboggling. Not only has he played with Jeff Beck, Madonna, Mick Jagger, George Clinton and more, but he was at the forefront of a brand new musical movement that arguably changed our entire culture. That's pretty badass! He's also a lot of fun at parties ;-)
Good news about the Grand - they have built a wall of bars across the back of the venue, which makes waiting for your drink a much shorter process these days. Oh yeah, and the new PA sounds pretty bitchin as well...
Cheers!
Nikki
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