Show Day -
Rainy
Played Atlantic City at the Elk's Hall. Show set up by Ralph. Arrived late - had to set up as soon as we arrived (7:30) - show time 7:00. Traffic was BAD - 1 hour to travel down and out Vine Street. Also moving out of Germantown apartment on the same day was not the best idea, but we had to. Dave B. went out to Coatesville to pick up our van from Rod's parents. The van is great - sink, carpet, cooler, captain's chairs, stereo - very comfortable and better than Rich Poor's old Dodge 'Capt. Eddie'.
I'm not sure Rodney's parents knew what they were getting into when they lent us their van for this trip. We returned it in one piece but a bit worse for wear. More on that as the tour gets going. Rich Poor was a good friend of ours (and eventual housemate for us all at the 'Cave' on 44th street). Rich bought a used van to use for his band. He was kind enough to let us use it and go along for a road trip out to Chicago and Milwaukee one long weekend. I remember getting out of work early on a Friday afternoon and hopping in the van as we set out for the mid West. We got there the next day and played a show in Milwaukee Saturday and an early show in Chicago on Sunday. We then started back to Philadelphia immediatley after our set. I started as driver because I was concerned about making it into work Monday morning. I didn't last long behind the wheel because I was the most tired I've ever been and began to see rolling marbles all over the road.
Anyway - back to A.C. We setup and did a quick sound check and started our set at 8:00. Set was pretty good, about 45-50 minutes. Bitchin' Camaro was hot - Rod had as many people as possible on stage with us and as we ripped into the second part (FAST), everybody jumped off the stage. Dave R. was at the sound board (sound was great), but he couldn't get his camera - too bad, it would have been a great shot. Lots of people from Philly came down and the A.C. people were nice too. Ralph is great. After our set he gave us beers and cooked some steaks and potatoes - corn on the cob and payed us $150 dollars. Nice evening.
You'll see food referenced in these entries. Road food is rough and good food went a long way to keeping us happy. We joked that the four food groups for a band on the road were: beer, cigarettes, coffee, and 'Dung Bags'. What are Dung Bags you ask? (scientific terminology courtesy Tesco Vee from the Meatmen). These are microwavable bean and cheese burritos available at most fine convience stores and truck stops.
The Dicks from S.F. were up next. Great band - good set. They had a female drummer. She was very good - met her after the show and we talked about touring and such. D.O.A. from Canada headlined the show and were very tight and professional. Good songs. Their drummer is a big fat guy who plays a double kick drum set - a MONSTER PLAYER.
My god! What a great line up to start the tour. The Dicks were fantastic. Gary Floyd and Lynn the drummer went on to form Sister Double Happiness. We played a show with them years later. Canadians D.O.A. were great too. Singer Joey Shithead wished us well on the tour like an old vet sending the youngsters off to war. The D.O.A. drummer I reference was Gregg "Dimwit" James.
We said goodbye to our friends from Philly. I suppose we'll be a test for a few other great Philly bands. We're the first to do a national tour and we'll make all the mistakes so others don't screw up in the future. We decided not to stay in A.C. until Sunday so we headed back to Philly and stayed at Jackie's house. We would pack the van properly and make final preparations to leave Sunday for Pittsburg.
Posted by Dean at June 28, 1985 12:00 PM
Speaking of microwavable bean and cheese burritos, it was at this show that I learned their true, hidden, power. My friend, Doug Bennett (Whom you probably know better as DJ Dr. Islam - yes, he's world famous now) turned me on to them just a few months earlier (I used to live on them. Once, in Edmonton, I decided to get one at 3am. I walked into a convenience store and was amazed to discover that the clerk hard formed all of the bean and cheese burritos into a pyramid that rose from the swirling mists of a standing freezer. The best response I could muster was a muffled "Whoa." "Yeah, dude, I don't know why I just did that, but I did it anyway." said the clerk. Odd, all I eat now is health food and I'm much fatter than I was then).
Anyway, Doug and I walked from the venue around the corner to a 7-11 where we purchased our "frozen shit bags". I tossed mine in the microwave and nuked it. That's when the manager rushed over and started screaming at me. You see, in Philly you nuke the burrito and then pay for it, but in Jersey it's the other way around. Now of the numerous guide books that I'd purchased about the Garden State mentioned this curious custom.
The manager decided to drive his point home by reaching into microwave and extracting my burrito, so that he could wave it in my face. Bad move. I like to nuke my burritos until the cheese bubbles, so within of grasping the white-hot Mexican treat the manager was in agony. Intent on not letting us notice that he was in pain (Dude, we can smell your hand burning), the manager continued to lecture us on the virtues of proper burrito purchasing procedure while he gritted his teeth and look for a place to set the burrito down. Doug and I blocked his every move. We kept blocking his path to the counter, all the while apologizing for our cultural ignorance. Once we saw tears well up in the guy's eyes, we felt bad for him and moved out of his way.
Poor guy. His one chance at being an authority figure thwarted.
