art is the new religion

@ The Homestead

I was looking through the photo album on my phone and found this one from the night of my birthday party.

I had just moved back to San Francisco about five days prior.  I had my birthday get-together at one of my favorite bars here, The Homestead (you can see the "H" stamped on my wrist).  I love the jukebox there, so I played songs all night.  I'd never had this beer before and was loving it - it had the perfect combination of coffee and chocolate flavors.  I held it up to the light of the jukebox so I could take a photo of the label to remember it.  You can't see them in this photo, but a bunch of my friends and coworkers - and even some of their dogs! - were there with me.  It was a great night, so looking at this photo makes me happy.

Ted Nugent at The Fillmore

It's been a crazy week.  I was out sick, work's been wild, and then last night I found myself at the Ted Nugent show at the Fillmore. 

As I mentioned yesterday, my friend Chris was playing with the opening artist Alex Winston.  He smuggled me into the venue before the doors opened with this impressive custom VIP pass and we caught up over a pre-show meal in the Fillmore's dining room.  We killed time before their set in the backstage area, which is really on the side of the stage on two levels.  Since Ted doesn't really spend time backstage (he probably lingers in his plush tour bus or nice hotel room and then shows up minutes before his set starts), Alex and her band had access to the main backstage room on the upper balcony. I was able to watch Alex's set from this vantage point. 

After her set concluded, the guys had to load out their gear.  I knew I had at least half an hour to kill so I left the backstage area to wander around and people watch a bit.  I'd estimate Nugent's audience to be around 85% male, and I was definitely the only female wandering around by herself.  The people watching was interesting for a little while, until I started to feel a little creeped out by the leers of drunk dudes.  I walked back up to the side balcony and attempted to re-enter the safety of the backstage area and was promptly stopped by the bouncer at the entrance.  Apparently even with my fancy VIP badge, I still needed to be escorted by a band member.  Nugent's security is pretty tight.

I sent Chris a text telling him to come save me, then took a seat on the public side of the balcony where about 40 or so fans were waiting to watch the show.  A few moments later, two burly dudes came in and ordered a few people to clear a walkway.  Then the 'Nuge himself strode in, all hat and flowing hair, long legs and smug smile. He was surrounded by about five men, all making a quick walk of the 20 or so yards to the backstage entrance.  It happened so quickly that most people just had enough time to turn their heads and smile and maybe let out a "Hey, man!"  Except for one woman:

"Teeeeed!  THAT'S TED!!!"

She wobbled to her feet and teetered after the entourage, sloppily grasping over the shoulders of the rear bodyguard.  Though her desire to touch her idol was indisputably fervent, the fact that she was at least a few drinks into her evening softened the effects of her pursuit.  She almost seemed to be grasping for him in slow motion, yelling out his name at full volume while forty other fans stood by and watched.  It didn't take Ted long to disappear behind the backstage curtains and it was over as quickly as it started, but the woman's night was made.  "That was TED F*$^IN' NUGENT!" she yelled as she tottered back to her friends, elated.  I can only imagine how many times and to how many people she'll tell this story for years to come.

I finally made my way backstage again and before reuniting with Chris I watched a few songs of Ted's set.  In addition to a fully painted backdrop, his stage set included: 

• a semi-automatic weapon (fake?)
• US flag
• California state flag
• animal skull
• animal pelt
• Ted Nugent-branded wall of amplifiers
• raccoon tail, affixed to pants

Stay Frosty

Steve (my scooter mentor): Have you named your scooter yet?

Me: No.  All I know is that she's a she.

Steve:  How are things going?

Me:  Great!  There's been an evolution over the past few weeks.  I'm finally feeling more comfortable with speed, it's actually taking me less time to get to work now.  I'm really zipping around!

Steve: It's great that you're feeling comfortable, but now that you're feeling more confident it can almost be more dangerous because you're paying less attention.  You gotta stay frosty.

Me: Stay frosty?  I've never heard that before.  It's good advice!

Steve: Maybe you should name your scooter Frosty.

Me: Ooh, I like it!

~

Bonus:  Listen to this NPR interview with Barry Gwin from the SF Scooter Centre, where I bought Frosty, about the rising popularity of scooters.  In my experience, the 100 mpg selling point is a myth; I've been getting around 75 miles per gallon.  It is pretty amazing filling up at the gas station for less than five bucks, and riding around for a few weeks before I need to top off the tank again.

Kitchen Hacks

Garth Versus Peppermint Patty Dispenser from nick o'neill on Vimeo.

At first I thought the Peppermint Patty dispenser was created through the magic of video editing, but I just walked into the kitchen here in the office and experienced it for myself.   It actually works!  My coworkers crack me up.

The hoop, the hoop, the hoop is on fire!

Last Tuesday night, my dear friend - we'll call her "Plenty" in this context - took me out to the park in the dark and showed me something astounding.

Around 9:30pm, we loaded up the trunk of her car with fuel and props and drove out to a very specific location in Golden Gate Park.  We loaded up our arms with gear and towels and buckets and she led me into a thicket of trees.  It was so dark I could hardly see my own feet on the uneven steps down the sloping hill.  Follwing the sound of two drummers and a smattering of voices, we arrived at a clearing where I could make out shapes of a few other people in the darkness.  Then people started lighting up:

Fire dancers from http://krissy.vox.com/

Fire dancers meet here every week to practice and perform.  There were people spinning poi, hooping, dancing with fans and lances, and generally playing with fire.  There is something primal and mesmerizing about this kind of dancing.

Spinning from http://krissy.vox.com/

Plenty took her first poi class only around a year ago.  I'm astounded by how much she's learned so quickly.  Here she is spinning poi - she's the one in the red tank top.

Plenty spins poi from http://krissy.vox.com/

This past January, Plenty took up hooping.  You're probably familiar with the hula hoop, but you may never have seen it used like this:

Plenty and the hoop from http://krissy.vox.com/

Plenty's now teaching hoop classes, and I've been to two classes in a month-long series.  The hoops we learn with are heavier and sturdier than the one I had as a kid, so I have various bruises on my legs and hands.  But the class is so fun that it's worth the pain!  So far I've learned these moves: lasso, grab, flirt, bump. 

I have no intention to ever fire dance myself, but I do like to watch.