Last week, upon re-entry to Los Angeles, my new friend, Lonn, invited me to join he and his daughter to the KROQ weenie roast in Irvine. Fortunately, I was carpooling with his pal Mark later in the afternoon. Not that I didn’t want to see who was on the second stages, it’s just that a hot afternoon filled with sausage smell and general “street fair” fare is not my scene. Everything smells like Italian sausage, gyros, someone’s always throwing up and there is trash everywhere. At the Verizon Amphitheatre, it was no different, although when we arrived, people we just starting to pile into the amphitheatre, the Red Bull guzzling contest was just ending and sunburned bodies were peaking on their beer red bull buzz. The line up that I caught was The Killers, Audioslave, the Foo Fighters and Motley Crue. The audience was fantastic, all types of tattoos adorned everyone, the crowd a mixed group of ages and races, multi-mankind brought together by music the boom boom of the bass from The Killers, covering Depeche Mode. Girls in t-shirts and tiny shorts proving that rock chicks will always be rock chicks, there is no change in fashion. Long hair, short everything and heels. It’s like a timeless uniform. The energy pounds through you, my heart sped up and I felt about 15 years younger, wishing I could get down on the floor. Rock concerts are the only place, I’m convinced, in this day and age that people can be openly sexual. It’s the way everyone was moving and grooving, like a come on, transformed into their animal spirits.
The Killers were great, and having saw Audioslave the night before at the Wiltern, they were consistent in their outstanding performance. Tom Morello is thing of joy to watch. I remember seeing Yo Yo Ma for the first time, tears coming to my eyes at being able to witness someone whose soul was identical to his instrument, his music and his love for it. Tom Morello is no different. I could watch him play a Back Street Boys song on his guitar and weep with the beauty of it. If you haven’t seen him, you must. He also plays under the name of The Night Watchman. The stage spins after Audioslave wrecks me with their song "Like A Stone" and The Foo Fighters begin playing and don’t stop for at least an hour. I’m still trembling in awe. All Hail the Foo Fighters! It was the most spectacular musical/band performance I’ve seen since Prince, and if you saw the show, that was pretty hard to top. Dave Grohl is a herculean rock star.
The evening was capped by Motley Crue, Tommy Lee manning his drums with make up that rivaled Peter Criss and actual pyro! I was instantly transported to the 80s and scene from “Spinal Tap”. Indeed, I heard there was one too many Jaegermeisters thrown down back stage, but no matter. It was great – shout at the devil man!
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