Last week, D and I drove to San Francisco to see MC Chris. (The link goes directly to his songs.) It may have been nice to know about the Bay Bridge closure before I bought the tickets, since the drive from Sacramento is already pretty long. On the other hand, it might have caused us to rethink our plans and then we would have missed a kick-ass show.
When we arrived at the venue (Slim’s on 11th), parking was easy. After getting our tickets from will call, we walked up the street to Don Ramon’s to grab dinner before the show. Once we were seated, I noticed these kind and to me, ironic, reminders placed on each table:
Too bad these weren’t on the table the last time we tried to enjoy dinner in San Francisco. It’s a shame some people need posted instructions to conduct themselves courteously in public.
Our dinner was quick and tasty, and we returned to the venue just in time for the second band, Whole Wheat Bread. It was the first time I’ve seen a four-piece band of black guys instigate a full throttle mosh pit. I liked their sound, except for the two or three hip-hop songs they sandwiched into the middle of their set. The lyrics were trite (“I fuck ho’s, I get laid, I pimp ho’s, I get paid” – yeah, you and every other black guy behind a microphone) and the production was nothing special. I hope they stick to writing punk rock songs, since those are what made them worth the price of admission.
Then MC Chris took the stage and he was HILARIOUS. Beyond his songs, which his fans all know are funny, he did some in-between yapping about various things in his life that sounded entirely ad-libbed and goofy. In the spirit of Halloween, he defended the honor of the supernatural (“The Ghostbusters are like Nazis for ghosts”) and had us give it up for his roadie whose “farts smell like three different meals in one.”
In addition to MC Chris’s antics, the audience was pretty fun to watch too. There was a decent amount of hipster/nerd/punk/hip-hop/goth/straight-edge/etc diversity in the crowd, but I haven’t seen a show in SF in so long, that’s probably just what it’s like everywhere. Most MC Chris’s stuff is danceable, so there were a ton of people geeking out on the floor. I always love that, even if I’m not in geek-mode myself.
The drive home was a bit rough, post-midnight with ringing ears, but I’d do it again. And by “again,” I mean I’d more heavily insist on driving the entire way instead of letting Dominic use me as a reserve when he absolutely couldn’t focus any longer. Still, “Boys Don’t Cry.”