posting from my motel room...
Note: the picture of Christie & I was taken shortly after the following series of events took place... you are NEVER going to believe this one.... trust me.
i'm staying at this crazy rundown motel with a totem pole in front of the property that serves as a landmarker. this place definitely has a mystique about it, such that, at any given moment there could be a drug-deal, an abduction or perhaps even a murder going on the next room... perhaps that explains why I got such a good rate in comparison to the peer hotel/motels in the area...
to say that BayFest was out-of-control is to put things mildly...
ran into HAWK & Christie... unfortunately was not able to meet up with Dr.Gonzo.
snuck the tripod & cam into the show... was sitting at the very back of the venue up on the hill just in front of the perimeter fence that served as a boundary to the outside world... i chose to shoot the screen... everything was going great... made it through the first 10 songs perfectly... started shooting the 2nd half of the show (ILS...7CT...etc) and noticed that this roided-out, meathead jock who appeared to be all coked up had returned to the area... had a bad feeling about this guy since I first saw him.... he was about 5'8", 225-250lbs, chiseled, with these crazy-looking tattoos all over the place... of course it is important to reference the fact that I am about 5'8", 175lbs. and sitting completely by myself at this show... so there I am filming the show... he comes running by and almost knocks over the tripod & cam... and is outrageously yelling, to the point where it is impacting the show, and has no idea what STP song it is (or what day of the week it is for that matter)... so out of concern, I said to him, "hey buddy, I'm shooting the show for the purpose of giving a copy to the band... can you watch out for the cam & tripod... and try not to yell right near where I'm sitting"... now it is important to note that the upper lawn is vacant... there is NO ONE even around me and this guy is just being an enraged, roided-out, drunk, fucking whacked out douche bag... so I said what I said to the guy and even told his friend... and his friend says "okay man, no problem"... and I walked back over to my spot about 50 feet away... and just then, this crazy fucking lunatic rips his shirt off, starts yelling "What, what, what... I'm at a fucking concert... do you hear me.... Do you want a show... I'll give you your own personal show right now".... and at that moment, he began running after me bak to my chair and grabbed the tripod & cam and threw it over the boundary fence... I could not even believe what was happening... for the moment, I forgot about the camcorder and realized that at this point is was more of a safety issue than anything... so i did not say a single word out of fear for my safety... I looked at the kid who was sitting about 20 feet to my left, with his girlfriend... and he said "let me use your chair to go get the tripod and cam"... so i gave him the chair and he hoped over the fence... fortunately the tripod was stuck in a tree and did not hit the ground, so the cam was not damaged at all... he hoped back over the fence with my gear and I began to set up again... and then at that moment the crazed lunatic came running over and pulled out his 'junk' and goes... "let's go another round... this time I'll give you a personal show for the band"... and at that point, I had enough and cut the video file, packed up my gear and headed down to the VIP section to finish watching the last 30 minutes of the set...
following the show, I phoned VC to tell him about what had happened and also spoke to Christie (& Dennis) about meeting up and also talked to Dr.G.... while I was walking out of the venue, I noticed the roid-lunatic sitting on a picnic bench with shirt off and chiseled frame waiting to dismember me in an instant upon recognition.... at that moment, I put my sweatshirt jacket hood up and darted out of there as I ran back to the parking lot in hope of seeing Christie and her husband, Dennis...
once I retuned to the car, I checked out the footage... and fortunately, he did not cause any problems until the beginning of down, which meant that i captured a perfectly clean video recording through the end of SEVEN CAGED TIGERS... which was my primary focus... as I was watching you could see the cam & tripod being tossed as the cam continued to record... and then hear it get stuck in the branches...
thank God that I didn't get into a fight... and to think, I bought the "UNLICENSED" ticket because I thought that it would be more calm away from the drunks... who would have thought that hanging on thew sober side would have caused me so much grief...
after all of the madness simmered down... HAWK Dillinger made his way to my motel and we tore up the town for several late night hours...
what a night....
