In April of 1987 I was 16 years old. I’d already seen Soundgarden once before when they opened for Love and Rockets (at this show), but I’d never seen the U-Men, and I’d always wanted to. The U-Men were an early Seattle grunge band, I think of them as having kicked off the scene (along with Green River). The U-Men were more punk rock, though, and were known for having violence break out at their shows. So when I heard about this show, with the almighty Butthole Surfers, I somehow arranged a ride with my friend Colin, and my older brother’s friend Dan…who just happens to be the guy I later married.
I’d originally heard about Soundgarden from Colin. He’d told me about a song from their demo that was getting airplay on KCMU, the UW’s radio station (which is now KEXP and owned by Paul Allen), called “Incessant Mace.” I was curious to check them out when I went to see Love and Rockets. Daniel was at that show, too, actually, and ended up sharing my seat for L&R’s set. (We both stood on it.)
Soundgarden blew me away. I was mesmerized. So when I heard they were opening for the Butthole Surfers along with the U-Men, I had to go.
I don’t remember if I asked Daniel for a ride, or if Colin arranged it. But Daniel picked us up in this:
His 58 Chevy Belair. It didn’t look quite like this by then, though. It’s hood was missing.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I found out what happened to the hood. Daniel and I were watching the movie Tommy Boy, and you know the scene where they’re driving down the freeway and the hood blows up across the windshield, completely blocking their view of the road? We were laughing really hard at that, and Daniel said, “It’s even funnier when you’ve actually had that happen to you.” Turns out he and his friend Dave had been driving down the street when the hood had blown up across the windshield—and then completely off. They managed to get it into the trunk, and that’s where it was when we drove to Tacoma.
We stopped at Subway on the way for sandwiches. Then we headed out. I asked Daniel if he knew how to get to the venue. He said he thought so. He knew the address, and he said he was good at finding locations. That had me worried. But he managed to drive straight there without getting lost or backtracking at all.
We got there early, and the side door of the venue was open. People were unloading band equipment and hauling it in. We went inside and sat on the floor along the wall, three punk rock teenagers. Chris Cornell walked by and waved at us. I don’t remember if Daniel said hi to him first, but it’s likely.
I don’t remember if we got kicked out. I don’t remember going around front to buy tickets. I do remember watching Soundgarden’s set from up close by the stage. Man I miss those days!
St. Vitus were a band I’d never heard of. They were strange. The singer, Wino, was a lot like Lemmy. They sounded a lot like Motorhead. I’m not sure if I’m projecting my own experience onto everyone else that was there, but it seems to me like everyone was scratching their heads, looking around as if to say, “What the heck?” Who are these Motorhead wannabes?
Of course now I realize St. Vitus were genius. Back then I was completely unimpressed. But all my stoner friends now are jealous I saw them when I did.
I can’t remember much from the U-Men’s set. I think this was the tour that broke them up, though. Daniel was friends with the bassist, but probably not at this point—I think it was later Daniel got to know him. (The bassist was Jim Tillman, and he later was in a band called Love Battery.)
By the time the Butthole Surfers came on I was pretty tired. I still vividly remember how the show started, though. Strobe lights, and two drummers on either side of the stage. A half-naked lady dancing on one side. She often danced at their shows. They had a name for her which I won’t repeat here. She seemed really old to me back then. Not exactly attractive. But I can’t really remember what she looks like now. They played film footage on a screen behind the stage. Gross stuff, too—like operations and other crazy stuff.
It was awesome. To this day the most intense show I’ve ever seen. I wish there were a band around today doing the kinds of stuff the Surfers did back then. There just isn’t enough megaphone in rock these days.
Unfortunately, as a teenager I had trouble being up late, and I spent most of their set sitting against the wall towards the back, half asleep. I remember Daniel coming over to check on me once. He spent most of the show slam dancing in the mosh pit.
If you can fall asleep at a Butthole Surfers show, you can fall asleep anywhere.
I don’t have any St Vitus in mp3 format right now, but I’ll upload songs by the other three bands to the radio.blog.
