we drove to modesto, which by the way has nothing to offer two out-of-towners passing a few hours before a show. hero's sports bar was the perfect venue for a concert, with both indoor and outdoor stages, and lots of security (and they were busy last night breaking up fights and pulling people out of the pit). the outside had the intimacy of a friend's backyard (a well-off friend), and the ground sloped down a bit toward the stage so the people up front weren't obstructing our view.
plus we got to see my absolute favorite band, the rev of course, plus nashville pussy, whom i remember seeing in san jose and liking, but kind of forgot about for a few years. their cd is now in our possession, so i'll remember not to forget them from now on. the rev did a little segment where they played a song or two from different decades in chronological order. the 80s was represented by rock this town... which totally made me melt into a big puddle. after that, they played in bloom by nirvana, then stopped there because, according to the rev, the 2000's are not yet over and there might be a person in the audience whose song will define define the decade. toward the end, the guy from nashville pussy joined them with ace of spades.
it's always the perfect sized show when you see band members in the audience.










