Clutch is back in town almost a year to the day after I had last seen them. Their album Pure Rock Fury had come out mid-March so they decided to stop in Portland again. The setlist was heavily geared toward promotion of the new album, as I believe they only played one song from their other four albums combined. Other than that there was not too much to report from this show.
I had seen each of these bands before but Lucinda had not. It was just her and I at this show and we were able to get very good seats on the left side of the stage. Static-X had just released their second album Machine about six months before this show and had the material pretty polished by the time they rolled into Portland. Staind was touring behind their recently released album Break the Cycle. Staind is an interesting band to watch live because Aaron Lewis doesn’t move around the stage very quickly, no matter how heavy the song is. They did rock though. Linkin Park was also there still promoting their first album and played it almost in its entirety. Finally came the real reason we spent our Friday night at the concert, Stone Temple Pilots. They were touring for their severely underrated album Shangri-La Dee Da. Scott Weiland appeared to be drunk at this show but the band nonetheless put on a very great entertaining show. Scott thanked the people who had drinks with him at the strip club Mary’s the prior evening. During “Hollywood Bitch” they had a very slutty looking lady come dance around on stage only to reveal at the end of the song that it was actually a man. They had Chester from Linkin Park come sing a song with them at some point. The highlight was when Weiland started to rant about how rock n’ roll was stolen from all the black jazz musicians. He jumped out into the crowd and walked right through it to the very back of the arena all while ranting. The funny thing is that he didn’t have any security near him but nobody touched him. I think everyone was a little scared of the guy. The other thing that stands out in my mind is a moment when they left the stage. Moments later the whole stage revolved 180 degrees and there they were sitting on couches playing an acoustic version of the Beatles “Revolution.” Magical.
Honestly, I don’t remember a great deal about this particular show. I do know that Lucinda was finally able to see what the fuss was about this time and that it was my fourth Tool experience. I also know my friend Joe drove down from Pullman, WA with his then girlfriend Kristy and had a completely different experience than us because he had different seats and dropped acid. We all met up at Joe’s hotel right across the street from Portland Memorial Coliseum for a beer before the show but didn’t see each other again that night. I think my lapse of memory is probably due to the show being much like the prior one I saw but minus the intimacy of the venue.
Aerosmith are one of those legendary bands that I never thought I would get to see live. That all changed when they went on tour for their recently released album Just Push Play. I realized their importance in Rock N’ Roll but never really got super into them until I met Lucinda because they are her favorite band, so naturally we had to make the trip happen. My cousin Earl was good friends with the grounds manager of the Gorge and was able to hook him up with two free tickets, which was great except he was coming down from Seattle to use one of them. It was a risky venture since it was a sold out show and because we would have to drive four hours from Portland but my past experience told me that this would not be an issue. I was right. Within one minute of arriving in the Gorge parking lot I was approached by a scalper and offered a ticket at less than face value. Problem solved. In addition to the two free tickets, Erik’s friend also bestowed quite a few free alcoholic beverages upon us and Lucinda wasn’t even 21 years old yet. We watched the opening band Fuel from a clubhouse that I never even knew existed. They were good enough but I think it is safe to say that nobody was really there to see them. Earl’s friend put us in a VIP section for Aerosmith, which was further than I was used to seeing concerts at the Gorge but turned out to be a blessing in disguise. First of all Lucinda could actually see from our spot but more importantly she was about to experience one of the highlights of her life. There was a smaller stage set up on the hill in the middle of the lawn section. Earl’s friend came over after Aerosmith started playing and told us they were going to play a few songs up there and walk right past us on the way. Joe Perry reminded me of a boxer as he walked by because he was wearing one of those silk robes with a hoodie on. Then came Steven Tyler. I lifted Lucinda up so she could be above the fence and she started freaking out as soon as he came into sight. As he walked by he reached up, locked eyes with her, grabbed her hand, and didn’t let go until their outstretched arms had no more length to give. She lost it. I have never before or since witnessed someone in person freak out like that. They played all the classics and a good portion of the new album before leaving about 2.5 hours after they began. I doubt Lucinda slept much that night…
This concert took place almost four years to the day that I had last seen Tool on that fateful acid fueled summer evening at the Gorge. It was my third experience at the Schnitzer and the third occasion I was lucky enough to see Tool. We were still living in a world where you had to wait in a physical line to buy a ticket instead of just purchasing one online. I was still working at Meier & Frank at the time and lucky for me our store was a Ticketmaster outlet. Over the tenure of my employment I had become chummy with the customer service staff that ran Ticketmaster but unfortunately for me the demand for this concert was so overwhelming that preferential treatment was not a possibility. I timed my break to coincide with the time the tickets went on sale but two people had still beaten me to the punch. I figured I would still be able to get decent tickets for Lucinda and I since I was only the third person back. Each person in front of me bought two tickets and when I was up only one ticket printed out. The concert had sold out after our outlet had printed a mere five tickets, which took all of about one minute! Let’s just say that there were plenty of bummed out people behind me in line. Knowing how much I loved Tool Lucinda without hesitation said that I should just go alone, which sucked because she had never experienced Tool. This was a pretty special concert for a few reasons. The first being that Lateralus was released less than three months earlier and the second being that this was only one of only nine shows on the tour that were opened by King Crimson, who are extremely admired by Tool. I didn’t really know too much about King Crimson at the time but remember they put on a very epic Pink Floyd-ish show. Tool’s show and music had evolved quite a bit in four years. Maynard had retreated to the back of the stage and their visuals became more intense. I’m almost positive they opened their set with “The Grudge.” This was the first and only time I ever saw them perform “Ticks & Leeches,” my favorite song from Lateralus. They closed out the first part of their set with an extended version of “Reflection,” which was incredible because the album version already runs over 11 minutes. Despite being by myself and not on acid I did not go home unfulfilled.
Much like Rockfest this concert was also a ways away from Portland. Lucinda and I journeyed about an hour the opposite direction but it was once again well worth it. I bought the ticket just to see The Offspring but wasn’t complaining that Stabbing Westward and Everclear were there as well. Nickelback was also there and on the verge of coming into mainstream consciousness with their song “How You Remind Me.” I’ll admit that I like that song but am not a fan of Nickelback. I only caught about 10 minutes of their set and I do believe they were on the second stage. It is pretty funny since they turned out to be one of the most commercially successfully bands of the 2000’s and one of the most made fun of as well. I learned about Stabbing Westward because Rose was a huge fan. I like a handful of their songs and they put on a decent show from the second stage. This was my third time seeing Everclear but this occasion was different. They thickened their live sound by adding two members from the Sweaty Nipples to play percussion and guitar respectively. This was still in essence a hometown show for them so they put their best foot forward much to the delight of the audience. The closers were The Offspring. Jack insisted I listen to the Smash album after he learned of them from the single “Come Out and Play.” The Offspring became a friend favorite from that moment forward but I never had the chance to see them until this show. They were touring for the album Conspiracy of One by this time but didn’t hesitate to go deep into their catalog. From the moment they took the stage until the time they went off the whole place was insane. They just played fast three-minute songs one right after another. The entire floor area was a mosh pit and I especially enjoyed the songs they played from Ixnay on the Hombre.
This year saw Rockfest move from the Portland Meadows to Columbia Meadows in St. Helens, OR. While I was happy to not have to blow dirt out of my nose for three consecutive days, it was about a 45-minute drive from Portland. It was worth it, and besides that gave us plenty of time to smoke out in the car. It was Lucinda, Roscoe and I. I really went for the three bands listed on the ticket but there were a few other notables. Puddle of Mudd was there and about a month and a half from releasing Come Clean, the album that rocketed them to stardom. The thing about seeing bands before they become famous is that they are putting 100% into their set, still trying to prove themselves. After them was Saliva. Not a fan but they were also just getting popular because of the single “Your Disease” off the album Every 6 Seconds that had been released about three and half months earlier. Next up was System of a Down. This was the second and one of the best times I ever saw them. They were about a month and a half from releasing Toxicity. Daron Malakian was crazy the whole time. I know they played “Prison Song.” The fact is that they blew everyone off the stage that day. There was a huge pit that opened up in front of the stage and it didn’t let up until they went off stage. This turned out to be a huge advantage for Lucinda because we were at the back rim of the pit, which allowed her to see the stage perfectly. On to my seventh Deftones sighting! They had quite the challenge of following System but pulled it off. They were still touring for White Pony and I remember Chino had a Mexican flag draped over his half stack. This set was more stripped down than the previous time I had seen them. They lost the frills and just put the pedal to the metal. Godsmack closed the show. This was the third time I saw them but the first time since they had released their second album Awake. They played most of the album with the highlight for me being the song “Mistakes.” It was pretty epic the way they played it with all the little breakdowns in between the heaviness.
You can’t tell from the pictures but the Gorge literally had one gigantic black cloud hanging over it for most of the day. It was the strangest thing because everywhere else within sight around the Gorge was a perfectly clear and sunny day. All I really remember about Taproot was that the entire band was clad in all-white outfits. Maybe I just wasn’t that excited about seeing them since I had already seen them twice in the prior year. I was however excited about The Union Underground because of the kick ass show they put on in Portland. I waited for them to go on stage before I sparked up a joint and directly after this the first ray of sunshine poked its head through the nasty clouds. It was a stoner moment worthy of the books. Marijuana aside, these guys were on the mark that day. “Revolution Man” was about as epic as they could’ve been. Next up on the second stage was Mudvayne. I still didn’t know that much of them but they were all painted up in costume and put on a pretty intense show. Moving on to the main stage was Crazy Town. I learned about them at a bus stop in Portland. On the bench was sitting a cassette single. All it said on the cover was “Who the fuck is Crazy Town?” I took it home and it turned out to be the songs “Toxic” and “Darkside.” I ended up buying the album based on this but they turned out to be the only songs I liked on the album, even though “Butterfly” turned out to be a commercial hit. They weren’t that great. They reminded me of a shittier version of Limp Bizkit. Disturbed followed and David Draiman was carried out on stage in a cage. It was novel but this is Ozzfest. They seemed to lose some of the explosiveness they had displayed a year prior on the second stage but nonetheless rocked. After they were done was the first time I got to see Linkin Park. I heard the song “One Step Closer” on KUFO late one night after I first moved to Portland and bought the album Hybrid Theory. They were a good mix of heavy and soft. I don’t remember anything about Papa Roach playing but know they were there. Slipknot was insanity. They graduated from the second to the first stage since I saw them at Ozzfest ’99. They were about a month away from releasing their second album Iowa but I’m pretty sure they played some of that album live. Then came the real reason I was here: Marilyn Manson. I had just seen them at the beginning of the year, on acid no less, but based on the past two times I had seen them and everything else I knew about them I knew they wouldn’t disappoint. And they didn’t. The guitarist John5 was painted up like the joker and besides tearing through their heaviest material they put a new spectacle to the test. During “Cruci-Fiction In Space” Marilyn kept getting hoisted higher and higher into the air until he was damn near the top of the rafters (see photo). The illusion was outstanding thanks to the cape he wore that disguised the actual hoist. This was the first and only time I ever saw them do that. Then to close the show was Black Sabbath. Never in a million years did I ever think that I would get to see them even once, but twice? It had been a few years since seeing them the first time but they didn’t miss a step. The set was short and concise but left everyone in the crowd feeling satisfied.
I first heard the Toadies via their song “Possum Kingdom” late one night watching MTV (when they still played videos). I ordered the Rubberneck album from Columbia House based on liking this song and loved it. Fast-forward about seven years and they had finally released their second album, Hell Below/Stars Above, in late March of 2001. By this time I had completely forgot about the Toadies but saw the new album randomly on a trip to Fred Meyer, my preferred place to buy a new CD. I initially didn’t get totally into the new album but jumped at the chance to see them when I learned they were coming through Portland in support of the album. Jack and the same girlfriend he had from the A Perfect Circle show accompanied me on my second trip to the famed Crystal Ballroom. After drinking some beers in the car we ventured in. I can’t remember everything they played but I know they split their set pretty evenly between both albums and hit all the songs that I really wanted to hear. The amazing thing to me was how hard they rocked. Their songs at their heaviest are not super heavy but that changed when translated to a live show. This was demonstrated by how much action was occurring throughout the audience. I feel especially lucky to have seen this show because less than three months later the Toadies broke up due to the departure of their bassist Lisa Umbarger.
The Union Underground was a band that I learned about from Jack. He loved them and insisted that I buy their album, which I decided to do because it was a cheap CD. The album is called …An Education in Rebellion and I have to admit it took listening to it multiple times before I really got into it. Some of the songs on the album are flat out rad but others definitely had to grow on me. Jack was the only one who attended this concert with me. This band did not disappoint live. The great thing about seeing a band that only has one album released is that they pretty much end up playing the entire album, which is what happened here. At one point in my drunken stupor I thought about jumping onto the speaker stack from the balcony to get onto the stage, but then realized that was a sure fire way to get kicked out. Good thing I didn’t. The highlights were “South Texas Deathride,” “Killing the Fly,” and “Revolution Man.” After the show Jack and I walked across the road to call Lucinda to come pick us up from a gas station payphone (before cell phones). The piece of shit ate the only quarters I had, which angered me to the point of breaking the receiver on the main unit itself. After a little persuasion I ended up calling from the gas station itself and it was agreed to pick us up at the entrance of Chinatown on Burnside. This entrance has a gigantic stone dragon on each side of the road. In my even more drunken stupor I decided to climb atop one of the dragons. I proceeded to pretend to ride it like a horse and within 10 seconds a cop car came out of nowhere with the spotlight on me and a voice coming out of the loud speaker yelling “get down.” Let me just take a moment to say something about the Portland Police force at the time. Their motto seemed to be “shoot first, ask questions later.” I say this because in the time I lived in Portland there seemed to be someone getting killed by the Police every other week. That being said I did as I was told. The officer went into a dissertation about how I was vandalizing public property, yadda, yadda, yadda. I was super cooperative but pissed him off because I had a big smirk on my face the whole time, knowing I really didn’t do anything that bad. After he was satisfied that I got the point he was off to harass someone else. A few minutes later Lucinda arrived and everything in the universe was right where it was supposed to be.
