Street Scene 7/29/05

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For reasons unknown to the author, Street Scene was moved from the actual streets of downtown San Diego to the parking lot of Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley for 2005. I do not remember why I ended up going by myself but I remember that I did. While there were a handful of bands there that I liked, I was really there for the White Stripes, who I had never seen. There were three different stages set up on the west side of the parking lot with only a slight overlap in set times, so you pretty much had to choose one of three bands to watch at any given time. The first band I checked out was Kasabian after a recommendation from my friend Ben. They were alright but did not do much for me. The next band up that I wanted to watch was Garbage, who had just released the album Bleed Like Me in April. I had only seen them one other time about three years prior and they had not lost a beat. Shirley Manson commanded the stage and the band was tight. I was able to watch the entire set before I headed back over to the stage farthest from where I was to see the Black Eyed Peas, but not before stopping to watch a little of Social Distortion’s set on the way. Apparently 311 and Snoop Dog were at this Street Scene but they must have been playing at the same time as someone else because I did not see them at all. So back to the Black Eyed Peas…they had just released the album Monkey Business back in May, their second album with Fergie. I’m not sure how I ended up with this album but I did and it was a good album to listen to when I had girls over (instead of blasting them with heavy metal). I wanted to check them out because I actually liked them but I also wanted to already be at the stage the White Stripes would be performing at so I would have a good spot without having to fight for it. So I made my way over to the stage where the Black Eyed Peas should have already been playing but nobody was on stage so we waited…and waited…and waited some more. I believe they ended up coming onstage about 45 minutes late. Rumor has it that Fergie was so drunk that they could not get her onstage. Her pissing her pants onstage did not help her dispel this rumor. Seriously, she pissed her pants onstage and I was there to see it! By this point all I wanted to do was smoke the joint I brought with me and see the White Stripes but the delay pushed their set back as well.

After what seemed like an eternity Jack and Meg White finally took the stage and I was able to fire up my doobie. They were touring for their new album Get Behind Me Satan that was released the previous month. I first heard the White Stripes when I lived in Portland through a couple of friends right before “Seven Nation Army” got super popular. They were worth the wait. Looking back at this show I am still astonished at how much music was coming from just two people. Jack White was bouncing from guitar to keyboards to marimbas and back again. He is one of the best guitar players I have ever seen. Just strangled the guitar. Meg was not the most fancy drummer I have ever seen but her playing provided the solid backbeat that the music needed. One of my favorite moments was when they played a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” It was so beautiful it gave me goose bumps. Another favorite was “Ball And Biscuit.” Simply amazing.

AMAZING footage of “Jolene” from a different show

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