It’s official. Fresno was named “Number 6” by Esquire Magazine in a list of "Cities That Rock -- A guide to 10 best cities for seeing and hearing music." Yes, we were all baffled, but come to think of it, a majority of the summer nights of my adolescence were spent cramming into Knights of Columbus Hall and other equally unlikely and small venues to see all ages ska and punk shows and, well, that’s dedication. My intimate relationship with the Fresno scene ended abruptly at the age of 21 when I decided to leave the back room at my parents’ house and venture into the world (ok, grad school and the Bay Area…not quite the real world), so I’m quite sure things have changed since the days of Let’s Go Bowling, Sharon Tate, The NightShift, Black Chickens of Death…the Gout (that was for you, Desmond). However, it would seem that the enduring will to rock out in the Land of Dirt and Raisins has not died.
Last Friday night Desmond, John R., and I all headed back to Fresno for a rock odyssey. Ok, we really went down to see our parents, but conveniently there was an amazing show happening at Tokyo Garden in beautiful downtown Fresno (we Fresnans are really all about convenience) – Adrienne and her band Citizens Here and Abroad were playing in good ol’ Fresno! Ironically enough, Adrienne and I met in the MFA program at Mills and not in Fresno, but she grew up in The ‘No. We were the weirdoes at Mills writing obsessive short stories about the same big-little shitty town in the Central Valley. Naturally, we became quick friends and thesis partners. She’s a damn good writer and she actually turned me on to the short stories of Saroyan. Needless to say, hearing Citizens play songs about Fresno in Fresno was quite transcendent (“…In air-conditioned churches they prey/I’ll try to change my ways…”) Bel and the Dragon and Pink Eye also played with Citizens. They were fun and seemed to be pretty big in the world of the Fresno scenesters. (Check out Fresyes!)
The quote of the evening was Desmond’s declaration: “I love drunk chicks!” I wanted to take the Bel and the Dragon kid in the bowtie home as a souvenir. I finally felt old at a show.
Another highlight of the trip was meeting up with a couple of long lost friends. I caught up with John S.’s life and cars and Mike’s screenwriting projects. Mike burned me the complete “The Adventures of Pete and Pete.” SCORE! Mike – the universe salutes you! PLUS, Dory and I were in the same place at the same time for a few hours.
Back in San Francisco, David and I saw Stereolab at the Filmore, but left early-ish since I was feeling a little strange and I couldn’t stop watching the guy in front of me play grabass with his girlfriend. We went back to my place and David put together my new couch while I sneezed and watched “Pete and Pete.” Today I missed work. This is it – I’m donating my body to science.
PS: What do you know?! Fresno has a Craigslist!
