Aug 14 2004 @ Subterranean Chicago, IL

How fitting that my first taste of chicago nightLife was Living the nuttLife... I'm catching good vibes here in the windy city. We got to the Subterranean ( http://subt.net )in the heart of Bucktown a bit earLy, spotted 'Wood and Wet Daddy holed up at the end of the bar, gettin' their sip on. Norwood came by the table; asked what I was doing out here, and congratulated my girl and I on finding each other and taking the chance to make major changes in the name of Love. He said he's been surfing everyday lately and these long days are killing him. When he said something to the effect of "If I fuck up tonight, it's because I haven't been getting enough sleep..." I didn't think much of it. More on the in a bit...

After the first opening band, we escaped from the voluminous cloud of smoke (already missing caLi's no smoking law) to get some fresh air out front. We talked to Tori for quite a whiLe. I really like that dude, super friendly, funny, down to mars, and the shit he plays goes off to other levels. He still plays with Morris Day and the Time, but says he's loving being in fishbone. His enthusiasm was obvious; he called Angelo "the best frontman of all time." He said they've been spending a lot of time in the studio; several new songs are being recorded. I asked him if he had any FREEKJUICE stuff available, he siad i need to come down to Tulsa, Oklahoma and check out the real situation. He said that Angelo has been taking a bunch of Freekjuice stuff into dr. maddvibe's laboratory and turning them into Fishbone songs. Some dudes walked up and asked if we needed extra tickets; Tori asked them how much, then tried to talk them down.

The band hit the stage about 12:30. Norwood, dazed and confused, was the last one onstage. As Angelo was dropping LinkoLogy, the band eased into UnyieLding. The intro continued for a Long time, and Angelo said "we having some technical difficulties with the 'bass equipment'"... Truth be told, 'Wood was too fucked up to pLay his bass. Tori, Rocky and Tre did the best they could to fill in the blanks, and Norwood did the best he could merely hold his Warwick. They ran thru a couple tunes with no bass ('wood standing there, or walking off stage). He kept waving at John, seeming to try to get him to stop. After making it all the way through Lyin' Ass Bitch, Norwood stepped to the mike and said "I've got an excuse." I'm fucked up. we'LL be right back, gimmee a minute to talk to my band." They came back, but 'Wood was still unable to play for the most part. In between songs he kept apologizing, and saying "I wanna smoke some weed, who's got some weed." I had smoked a bowl with Rocky in the dressing room earlier, but i didn't wanna be the one giving wood anything other than a glass of water. It was really kinda sad. At one point, Norwood called a dude from the audience up onstage and handed him the bass. after about a minute, he changed his mind and took it back. Dude stayed on and sang backup on Ma and Pa. After that, 'Wood seemed to wake up a bit, and the bottom was there intermittently. During Alcoholic, a stiff vodka drink got spilled from above on our heads, how perfect. This was the first time I head the new song Jackass Brigade, and goddamn was it rockin'. It started out fast and furious and kept building in intensity all the way thru. Tori and Rocky were just flat out destroying shit. Angelo and Pastor Dre's horn parts were choice, especially in the little reprise at the end. A couple more, and Angelo intoduced the band and said goodnight. Tori stayed onstage, pumping up the crowd, trying to get them to make some noise, and playing the intro to sunless. He managed to get them to come back a and do it, mostly minus 'Wood. That's all the details i wanna divulge right now. I took some pics, i'LL post them soon.

We were supposed to meet up with a friend at the club. He was excited because he hasn't seen Fishbone in 13 years. I was glad he didn't make it. Hopefully next time the boys are back in town, Norwood will bring his A-game.

peace...

Låmar Miles http://LamarsLounge.net http://www.lamarmiles.com

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