A reason to rejoice

... or at least bash your head up against a concrete block.

Flipper show in San Jose...


Gary Singh of Metroactive blurbs his cherished Flipper memories:

My main experience with the band was in 1991. I presented bass player John Dougherty with a bottle of Bushmills at 469 S. Third St., where a bunch of us were partying before the show. The rest of the band was somewhere else. Dougherty was Flipper's replacement for Will Shatter, who had overdosed on heroin in 1987. Later that evening, Flipper played at Marsugi's, which is now the upscale Agenda Lounge. I joined in for the pre-show indulgences (at least the legal ones). Dougherty was making fun of me because I wouldn't do rails of speed with him.

Later at the gig, nobody was in a good condition—the band or the audience. After shooting up in the kitchen, frontman Bruce Loose made it to the stage, and the first thing he did was insult all the opening bands. He then proceeded to bash San Jose throughout the entire show. It was wonderful. Someone in the crowd finally shouted, "You suck!" Then Bruce replied, "How can you say what sucks? You live in San Jose!"