Concert tales 4: Saliva

I like the band Saliva, despite their name. They're a good, hard rocking bunch, and I've seen them in concert several times. The most memorable was the year they played the KY State Fair with Z Z Top. I had debated going to the show- I didn't have anyone to go with, it wasn't one of the 'free' shows, and as I've mentioned before, crowds are not a good place for me to be. Fair traffic sucks, so I'd have my driving induced Tourette's syndrome to cope with as well. But then I realized it might be my last chance to see Z Z Top- let's face it, those dudes weren't/aren't getting any younger- and when I heard that Saliva (really? not what I would have expected but, ok) was the opening act, I was in. Bought a ticket for the nosebleed seats and went, hoping for the best.


The section I wound up in wasn't densely seated. I was glad I hadn't sprung for a floor seat- they were packed in like sardines. It was me and a few older, half drunk rednecks. Like the Garth show, I got some strange looks, but was left alone. Unlike the Garth show, no drunk Bubba decided to razz me.

Saliva came on and a handful of the younger crowd on the floor tried to rock out with them. The problem was, most of them were so far back, and there were so few of them, that the band couldn't tell they were there. The older fans who were there for the Top were just staring blankly at this rowdy metal-esque band on stage and wondering WHO they were and WHY THE HELL they were onstage. This included most of the people near me, who had gone from sideways looks to outright staring as I became a one woman mosh pit in my seat.

Midway through the show, as Josey Scott (the lead singer) tried to engage the crowd, there was a lighting malfunction. All the lights came up and the band could clearly see the less than thrilled crowd before them. The lights were hastily dimmed again, except for one area up in the nosebleed seats. Guess who basically had a spotlight? Yep.

What did I do? Lost my mind, stood up, and started dancing along with the song they segued into. The song ended, and Josey said, "Well, at least we've got one fan out there!" before pointing up at me. I blew him a kiss and then the lone dancing fool sat down. 


I was telling that story at work the next day. One of the beer deliverymen (I was working in a liquor store then) stopped in his tracks. "THAT WAS YOU?" He said his buddy had seen me dancing and pointed me out to him, but I was far enough away that he couldn't see my face. His friend was amazed that the one non-caucasian person they'd seen at the show was head banging. I don't know why, music is supposed to be universal, right?