Thursday, May 1st 2003
Li Po's (chinatown) - San Francisco, CA

"The back booths of this dark, somewhat ancient-feeling lounge fill up with regulars and spillovers from North Beach. Strange, dust-covered bits of Chinese decor adorn most of the incense-filled space, culminating in a giant lantern on the ceiling and a golden shrine to Buddha behind the bar. "

What they say about this place is true. A funky little hangout nestled in the heart of Chinatown. Late night takeout galore - for the hungry musician in all of us. Beware the sweet and sour chicken. I don't think it was chicken at all.

What they DON'T tell ya about this place, is that unbeknownst to many long-time regulars, there is a basement. And the basement is extremely raw, and cool, and dank, and dark and sexy in a gross kind of way. All the perfect fixin's for an underground rock show....literally.

There are no chairs and tables. There is no cute little waitress to serve you overpriced beers. You gotta walk your lazy ass upstairs and get that shit yourself. There's no carpet, barely any light, and the two fans in the back are your only savior for a packed house. But there is a little low-lit room in the back, with couches. Big enough for 3 couples, and perfect for the drunken makeout session.

Jodi from Tiger Beat got us this show. And I'm glad she did, so now I know about this place, and therefore, now you do too.

We took the loud, punky, rocky road....while Tigerbeat took the more lush scenic route. And while we had to set up in front of them cuz Ari didn't want to move his drum kit (that was wierd, dude) we made the best of it. It was a little hard to see without any stagelights, but alas...we pulled through.

Thanks to Jodi, and the other girls who's names I know, but can't spell. Let's do it phonetically, shall we? "fah-new-la" and "so-figh-uh", and the cute keyboardist whom I don't know. Glad we got to tag along.