HICKEY - Live at the Kommotion - Valentine's Day 1997

   Steve-o posted this little gem yesterday on a little social networking site that I sometimes frequent and I could not resist sharing with all of you. This is a very good quality recording of my favorite Mission punk band, HICKEY playing at Klub Kommotion (now the location of Amnesia, I believe...someone correct me if I'm wrong...EDIT: I'm wrong) in SF and it sounds great. They play a lot of "the hits", including "Hey Cutie Pie", "The Prettiest Junkie in Town" (the superior slow version) and "California Redemption", in addition to a lot of cringe-worthy stage banter (lots of talk about Valentine's Day and fucking) and a ruling space jam at the end. What better way to celebrate this weird holiday that was made up by greeting card companies to play up to your insecurities and fears about being alone for the rest of your life? Fuck 'em.

   This show happened in 1997, which is not the first year that I saw HICKEY, but it is the year that they changed my life. Later on in the year (October 13th, to be exact), HICKEY came to Florence, AL and my band, RICE HARVESTER played with them. They fuckin' ruled it that night and I was a convert to the Naked Cult for life. They even cracked my arch-enemy in the teeth with a microphone and later, their roadie pepper-sprayed the shit out of his eyes (for more on this guy and his ultimate apology for being a supreme dick, please click here). I liked them so much that I impulsively decided to make the trek to Murfreesboro, TN the next night to see them for my 21st birthday. That night was very different. The band played their show in a full-on fuckin' sports bar with multiple TV's showing bullshit and a crowd of punks and sports fans. It was weird. The bartender overheard me talking about my birthday and gave me a free pitcher of beer. I didn't even drink alcohol then, so I turned around and gave it to Matty Luv, HICKEY's singer/guitarist. He said "Thanks! We should share this." Now, I realize that I should've just gotten drunk with Matty, but I stuck to my self-imposed sober lifestyle and watched the band get hammered.

    Just before the band was about to hit their first note of the night, the cops inexplicably walked through the door and struck up a conversation with the bartender. Aesop, HICKEY's drummer, said "Oh hey, the cops are here." Without another word, the entire band and their roadie, Matt (who was across the room selling records) stripped every last bit of their clothes off. The band started playing a long, drawn out, improv jam and the cops left without even glancing at the naked dudes playing music a mere 15 feet away from them. It was some weird wizard shit. The band continued to play wild space jams, interspersed with their original songs for a full hour. Sometimes, their roadie Matt danced naked on the merch table as squares and normies filed out the door, averting their eyes. It was a great night. I remember being sorta thrown off and disappointed at the way the band made fun of the small audience that had actually paid for and been excited about seeing them. I felt better afterwards when I hung out with them at the house they stayed at and they had bought a ton of food on food stamps. They made a huge feast for everyone, hung out and were genuinely nice and appreciative of the people who set up the show for them. Later that night, I made the three hour drive back to Alabama, knowing that I would remember those last couple of days for the rest of my life.

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Files updated Feb 2014

Original tape supplied by Matty's brother, Scott. Digitized by Steve-o.