[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

My first sonic moment was in 1998. I was in school, and my homegirl simply adored sonic youth, and I was still hooked solid on Nirvana, and so we cliqued. Of course, she was the promiscuous girl from the school, a hot chick with bit tits who knew how to use em. One day in class she brings me a VHS and says, "You like Nirvana right? Check this out." She handed me 1991:The Year That Punk Broke and had a coy little smile. She said I would love Sonic Youth too.. I was so enraptured with the idea of seeing that video that I hardly noticed how strong she was coming onto me! So I took it home (by myself) to watch. When that drum intro came on for Schizophrenia I was captivated, I knew I would always love this band, perhaps more than many others I had love. I had owned dirty and washing machine before, I and dug em, and I was familiar with Sonic Youth, but it wasn't until that moment, that live version, that point in my life, that it all synced. The chick remained my homegirl, and strictly platonic, exactly for why I keep platonic homegirls, because she hooked me up with several of her homegirls over the years after..

In 1999 we were at This Aint No Picnic. Sleater-Kinney rocked it up.. Sunny Day Real Estate was so terrible I wanted to throw up. Sonic Youth came on. They had just been jacked for twenty years worth of rare, modified equipment. That sucks. We all had a moment together as Thurston, visibly drunk from Heinekins, gave a tirade from the mic for what seemed like twenty minutes before they played a kick ass set on borrowed guitars (which looked like from both Sunny Day and S-K!!) I'll never forget how hurt Thurston clearly was..

2004 I was having a Sonic Youth revival just in time for Sonic Nurse. So I went to get tickets at Aomeba for free cuz the Troubadour album release show was sold out before I had a chance. I should have camped out, but I didn't think it would be that big. Plus, it said strictly limit 1 ticket per person with purchase of Sonic Nurse the morning it came out. I got there at 5AM and was number 93 in line (just in time!) so we post up for a few hours. Around 8:45 the line is getting pretty long (at least 200 people) and so the manager comes out. He is a dick. Like Henry Rollins pissed off kind of dick. He says, "two per customer" and passes out 100 wristbands to the first 50 people. Tells everyone to bounce. A few minutes later some Geffen promoters come by with autographed sleeves from the album as a kind of consolation prize. I took mine, and promptly stayed in line when a 150 other folks left. I'm not number 61. I hit up literally EVERYBODY in front of me offering to pay for their album/ticket if they would use their extra to get mine. Nobody offers. Assholes. So I still go inside, after all, wtf else did I come to Aomeba for but to buy the album? So I wander around for about a half an hour. I buy two other albums, but got with my gut and skip Sonic Nurse. On my way sadly down a side street, two people come running up and tap my shoulder saying, "Bro, did you still need a ticket?" THESE PEOPLE WERE SAINTS!! WERE ANGELS!! WERE DIVINE!! I gave them a hug, gave them the 30 bucks they asked for, and took my ticket and copy of the album!! Fucking miracle y'all! I put on the disc... I will never forget the bliss when at both 6:35 into Dripping Dream that the bridge went sublime, and I realized just how blessed I just was to be going to see Sonic Youth.

At the Troubadour show it was like a Divine Liturgy of sonic youth. I had a religious experience on the floor there.. It seems like everybody else was too. I met Lee. Enjoyed myself thoroughly. Another great sonic moment.

2006, the Filter Party. I camped out proper to get the tix, I was the first one there at 1030PM the nite before. As they were closing the manager came out tripping (I think it was even that same dick from last time) and I told him, "Y'all aint giving out sonic youth tickets in the morning?" He said, "No, we don't sell tickets." He tries to argue with me telling me to leave, I tell him folks are coming. He checks it out. An hour later he reluctantly tells me its cool. I camp out. Sunset is cool to camp out, no drama. Hollywood blvd I've camped out for tickets, and even though it is literally just one block over, that shit is wild yo! Pimps. Hookers! Addicts! Gangsters! Cops! Weirdos! It's still hollyweird out there y'all, regardless of what the Hollywood/Vine or Babylon Mall plastic renovations want to fool folks with. So I get the tickets no problem in the morning. Its a secret show remember? That shit felt so VIP. We had a great SY community vibe on Sunset blvd all night, such good times. When I was at the show, I chatted it up with Steve for twenty minutes about tunes and life. I thanked him so much for the show, and the vibe, and for giving us an SY community with events and shows like that. I said it truly felt community oriented like a Dead show at the Fillmore in 1970. Then we chatted up about the Dead and he suggested I talk with Lee. He said, "Lee is the resident Sonic Youth deadhead." So he introduced me to Lee, and me and Lee chatted about tunes and life and the Dead for about 15 minutes even though he was so busy helping at the booth with his really cool son. We talked about his son's band too.. When I asked Lee if he was a deadhead he gave me confessing grin, "Well, I have been known to be from time to time." Fuck yeah!

In 2006 we went to see sonic at Jimmy Kimmel. Not only did they play an entire set, but got to fuck with the cameras who kept going over our head to play with the dreadlock Rastas who were flagrantly smoking pot. If you watch that show on YouTube, you will find that not a single crowd shot finished the pan, they all cut quickly to close ups. That is because me and my folks purposely sabotaged EACH pan by the over-crowd camera by flagrantly blazing it and waving. Such a great gig. Such a surprise that they played for an entire hour, outdoors, friday night, on the backside of Hollywood Blvd. It was magic.

In 2007 we tried to sneek into the Urban Outfitters show. We almost got the front, but the dude was a dick. So we went to the back. We were posted up for a while. Then Thurston came out. We didn't want to seem like weirdo stalkers just standing around, so after like 10 minutes we figured we should go at least say whats up. After all, I'm Rastafari, at reggae shows its all equality. The band is as open as the commmunity, there is no star shock. However Thurston was clearly into a burrito, and was not feeling us bother him. He was actually kind of a dick about it but whatever.. We ran into Steve. He remembered me (well Rastafari dreadlocked sonic youth fans who are deadheads tend to stand out in memory) and surprisingly we picked up our conversation from the previous year about tunes and life. We asked him to sneak us in, he said I would like to, but he didn't want to be a dick to the promoters on the list already. But he told us good luck sneaking in on our own! So fucking cool! Thanks Steve, for being who you are! So we flirted with the chick running the back door, convinced her we were on the list, and got in. We were in for two songs until the dickhead from the front door saw us (again, the conspicuous Rasta thing) and dragged us out. It was all good, cuz we had a blast! We just hung out by the back door enjoying the gig, it sounded good all the same! At the end, the band came out. We said "what up" to Lee and ran into Steve again. He was all cool and asked us, "Did y'all get in?" We said, "Fuck yeah!!" and with a HUGE smile he gave us daps!!

Thats it for now.. share yours! I want to have vicarous nostalgia

[EVOLghost]

Nice. I enjoyed reading yet tales. Ill post when I'm not on my mobile device.

[Dude McDude]

Cool stories. My sonic moment isn't nearly as awesome (despite the fact that i got to meet Kim), but it made me realize a bunch of stuff.

A friend of mind had participated in the graphic design of an art magazine in which Lee (i think) was interviewed. Around the release of that issue there was a party where my friend and i met Kim (maybe Lee and the others were someplace else. Can't remember).

She was pretty shy and drawn back. So was i. We introduced each other and that was it. That's probably the most starstruck i've ever been, and it made me think a lot about the whole celebrity phenomenon: You tend to idealize this stranger, and when you actually meet the person you realize it's a regular human being just like anybody else.

She was really genuine. I really like how she didn't try to play the celebrity role, despite the fact that she has much going for her. It was the most solid proof one could ever wish for that the whole celebrity industry is bullshit.

Then again, to contradict myself: The last time i saw them play was at the way out west festival in my home town a couple of years a go. Thurston was being a grandiose rockstar prick screwing around with the photographers. Apart from that a good show.

[ann ashtray]

Catching the Dirty Boots vid on Beavis and Butthead ('94 or '95)

Sonic Nurse tour (still, the best show I've seen in my life)

Shaking hands/crossing the street with Lee in Atlanta.

Getting my photo taken w/ Thurston was kinda cool.


Too much stuff to mention, really. I obcessed over that band for a long, long while. Still like them a lot.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by ann ashtray

Sonic Nurse tour (still, the best show I've seen in my life)

.

Dude, seriously! Me too! and I have been to some literally miraculous shows since then, and this still tops them all.

[deflinus]

met thurston and steve at maxwell's. thurston seemed kind of bothered, but i take the fault for that. steve was just a cool guy. both seemed amazed at my camera phone.

[Diesel]

This guy like, totally fucked me up. Then..... i just knew..... i was into Sonic Youth

[EVOLghost]

Isn't it always a sonic moment when sy is involved in anyway whatsoever


But seriously.

Steve was playing a show with white/light at the museum of contemporary art and we had gotten there like 15 minutes before they began seating people and a person walks up and begins talking to a couple of people and it's none other than Steve. As much as I wanted to say hi, I didn't because....well that would be rude. But yeh, the line starts moving and we were lucky to grab the last remaining seats. There were like 50 seats. It was a small room. They proceed to play an amazing set. If you don't know(which I assume you probably would) white/light they experimental to da max. Guitar and electronics. And Steve on drums. I loved every second of it. The best part is that they made a little kid cry. Steve is whipping like tribal-ish beats n stuff really fast, Dood on guitar is strumming wildly and the other Dood is blastin noise n shit...at that point the 11? year old boy who was in the front row has his ears covered and his head on his mothers lap. After that he couldnt take it anymore and gets up and walks out quickly while covering his face. Steve Shelley made a little boy cry. They finished their set and Steve was just chillin' so I said a few words(I gushed like a fanboy), got a pic but stupid light got in the way and fucked the pic up. But yeah...that's my sonic moment.

[bloodcrystallisetosand]

Met Thurston at Colour out of Space festival in Brighton a few years back, when he did the awesome set with Bill Nace & Chris Corsano. He was disinterested but not dismissive: I saw them on the DDN tour with Flower-Corsano Duo supporting, said that SY switched on to free/noise stuff, he said 'cool' or something equally exciting then walked off. Fair enough really. When he jumped into the crowd during the set I pranged his Jazzmaster (everyone was doing it, it was kinda the point) which, for my fanboy sins, makes me all excited when I think about it.

[E. Noisefield]

Although I've met the band (except for Steve, oddly ) my most memorable SY moment was just a simple club show from '04. It was the best live concert i've ever seen. I was not stoned, or drunk (and only mildly pepped by the low-dose of amphetamines I took to make the drive after a 12-hour work day ) so I remember pretty much everything. I was close, and they played like gods.

Hanging out with Thurston before the show, and laughing with him as the line of hipsters outside the club walked by without noticing he was even standing there, didn't hurt either.

He's cute, but a bit goofy/goony/gangly in person.

[Screaming Skull]

I went to see Two Dollar Guitar (Steve Shelley, Tim Foljahn, etc) at Eyedrum in Atlanta in early 2000. Steve was manning the merch table before the show, selling CDs, shirts, etc. I asked him how SY's new album was coming [NYCG&F]. He said, "It's done. We just finished mixing it." I asked him what to expect, to which he replied, "Well...[long pause]...[nervous chuckle]...it's different...[outburst of laughter]." A harbinger of what was to come, for sure...

[catk]

What's up dear, me and my mom are also watch comic movies except after I completed my homework

[Rob Instigator]

I love Sonic Youth. I have not finished mourning yet...

I've seen SY many times, twice in Austin at Stubb's, The second time I went with my brother and we got up close and the motherfucking SY played Cross the Breeze and FUCK then Teen Riot then more and more it was such an awesome fucking show.

The first time I saw them though, at the old Unicorn in Hou-stone TX, a converted supermarket, The Pain Teens were first on, ruled, then Pavement was on, and they were fucking glorious, then SY came on and Kim was wearing just a T-shirt, high heels, and panties, and I was up front and I was entranced by my sonic goddess' pussy mound, and I got boned up so hard, then after a song or two, some guy who was crowdsurfing kicked my brother in the head and he hit the floor. I grabbed him and pulled him further back where a friend, Sozavac, was standing with his cadre of high school lesbians.
The show was great. I remember every detail. I wanna lick kim's thighs. No. I'm GONNA lick Kim's thighs. I wanna be the Puerto Rican rebound of her dreams.


(on an aside, there's been some GOOOOOOOd stuff goin round lately, hope you got yourself ahold of some)


I saw SY play during NURSE tour and me and my pal Haynerrific wentafter to see if we could get one of the band to sign our shirts. We waited outside with a bunch of others holding various records, t's , posters for the band to sign. No one comes out for a while but we are all about 50 feet from the backstage door, kept aside by security peeps. we see Steve come out and he starts to head our way, a security guy kind of corrals him away from us and we hear Steve say, "Man, It's alright. Those are my people."

It was excellent. He talked to all of us and signed whatever we asked, Great guy, amazingly skilled drummer. Loves to read. How can ya lose?

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

moral of the thread seems to be unanimously that Steve fucking rocks!