so i remember being back at an ozzfest in the early 2000s and seeing a stack of t-shirts at a merch booth with some crazy picture of Ozzy channeling lightening and the words "Listen to Black Sabbath" written across the back. simple yet essential advice that luckily i had been adhering to for quite a while at that point, but advice that has always provided me with an incredibly high quality of life. it's obvious that the message also got through to the young Al Cisneros, Matt Pike, and Chris Hakius in their early days growing up in san jose. those slow, oppressively heavy grooves Black Sabbath is legendary for led those three gentleman to create one of the bay area's most prolific underground metal bands, Sleep, featuring drony, hazy, Sabbathy riffs, deeply technical and mathy percussion, heavily wahed bass and that angst ridden nasally vocal style Ozzy created for us all to admire. despite strong support from fans across the globe and Sleep's unique path in early 90's metal, creative differences with their record label caused Sleep to disband in 1995 after only one full length, two EPs, and an album that their label refused to release (which went onto become the uncanny album/song 'Dopesmoker'...after being cut up into pieces and released as 'Jerusalem').
when i found out Sleep was doing a reunion show in england at the all tomorrow's parties festival in 2009 i was a little pissed. at that point rumors were circulating that the festival appearance would be a one shot, and afterward the members of sleep would re-split and continue to work on their current musical projects. though new material was on the horizon for High on Fire and Om as well as the debut of doom supergroup Shrinebuilder featuring Al Cisneros on bass, getting a chance to see some good old fashioned Sleep grooves performed live would have been epic beyond words.
hearing a confirmed san francisco date for Sleep's 'Marijuananaut's Return' tour sent me to ticketmaster's diabolical money sucking website right away, there was no fucking way i was missing a chance to see Sleep. a few clicks and i was feeling very content with my purchase as i eagerly awaited the arrival of my ticket. not two weeks after my order, i noticed a facebook announcement from Saviours highlighting the fact that they would be opening up for Sleep and i nearly shat myself. Saviors, then Sleep?! fuck yes! i was stoked beyond belief until i realized the date Saviours had listed was monday the 13th and my ticket was for sunday the 12th. upon discovering the 2nd Sleep show opened up by Saviours, i was back to ticketmaster and their bank account violating "convenience charges" (it'd be convenient if it was free...douchebags). all unnecessary fees aside, i had my tickets and two consecutive nights of uncanny bay area doom to look forward to...shortly thereafter, i discovered black cobra had been added to the bill for the monday show...seriously?! i couldn't ask for a more perfect show! it was like a show designed to highlight the finest examples of the bay area doom scene...and only three months to wait...
after some patient waiting, Sleep sunday had finally arrived! i trying not to raise my expectations to impossibly high levels was impossible as i stood on my corner awaiting muni to whisk me away to the regency ballroom. seething with childish excitement, i checked my wallet twice to ensure that i indeed had my ticket with me. i had it planned out already, sunday night was my night all about Sleep and taking in this genuine opportunity to see something legendary. Sleep did not disappoint.
i arrived a little after 9 and found out that the opener, Thrones, had already played. i knew what i was there for, so i wasn't bummed. on stage, amps were being set up and sound checks conducted in front of a backdrop on which was projected a huge photograph of Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath's glory days with that signature mustache and Gibson SG and a mix of Black Sabbath tunes came seeping from the speakers scattered across the venue.
as the lights dimmed and the audience surged forward a man in a space suit came on stage carrying a bass and guitar as Jason Roeder (also of Neurosis) settled in behind the drumset. the excitement was tangible as fans yearned for the first notes of a show that some had waited over a decade for. silently, Matt Pike and Al Cisneros came to the stage, did a quick intonation check, and cut straight into the opening of 'Dopesmoker', Sleep's (in)famous hour and a half long album/song. i had read that Sleep had been preforming 'Holy Mountain' in it's entirety on this tour and thought thatmaybe SF was about to be the first city to get 'Dopesmoker' in it's entirety, but i was put in my place when Cisneros and co. rolled right onto a set of songs from 'Holy Mountain' (beginning with the title track)with healthy chunks of 'Dopesmoker' medleyed in between. Awesome is truly an inadequate adjective to describe what we ere hearing. it was like the sound a giant wad of crunchy peanut butter would make upon being flung at a wall and allowed to drip to the floor...beautiful, delicious,crunchy, and slooooooooow. i realize it's hard to imagine, but even some Sleep tunes were played through at a slower tempo than the originals leaving the audience dazed as we all reveled in some of the grooviest, heaviest, gut shatteringly chuggiest metal ever created. true to form, Sleep laid it down while periodically taking breaks to step off stage only to return minutes later bleary eyed and coughing with a partially smoked joint hanging from Matt Pike's lips.
Despite the undeniable excitement in the crowd, all of the Regency Ballroom was as if in a trance as Sleep droned through all of Holy Mountain (aside from the short instrumental space filler 'Some Grass') with healthy chunks of 'Dopesmoker' sprinkled in between. An unexpected highlight came during the first encore as fans' swaying motions were interrupted by an unfamiliar tune, but those with a good ear and a knowledge of serious metal (ahem, yours truly) were able to instantly recognize Ozzy's 'Over the Mountain' being performed at half tempo, up until the guitar solos which were taken at double time compared to The Blizzard's original work.
At the end of the night fans walked out simultaneously sated and wanting more. as i sat on muni waiting to get home, eavesdropping on other concert goers headed to their beds a couple of folks mentioned how the idea of seeing Sleep two nights in a row might be "just a little too much". i sat back and smiled, internally making plans to leave way sooner for the monday night show so that i wouldn't miss Black Cobra or Saviours...all in all, last week started out with nothin' but badass. one can only hope for a round three. keep it gloomy y'all.
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