Friday, October 27th 2000.
It was a day like any other... Well, except on
this day I'd actually be getting to see one of my
favorite bands, Ozma! Who's Ozma, you may ask?
Well if you don't know yet, click here and instantly
become a fan. Hell, that's how it worked for me.
Anyway, back to Friday.
I had arrangements to visit
my friend Lily in the great city of Berkley since
the middle of summer. My original tickets had me
leaving on the 27th, and about a week after
getting them, I found out that I'd be missing an
Ozma concert just a few blocks from where I was
staying! But due to an incredibly strange twist
of fate, my tickets were rescheduled and I got to
see the best concert of my life(so far).
The (free)concert was at
twelve, so of course I was up like three hours
early, already changed into my Ozma t-shirt( I
didn't know if concert etiquette would allow
this, but I wanted to prove my fandom )waiting
for Lily to wake up and take me to Ozma. Of
course we were running a little late, so the only
breakfast I managed to get was a bottle of Coke.
We got to the Plaza, and after seeing all of the
equipment set up I went over to where all of the
merchandise was out.
"Are you guys
Ozma," was the very first thing I asked. For
being such a big fan, I only had a vague idea of
what they looked like. Dan, Star, and Pat were
standing around talking. I managed to recognize
Dan, and he was the first one I talked to. I told
him that I came all the way from Ohio( I think I
managed to tell everyone in the band this fact
about 5,000 times ). The very first question I
asked Dan was if they were playing "Game
Over," so he showed me the setlist and it
was third. Already I was psyched. I also asked
him if they were planning an album with all of
the Digivent acoustic songs, he said
"probably not." After thouroughly
embarassing myself with more questions and
compliments, I picked up a red Ozma t-shirt and a
pin. I tried to get a setlist but I remember
someone telling me I wouldn't be able to read
Star's writing.
We moved to the front, as
not many people were there at the time. It was
really cool to be surrounded by geek rockers. In
Ohio, at least, we are a dying breed. Ozma came
out and did a little sound check, and they were
ready to rock.
Click here
to see the setlist.
Note: The show differed a little from the
setlist.
Show Highlights
Domino Effect :
Ozma opened with the first song on their second
album, which totally rocked. After hearing it a
thousand time on the CD, it was really awesome to
be hearing it live.
Apple Trees : Probably my least
favorite Ozma song, the show actually improved my
opinion on it. It was at this point the crowd
behind me started getting pretty big. "I had
no idea Ozma was this big," Lily's friend
Fayez stated.
Game Over : The song that made
the whole show. I had only heard it acoustically
with no keyboard, so I was afraid I wouldn't like
it as much. Hearing it with so much power behind
it live was a great experience.
Battlescars : In my opinion, the
most somber Ozma song(and I think the longest).
The keyboards sounded a little funky, but overall
the performance was great.
Tetris : At this point, Dan told
the crowd he had a little treat for us. "You
might recognize this if you've ever had a Game
Boy." Lily elbowed me since I had brought my
Game Boy on the trip and have been playing it
obsessively. I think it was the "A"
music they played from the game, an unexpectedly
cool surprise. Any chance of getting this
released on mp3.com?
Eponine : Ah, an Ozma song I've
never heard. Well, it WAS new. Really really
really good. Awesome vocals. I need to track down
a copy of that song.
Turtleneck/Coverup : Another
unreleased Ozma track, this one I think from
earlier days. Ryen asked if he was allowed to
swear, to which the crowd responded with screams
and obscenities.
The show was awesome, and
the crowd was really great. Did anyone besides me
notice the girl screaming "Iceland!"
between every song? That's the only track I wish
they would've played, besides Lorraine. But wait,
this article is called meeting Ozma! I can't
leave that part out.
After deciding autographs
would be too geeky, I managed to sneak up behind
Ryen and say, "Hey." Expecting some 8
foot tall monster of rock, I found a guy who was
sort of like me(like I said, I barely new what
they looked like). "That was really
awesome," I told him.
Ryen
and I.
We talked about fame,
music, and the weather(yes, the weather). I asked
him if he was happy with the amount of popularity
the band had, and that I was trying to Ozma-fy
the state of Ohio. He told us about the show in
Sacramento, which we sadly couldn't go to since
the Bridge School
Benefit was the next day. Before I
parted, I managed to get an original setlist. I
told Ryen to keep up the awesome work.
Dan looked like he was
swamped with fans, so I looked around and the
only other Ozma member I saw was Star. I waved to
her and told her what a great job they did. I
also told her the sad fact that I was from Ohio,
and it would probably be a while before I saw
them again. I manged to get a picture, and I was
off.
Two
shadowy figures.
At this point, you're
probably thinking my narrative is running out of
steam. Well, it's over. Jose and Pat, sorry I
didn't get to meet you, maybe next time. Yes,
next time... And Ozma, next time I'm planning a
trip to Cali, I'll be sure to put you in my
itinerary. Rock out!
Special Thanks:
Ozma - You guys were great.
I hope I didn't scare you too much.
Lily - Thanks for putting up with me for seven
days.
GreenEggy - For getting me into Ozma
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