We were supposed to watch the Smashing Pumpkins last Friday night at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Unfortunately, fate intervened. Having no desire to see any of the opening bands, and knowning the Smashing Pumpkins like to start late, we didn’t leave for the show until 8:30pm. The hour drive to Oakland should still given us plenty of time to see the concert. But who knew things were really happening in Oakland that night?!?!
The drive to Oakland wasn’t bad, the usual hour trip down a crazy 880. As we approached the Fox Theater on Telegraph though, things became a bit more complex. Crowds of people lined the sidewalks for several blocks down Telegraph. They were streaming out from somewhere but even when we made our way further down Telegraph, we couldn’t tell where the crowd originated from. It was a good mix of people too, both young and old. No protest signs, not like apparel, just a crowd of people. We made our way around the area hoping to find parking and trying to avoid the crowds. But each and parking lot we hit was full. And street parking was non-existent. We gave it a good hour of driving around before realizing we weren’t going to find safe parking.
This isn’t the first concert we’ve eaten the tickets on. Last year we didn’t make it to a Corrine Bailey Rae concert – on purpose. We were just too tired from working that day. And one time I missed Garbage because of a flat tire. I would have surely liked to have seen the Smashing Pumpkins this go around, as I heard they played mostly new tunes. Oh well, perhaps next time.