Yesterday I went to see Thievery Corp and Massive Attack playing at the Greek Theater in Berkeley. “See” is actually the wrong word. I went to “hear” them. Tickets were $65 with tax and I just couldn’t bring myself to spend my oh-so-lavish graduate fellowship on bands that I had already “seen. ” Luckily, the topography of The People’s Republic of Berkeley is advantageous to cheapskates like myself. The sloping hills right across from the Greek Theater offer: a) great views of the San Francisco Bay, day or night; b) a place for smoking weed and guzzling cheap wine; c) some grassy patches where the drunk and the stoned could sit, rest, lie down, watch the clouds – pink with the reflected lights of the city – float by, and sleep; d) the greatest spot to hear the bands playing at the Greek Theater (God bless outdoor venues!) without paying a cent (except for the aforementioned wine and pot). To all those college kids rattling their jewelry in the 65-dollar seats: you missed the time of your life.

OK. I have to make an admission here. My friend Angel and I didn’t bring any weed or wine. The closest liquor store was six blocks away and we were too lazy – and hung over from the previous night – to make the trip. So we just sat on that grassy patch, completely sober, listening to “Dissolved Girl” and “Inertia Creeps,” watching the lights of San Francisco in the distance and the red taillights of the commuters on the Bay Bridge, while the scent of weed was invitingly wafting all around us. I felt like a poor kid in a candy store. We were finally saved by a group of Russians who overheard us speak Bulgarian and offered us some of their портвейн. God bless Slavs!

“Hey, listen, this is my song,” Angel said.

“What song?”

“Angel.”

Right. So this is how most of the night went. Good, free music. Great views. Some Russian port-wine. I heard Martina Topley-Bird sing “Teardrop” and I wish I could have seen her as well, but for that purpose there’s also YouTube.