Black Flag - Ritz Theatre, Tampa, FL, June 15th 1985

06-15-85 TAMPA FL: Yesterday was Miami. Pretty busy. College radio interview, in-store talking thing. Place so hot that we had to take a break two-thirds of the way through. A girl up front passed out and was carried out. There was one boy in the bathroom who was real wasted. He just stared into the sink and played with the water. People were snorting some kind of shit in the stalls, I don’t know what. I asked one of the guys who was snorting. He didn’t know what it was either.
Drove all night to Tampa. Woke up sweating. Clothes and blankets wet, a bowl of something dumped in my shoes. I got out of the Ryder and pissed in the road. I walked around, trying to figure out where I was. I walked down an alley. Rats darting for cover, garbage and old cars. Playing in another slum.
All of the places I go in Florida are slums. I took a walk around today. Most of the places are boarded up and closed down. Blacks and Cubans on the street. When I am on the street walking around, I always hear Madonna blasting out of a car or a store. Madonna’s everywhere. She is a celestial body. In the big cities and slums, Madonna is there, just like Sister Theresa, making our day just a little brighter. Making us forget about the rats and the garbage. I stink. I am sitting here in my wet, greasy clothes and I can smell myself. I have no friends besides myself. None. I made that decision today. People turn, pull attitudes, lie, don’t come through. I see it all. Every fucking second of it and I hate it.
I know some great people, some of whom I trust. They are ok by me. I always watch them to see when they will betray me. I have only one friend. Myself. I am always amused and amazed at how hostile and abusive people can be. When it happens at Black Flag shows, that’s the strangest. There are all these people there to see you and they will give you shit, try to hurt you and try to rip you off. This shit used to turn me off from playing. But now, shit, I can handle it because I know where these people are at. That’s cool. I don’t trust them an inch and I never have problems with them. But it’s a lonely place I have put myself in. Why? Because I am sick of letdowns, lies, deceit and betrayal. I will maintain and support Fort Rollins forever.