I survived Mea Culpa and the Cripples, but just as Sicko took the stage and kicked into their first song, "Where I Live," I really began to feel like death. The pesky postnasal drip that had attacked my throat and sinuses earlier that morning had evolved from a drip to a full-on downpour--ewww. I couldn't stop coughing, and with the pounding behind my eyes and all my sore muscles, I was absolutely miserable.But I'm pretty tough, and I wasn't about to let some stupid cold ruin all my fun. No way. I had been waiting for a good two years to finally see Sicko live again, and with or without a throatful of snot, I was gonna see Sicko!
The legendary local pop-punk three-piece played their "last show" in early August of 1998, and no thanks to a part-time job at a daycare center, I was unable to attend. But two years later, Sicko fans everywhere rejoiced when the band surprisingly regrouped for a "one time only" appearance at the Old Fire House in Redmond (a benefit for Kate Becker, who had lost her house to arson a month before the show).
I went to that show and pushed my way right up in front, not minding at all that my knees were getting slammed against the stage with every sudden rush from the crowd behind me. I knew it was going to be the first and last time I would see one of my favorite bands live. How sad.
But after yet another two-year hiatus, the band regrouped for one more surprising reunion, playing a show at the Sunset in Ballard! Since then, the band has regularly popped up in the calendar listings, meaning us longtime Sicko fans can finally stop looping the 1994 release You Can Feel the Love in This Room and actually catch some of our favorites (like "The Sprinkler" and "Bad Year") live.
It was such a good show that halfway through the set I almost forgot about my killer cold. Then I sneezed. And sneezed again. And again. The set ended, and I had to make the freezing journey back to my car in the pouring rain. That's when I remembered what death felt like. It felt like this--a lump of snot in a very sore throat. But if I were to have died, out there alone in the cold, at least I'd have died happy, thanks to Sicko. MEGAN SELING
