Eric's Show Journal - posted on June 14, 2003 by

Show Journal 2003-06-14

8 months is too long to go without a Longview show. I had almost forgotten about the crowds and shows there. The locals there don’t realize it but Longview is the mythical land where people actually come to shows, don’t care about what genre of music you play and actually try and have fun at shows. Those are several qualities that this hometown of ours often lacks. Rumor has it tonight was the biggest show of the year and in all the times we’ve been to Reid’s I would say that seemed about right. 2 Men Dead rocked. I’ve never heard such a huge wall of sound come from two people before. Himsa was incredible. I just sat there thinking “there is no way they can get heavier than that last song”. Then the would play the next song and it would be heavier. Then I’d say “ok, really there is no way it’ll get heavier than that last song” and then it would. Incredible. If you like your music fast and loud they should be your new favorite band. As always Countdown ripped it up. Their shows in Longview are consistently some of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I am a huge fan of their band anytime they play but watching them play in their hometown just magnifies their energy and sound about 10 times. It’s insane. It’s makes me feel old. It makes me feel inadequate. It’s makes me want to start a circle pit. Somewhere in the middle we actually played some songs too. I felt like we were the comic relief in a sea of hardcore, noise and anger but alas we all had a great time. First off I should take a bow for not jumping on Dave’s broken ankle tonight. What’s weird is that after some discussion we came to the conclusion that in all these years I hadn’t ever landed on Dave’s ankle until last week. Go figure. We played 3 new songs tonight and they all seemed to go over well. It’s always great seeing people attempt to sing the words to songs they have never heard before. It’s even funnier when that person is Dave. All in all a good night. The only real disappointment was after we left when we tried to go to Jack In The Box and our van wouldn’t fit in the drive through. Being teased with the fresh fragrance of fried fast food is especially cruel when you are very hungry. We had to wait until we got back to Portland before finding an accessible drive through. In a stange last minute decision I opted for fish and chips and they were actually quite disgusting. Just thought everyone should know that. Again, big thanks to the CTL boys for hooking us up with this show.