Show Journal 2003-06-21
Uhhh … hmmm … not too much to say about this one … solid bands, good pizza, nice people, and good music. Sometimes an uneventful evening is the best kind. Thanks to Conor, Evin and all our friends in the other bands!
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.
Show Journal 2003-06-05
I am a disgrace to our band. Seriously. We were having a great show, people were moving, we were rocking and at some point during the last part of our set I jumped in the air, came down and landed squarely on top of Dave’s broken ankle. Yep. 175 pounds careening onto the freshly fractured leg of our singer. As soon as I landed I felt a foot underneath me and I thought “please god let that be his other foot”. No dice. I could hear the shout of agony and pain over the drums and guitars followed by the shouting of the word ‘fuck’ into the microphone. We knew there was a risk of someone in the crowd stepping on Dave’s leg but a band mate doing it? I suck. I really, really suck. Aside from me being an idiot the show totally rocked. The Front stole the show with their punk assault and had everyone moving. Compact 56 was outstanding as usual and it’s always great to spend any amount of time with them. Big thanks to everyone who endured the heat and made this such an great show.
Show Journal 2003-06-03
Ahhhh yes another painfully hot evening at the Meow Meow. If you saw our news page recently then you are aware that Dave currently has a broken leg, a broken ankle and is in a cast for the next several weeks. Doctors orders are not to stand or do any physical activity so we had our friend (and one time guitar player in ’99) Lyle fill in on bass. The rationale was that if Dave is just singing he would be less likely to fall over, get knocked over or somehow injure himself more (if that was even possible). Lyle did great and even nailed the Day Of The Dead bass solo. Oddly enough a lot of people seemed to dig us as a 5 piece. It was kind of cool with Dave in a cast because he was limited on stage. When he’s fully mobile again he’ll probably start up on some euro/tribal/interpretive dance bullshit and then everyone will hate us. Anyway, onto the other bands. Low Tolerance was solid and catchy. Stereotyperider was great even though they didn’t play the Jane’s Addiction cover that I longed for. The Gamits were great (as usual). Different lineup every time I see them but I suppose the same goes for us recently. Bigwig was awesome even minus a guitar player. I’ve had their CD in constant rotation since November so it was nice to see them play songs I knew. The cover of ‘Waiting Room’ by Fugazi was great as well. Thanks to the usual peeps who helped put on the show!
Show Journal 2003-05-11
My neck hurts. Why you ask? Headbanging. Uncontrollable headbanging for an entire evening. The discomfort is partially because we hadn’t played in so damn long (3 1/2 months) but mostly due to the fact that all of the bands provoked this sort of response. Despite a flaky guitar amp CTL ruled. If you haven’t seen them you are foolish. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, just get your late pass and step. Damn it was nice to play again. Our whole set was kind of a blur, only occasionally interrupted by smiling faces and fists in the air. I can’t believe how much support we had and it was totally appreciated. (Now is a good time to give props to the PDX street team – you rocked!) The new songs went over well and the one we refer to as “the new metal song” appears to be everyone’s new favorite. Perhaps this was because we were at a hardcore show? Who cares, I like it. I only watched a few songs of Western Waste because quite honestly I thought I was going to vomit. This statement begs the question “Eric, why were you going to vomit?” however I’ve decided to leave it creepy and mysterious sounding with no explanation. Anyway, from what I heard they sounded good. This was my first Death By Stereo and it will not be my last. Here’s the thing about DBS … people don’t just like them passively … people LOVE them! I can totally see why too. They are amazing musicians, they have a million sing/shout along parts and their singer is insane on stage. My god they were good. There are too many thanks tonight to list individually so you’ll have to take it upon yourself to pat yourself on the back if you did any of the following: a) helped us load b) brought friends to the show c) sang along d) sold merch e) wore a shirt that said “kill eric” f) played drums or lastly g) crawled in the roof of our van with another female and simulated an orgasm while shouting “Eric, Eric, Eric”. Ah yes, it’s good to be king.
Show Journal 2003-01-25
Despite the surprisingly large crowd I’m not sure we really played as well as we could have. We did ok and the new songs went over well but ultimately I think we were all preoccupied with the fact that this was Dan’s last show with us. I don’t know if it showed on stage but I gotta confess my mind was somewhere else for much of the show. I’ll spare any further insight because it was still a good time. Big thanks to all the bands who played, particularly huge shot out to the hip hop group who’s name is escaping me, more thanks to Conor and crew, and the biggest thanks go to Sam and the EPD boys for setting up this rad show. I guess one last thank you should be reserved for Dan. Despite it not working out in 800 Octane I wish you the best!
Show Journal 2003-01-24
Good things about this show included all the cool people we met, the highly amusing and very rocking kids from Stand Off, getting to see (and apologize to) Brandon from Mass Productions, finally having a request for ‘Get In The Van’ at a show and the large assortment of backstage food which included lasagna, salad, chips, m&m’s, coke, gatorade, water and red vines. Some lesser points included our slow and sloppy renditions of our normally easy to play songs, the wet and slow drive to Corvallis and the late start time. All in all a pretty good evening. Thanks to James and crew for making this show happen!
Show Journal 2003-01-17
I really thought this show was going to be great and at approximately 10:02 PM I watched my high expectations turn into the dismal reality of being an unwelcome band in front of an apathetic and intoxicated crowd. We actually started off strong opening with ‘Kelvis’. Beer was spilled and bodies were moving. By the second song people realized something was amiss. They wanted long hair and metal. We had neither to offer and soon the projectiles began to fly. For each can, cup and lit cigarette that was tossed at us we cut another song on the set list. We finished 9 songs in just over 20 minutes and that was more than enough. Truth be told we actually did get a lot of compliments from people but sadly the section of the crowd that didn’t like us was the more vocal section. Dave tried to rationalize things afterwards by saying that “sometimes people throw beer on bands they like”. That is often a true statement (especially at Zak’s) but not tonight. All that came to mind was the line from the Blues Brothers … “those lights are off on purpose”. We watched Pornstore Janitor’s set and bailed. I really hate bands that do that but we really needed a change of scenery. After returning to Kevin’s crib, we ordered 120 hot wings, many drinks and did our best to forget our excursion to Zak’s. Despite my complaining we do want to thank Brian and Janitor Jon for hooking up the show.
Show Journal 2003-01-11
Whoa … people at the Satyricon … what the hell? For the uninitiated the show tonight featured some of the bands that listen to (and call into) the Rick Emerson show in Portland on 1080 AM. The main attraction of the evening (and the cause of the large crowd) was of course the appearance of Rick himself and his band called ‘The Tim Riley Factor’. Lots of bands, lots of music, lots of funny commentary and even a fight or two. This was easily the most fun we’ve ever had playing at the Satyricon and since Rick is a huge Ramones fan we even learned a cover just for the occasion. I gotta reserve most of my praise for Pornstore Janitor as they totally rocked. They just get better and better with each show and the fire dancers was a nice touch. Big thanks to Paul for hooking us up with the show and even more thanks to Rick and staff for all the support.
Show Journal 2003-01-04
My god … where do I start on this one? Initially we were supposed to be headlining an all day 9 band show in Creswell, OR. We ended up playing in Springfield at someone’s house for 10 people. How you ask? I’m not quite sure but here’s my account of the story. I woke up to an e-mail from the promoter of the show asking me to call him. He informed me that 3 of the bands cancelled, more specifically the 3 bands that I most wanted to see. I would have cancelled us too, but the guy jumped through some hoops and ladders to get us the show and in a good time slot. Anyway … Justin had to work today so we sent Dave and Dan to the show early with the van and the gear while Justin and I drove separately. We got out of town around 4:30 and got a call from Dave. I asked how the show was going and Dave responded with one word … “terrible”. He went on to inform me that there were maybe 12 people there at most and half of them were parents. The show was in a gymnasium and the vocals were running through the overhead PA. Not a real sound system but those little 6″ white circular speakers you see in schools and office buildings. The sound quality was somewhere in between a blown out dashboard speaker and a hissing snake. To make matters worse 3 more bands cancelled!!! Six bands cancelled the show!!! Despite all logic the guy running the show had the bands play as they got there. So there was a band, a gap, another band and another indefinite gap until another band (us) showed up. Not a good plan for anyone involved. By the time we got to Salem we checked in with Dave again and apparently there was only 2 people remaining. They were about ready to pack it up and come home early (we were still an hour away) then someone at the show says “hey, if we can find a PA would you want to play at my house instead?” To make a long story short that’s exactly what we ended up doing. Dave, Dan and the local Eugene crew found a PA, gathered up some friends and we all met up at Jaron’s house to play some songs. Jaron’s band played a few songs (quite well I might add) and then we played a few songs until the neighbors threatened to call the cops. Nothing quite as satisfying as hearing the phone ring in between songs and the caller ID says it’s your impatient, annoying, elderly neighbor. At one point Jaron answered and asked that she doesn’t call the cops because we were almost done. 2 minutes later … ring, ring. (On a side note … how bad could it be to hear music from next door for maybe 25 minutes? Christ, it’s early on a Saturday night … mind your own business. Turn on the TV, listen to the radio, have a conversation, do something constructive other than sitting around looking for a reason to bitch at your neighbors.) We had to call it quits after 6 songs but I guess that’s ok. We played all of Crozz’s requests so that’s good enough for us. Playing tonight was so-so but I think we had the most fun just hanging out waiting to play. We had pizza, we quoted ‘Office Space’, we discussing kids urinating in public and we watching Justin belch into an unplugged microphone. Making the show happen was the real achievement tonight, not the actual performance. Anyway, big thanks to everyone who helped to save us from wasting 4 hours at that damn Creswell show. It actually ended being a pretty fun evening!
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