Show Journal 1998-02-03
I’d really like to write about how great our show was, but it was overshadowed by another event. It turns out that a guy named Billy, a long time employee and local at EJ’s died last night. Most of the people at EJ’s tonight were there to mourn and pay their respects, not to see music. There were a bunch of flowers at the bar. It was really awkward because even though we had met him several times, we still didn’t feel like we really belonged there. We felt some attachment because he was in the same “scene,” but detached on a personal level because he wasn’t a long time friend of ours like every one else there. Given the circumstances and atmosphere the show went fine (as all shows at EJ’s do) it was just unfortunate for the reason behind the crowd.
Show Journal 1998-01-22
This was the best local show I have seen in Portland to date … period. The Leeches rock. Elmer rocks. Bomf! really rocks. The crowd rocked. The bathroom didn’t rock, but who cares when everything else was so good. It was such a fun show. Thanks to everyone who came and made this such a great night.
Show Journal 1997-12-30
I should have known this was going to be a bad night when the sound guy asked me “are you a rock band?” Bad show indeed. In fact the only good thing was that we only live 2 blocks from the club which means a brief walk to clean bathrooms. A rare treat in the music scene. Anyway, Rexsole was pretty cool … even Loree says so. If you like happy music go see them.
Show Journal 1997-11-20
The cool thing about being in a band is that you get to see a lot of shows. Some are boring, some are long, some are lame, but every now and again you get to see a really really good show. The kind of show where none of the bands suck and everyone there appears to be having fun. Tonight was one of those rare nights. We got to play with The Leeches, The Blackouts and Elmer. If you haven’t heard of Elmer before you will some day. They play a weird mix of country and punk that is hard not to like. Catchy fast and funny. But anyway, it was another good night at EJ’s. I’m glad to hear they aren’t closing after all!
Show Journal 1997-11-15
Things to know about playing in a record store … its usually too loud, its usually too small, its usually too hot, the sound is usually bad and generally not many people show up. Hmmmm – sounds like a typical show. No, actually record store shows usually end up being the most fun, because you never know what to expect. Thanks to Brent from Bomf for setting up the show and a big meteorological thanks to The Leeches for explaining El Nino to us and then managing to rock through the unseasonably warm indoor temperatures.
Show Journal 1997-10-24
Tonight we played at a roller skating rink with light up walls and a disco ball. The deal was 2 DJ’s and 2 bands. A weird idea with an equally weird vibe. There was a couple hundred kids there, but most were between the ages of 14-17. If that wasn’t strange enough, about half were there for the bands and half for the mtv puff daddy dance party mix. Anyway, despite the terrible dance music the show went fine. A lot of the kids really seemed to have fun so that kinda made the show for us (its not everyday you see a pit in a roller skating rink). Thrust wasn’t quite as fortunate … their set got cut after only 20 minutes. This was met by the cheers of ‘fuck you’ and ‘bullshit’ directed towards the owner. Anyway, 20 minutes was probably all it took to school most of these kids in the ways of real punk rock. After the show (and an encounter with Bend’s west side posse) we crashed as Thrust’s fly pimp palace. The thing is a shrine to music and skateboarding. We wasted the night away delving into deep discussion about everything from snowboarding at Bachelor to the physiological implications of the mother nut. If you are ever in Bend, keep an eye out for these guys … they will rock you.
Show Journal 1997-10-20
Playing with Moral Crux in Marty’s garage … what a cool show. According to Marty this was the best show ever to come to his place (too bad he missed half of it). It was kinda nice to see so many people come out in such a small town. I’m not quite sure what the deal was with the crowd and wrestling, but it sure was interesting. Anyway … the show — the show went good, we both got to play with no cops arriving until we both had finished. If you ever get a chance to see Moral Crux, go, because they are really good. They are on a bunch of comps including one on Lookout! records. By the way … their bass player is a Grade A bad ass. Anyway, the show was fun, but getting to hang out with guys was definitely the highlight of it all. They have been together since ’88 and had all kinds of tales to tell … people they pick on, driving their ambulance and watching people get sodomized my microphones. All in all a good evening.
Show Journal 1997-10-12
Not too much was happening at EJ’s tonight. I think the highlight of the evening was watching the Leeches play. They’ve gotten pretty darn good since we last played with them. If Jeff the bartender is reading this … WOO!
Show Journal 1997-09-28
Another fun Sunday night show at EJ’s. I wish every show was at EJ’s. I’ve gotta take a second to say how good Los Mex Pistols was. Their lead guitar player is bordering on god status. Tonight’s highlight actually revolved around the men’s bathroom. On the wall by the urinal someone had scribbled the “here I sit broken hearted” rhyme (which I’m not gonna finish) and under it someone had written “You shouldn’t be sitting here!” in huge letters. Well … OK … maybe its not that funny after all.
Show Journal 1997-09-26
Bend rules! Period. We had so much fun playing at the Evil Sister Saloon I can’t even begin to describe it. Thrust just plain old rocks …. on stage and off. They played your basic fast, skate punk music, but you can just tell they are having a fun time doing it. We had so much fun hanging out with those guys it was to bad we had to leave. Nigel did pretty well too – with a cameo on drums by Satan. Thanks Bend!
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