Show Journal 2006-05-06
Interesting show tonight. Everything looked promising enough when we arrived as we spotted Breathe Fire outside with a crowd of people around them after wrapping up their set. When the first band has an excited crowd you know it’s going to be a good night. The Mediks were up second and sounded great but as well as they played everyone just kept leaving until there were about 20 people left inside. Weird. The Sun was up third. They are not a punk band. Not even close. They have an album on a major label (Warner Brothers), are on a national tour, have a light show, a fog machine and matching white outfits. They actually had a pretty decent sound to them and under different circumstances I might have actually enjoyed them. Tonight all I saw was a band that started setting up at 8:40 and got off the stage at 9:40 when there were two more bands to play that had to be wrapped up by 10:00. Their set was short but the set up and break down time was ridiculous. Leaving the stage before their set to play 5 minutes of warm up music on the PA and change clothes was not the best idea considering their slot in the lineup and time constraints. Big show headlining a major venue? Sure. Playing 3rd of 5 at the Melrose Grange in Roseburg, OR? Not a good idea. Technically they were good and everybody loved them but all I could see was a band who took way too fucking long and took themselves way too seriously. They signed autographs all night long and outsold every other band 3 to 1 so maybe there is something to be said for the rock star approach? Perhaps we should take notes. Like I said, any other night I would have been pleasantly surprised. The Vacation was up 4th and played 70’s style full on ‘rock out with your cock out’ rock and roll. I was surprised when I discovered they weren’t actually touring in a fleet of Trans-Am’s. They sounded pretty solid and people were definitely into them. We played last and it felt like amateur hour. Why were we playing after two singed bands on a national tour? God only knows. I guess the set was ok. Chelsey rocked the mic, Dave insulted the crowd but no matter how hard we tried we couldn’t look comfortable playing in front of the greenhouse wall painting. The drive home was quick as we played “would you rather” for the last two hours of the trip. I’ll have you know Dave is very good at that game and actually got a few “neither” responses out of us. Thanks to Carlson for putting on the show and having us down there. Despite my prior whining we really do appreciate it. Next time can we play before the bands on Warner Brothers? Seriously though, thanks to everyone else who stayed late to watch up play!
Show Journal 2006-04-29
God damn I love Richland. The drive up was nutty. There was tons of rain, then lots of rainbows and a wind advisory in the already windy Gorge area. So windy that we actually saw a semi that had flipped over the median and was on it’s side on both sides of the highway. Hope it wasn’t Dan. When we crossed the bridge into WA there was a creepy and ominous fog everywhere that looked really cool. We forgot to bring CD’s and at one point resorted to discussing Juggalos for the better part for ten minutes. Just a strange drive all around, but we were on time and that’s a first. Daggermouth ended up cancelling so in a strange twist of fate we learned BXF (who we played with last night) was in Richland playing a bar show, so we got them to open our show as well. People didn’t really know what to think of them, but they had a crowd and that’s a plus. As they finished we walked over to Hastings where I located a replica of the Bluesmobile that I immediately purchased. I told everyone that would listen about it, but no one else seemed impressed. Broadway Calls was awesome. After a month of touring they are rock solid. Such a great band with such a great sound. Countdown To Life still holds a special place in my heart, but I do like seeing Broadway Calls just as much. We played last and in typical Tri-Cities fashion the show was insane. Fists, shoving, jumping, stage diving, and a new achievement … girls making out on stage. The bar gets higher with every show at Ray’s. Eventually Dave drove the ladies away by insulting them but that’s just how he rolls. We did some more 800 Octane karaoke since Dave’s voice was toast and man some people can sing. Yotes and Andy M in particular rocked the mic hard on several occasions. On guy brought a “new” lawn gnome to the show for us to approve of. Too funny. Thank a million to those who stayed late and for Dustin and crew for all the help.
Show Journal 2006-04-28
Super fun show but terribly sloppy. We missed 48 Thrills which sucked since we got them on the show. They said it was ok and claimed to have enjoyed themselves, so we’re thankful for that. The Burning Room sounded pretty thick and it was amusing watching the singer sing from “the bridge”. Of course they loaded out and were long gone before the next band even finished setting up. If you don’t care for any of the other bands why even take the show? Pinkzilla was third and I gotta say I was impressed. Real scrappy, heavy and raw. Kind of like ‘Bleach’ era Nirvana but with a blast of Motorhead. Tuning to drop C always adds an edge. Very cool. Extra impressive seeing that if I heard correctly they are still in high school. BXF was third and despite the 45 minute setup time it was nice to see them again. They seem to have finally found their sound and people really dug them and were shouting along. We were up last and although musically it wasn’t real tight most everyone there seemed to be having fun. Lots of sing alongs to help ease Dave’s shot voice. Special props to the 48 Thrills vocal cameo on Paging Mr. Bronson. No thanks to the 48 Thrills junk sighting at the gas station after the show. Dave was in rare comedic form this evening picking on just about everyone and everything. Speaking of comedy, everyone be thankful you are not Taylor and Michelle. They drove out from Portland, discovered they had a slow leak in their tire, blew the alternator and then broke down on the 405 at 1:00 AM only to be picked up by a creepy tow truck driver. It’s ironic that our van that was totally incapable of motion on Thursday fared better than their car. Thanks to the bands and Mikey from NW Punks!
Living Large. Extra Large.
Are you a big person? If so XL hoodies are going for $15 with shipping. A few other items have lower prices as well. Check it out here.
Show Journal 2006-04-23
Fantastic show tonight. We were ok but the other bands were the reason this show was great. I missed Shook Ones but everyone said they totally killed it. I have the album in my possession and am anxious to hear it due to all of the good responses from everyone. The Loved Ones was the band I was most excited about and they sounded great. They were every bit as impressive as their CD live. I wish they were a little bit taller (and wish they were ballers) so I could see them play so they have earned the title of “best band I have heard but not seen” in a long time. Paint It Black was the main draw and they too were every bit as incredible as their albums and even surpassed them in intensity which is a feat in itself. “Memorial Day” is now officially the best live song ever (although ‘True Believers’ by Bouncing Souls would be a damn close second). It’s not often you get to play with two of your favorite bands so I’m humbled, thrilled and feeling good about this evening as a whole. Thank you Chris.
Paint it Black / Loved Ones and us?
Next Sunday is the motherlode of all awesome shows. Paint It Black, The Loved Ones and The Shook Ones. Even if we weren’t playing, this would be the show we are most looking forward to this year. If by chance you have been living in a closet and haven’t heard these bands, go download a song, mark your calendar and prepare to be schooled by PIB and The Loved Ones.
Show Journal 2006-04-15
Tonight marked two Seattle shows in a year which is definitely a record for us. Our old once every two years strategy had a few flaws. The drive up was pretty hairy. There was lots of wind and raid. We saw a flipped car, a car backwards in the median and later a cop car wrapped around a tree. Craziest moment was right outside of Seattle at Boeing Field when a SUV driving in the left lane for seemingly no reason drove a wheel up onto the dividing wall, crashed down, spun half way around and drifted to the middle lane. Thank god for right hand driving or we would be an oil slick on the pavement right now. I think that was closest I’ve ever come to being in a highway speed accident. On the home we also saw a car that had driven down an on ramp the wrong way into traffic and got worked. The other strange thing about the drive? There were lots of rainbows. Seriously, it’s sounds odd but I’ve never seen so many in my life. We arrived with incident (or a pot of gold) loaded in and watching the show. Good to see Plankton Beat again and CLR sounded pretty good as well. Normally I’d offer my usual “I wish I had started that young speech” but you’ve heard it before. I was looking forward to seeing the Dead Vampires and truly were impossible to describe. All sported bunny costumes on top of their ‘regular’ costumes which consisted of a skeleton, a vampire, a devil and someone who apparently normally dresses as an evil rabbit. The music was sort of like The Cramps but sort of not. It was nice to see something new for a change. The only weird thing was when the bass player arrived after 30 minutes with only two songs to go. If you are that dude wouldn’t you just cut your losses and stay home? My god, if one of us did that they would never hear the end of it. Anyway, we were up 4th and did alright. The crowd response seemed to make a gentle downward slope the whole night though but we played on. I think I saw Justin jump again which must have felt nice after being immobilized for so many weeks. The Independents were last and did great as usual. It was cool getting to play three shows in a row with one of the nicest bands we’ve ever met and we wish them the best of luck on their tour (3 months total!). After the show we headed up for Dick’s where I came dangerously close to having a breakdown after being forced to make 5 u-turns in Seattle’s city center trying to find the hamburger mecca. Dustin also showed us his “no hands” urination style. Thanks to Greg and Local Chaos for setting up the show, Zac and Monica, Kelvis, Chris, MC Michalor for making the long and treacherous trip and of course The Independents for reminding us why we enjoy doing this.
Show Journal 2006-04-14
Longview. Finally. After two cancellations it was nice to be back. Hard to believe it had been 9 months. The show tonight was a blast. Reid’s was eerily clean. It smelled like some sort of cleaning product which is good since it usually smells like a combination of urine and stale cigarette smoke. The bathroom odor is fiiting since the sound is descrbed to be that of a flushing toilet. The first band (who’s name I totally didn’t catch) sounded good. Everyone seemed into them and that’s always good way to start the show. We were up second and all I can say is that it was nice to be back in the LV again. Thank you so much to everyone who enjoyed themselves. You totally made our nights. The Independents were great again and were equally thankful for the enthusiastic response. Quote of the night was from Dave in the van. We were reminiscing about the first time we met The Independents when Dave remarked that Evil looked like a barbarian because “he had long flowing hair, a crazy beard and was covered in furs.” Thanks to all who attended and super thanks to TJ for all the years of hard work at booking shows. Anyone who has ever enjoyed a show in Longview should take a second to thank TJ and Suckerpunch Records. It is a totally thankless job, so on behalf of us, thank you for everything TJ.
Show Journal 2006-04-13
Although this was the smallest show I’ve ever seen at the Ash Street, strangely it was one of the most fun. Off With Their Heads (from Minnesota) was up first and even though they weren’t too pleased with their set I thought they rocked. Justin agreed. Very Dillinger 4 influenced and that’s a good thing. I also loved the Mediks. Tight, catchy, quirky and fast. I would definitely like to see them again sometime. They are going on a tour w/ Broadway Calls so look for them. Our set was uneventful. We played a few older ones but if no one is there is to hear the songs then does it really matter? Truth be told it was fun and I’m glad to see Justin is finally a little more mobile on stage. Still no jumping but we no longer have the risk of him toppling over in mid song. The Independents were up last and thankfully a few more people came out of the woodwork for their set. You could tell every band was bummed about the turnout but they didn’t show it and just killed it. I think that’s what separates the men from the boys, being able to throw down for a handful of people. Sadly we are still boys in that regard. There was a little drama during their set which made it unusually lively. At some point some random jerk started mouthing off to Evil P which is not a good idea since Evil is very big man. There were also some issues with the insanely intoxicated bass player from OWTH who in his drunken stupor decided to pick on Dave and wound up with his head pressed against the floor. As if touching bare skin to the disease and filth ridden floor of the Ash Street wasn’t humiliating enough he got up and tried messing with Dave again only to find himself carried out of the club by his throat and thrown to the curb. Seriously, of everyone there why would you choose Dave to pick on? You could probably get away with that shit on me, but why the big guy with the shaved head? The other guys in the band were totally apologetic and we all got a good laugh out of it afterwards. Thanks for Heather for all the hard work setting up the show!
The Independents are coming for us.
We’ve got 3 shows with The Independents this weekend. If you like punk, rock, ska or anything horror related check them out. One of the most entertaining live bands ever!
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