Show Journal 2004-10-31
Can’t believe it’s been a year since last year’s Halloween show in Longview. Despite being on a Sunday the show this year was pretty cool. We opted to dress as if we had come straight from the grave complete with dirty, torn suits, and of course the mandatory serving of blood. It was nice to see so many good costumes in the crowd. Admittedly if it weren’t for this band I probably wouldn’t have dressed up, so props to everyone who did. We’d played with most of the bands on the bill before so it was nice to share the evening with some familiar faces. Our set was fun but strangely chaotic due to the number of people on stage. We found out the hard way that there’s really not much room to move with people huddled all around you. It was cool seeing so many people sing along. All in all the show rocked. On a slightly more personal note, tonight was Jim’s farewell show. We’ve come a long way and done a lot of things since he’s been in the band so it’ll be a little weird to try and play music with anyone else. It sucks to part ways with your friends (from the band at least) but the real world keeps going and sometimes people gotta move on. Since you aren’t ever going to hear me on a microphone at a show, I’ll take this chance to say thank you to Jim for everything over the past few years.
Show Journal 2004-10-30
I can’t even tell you how glad I was to be able to play Richland this year on Halloween weekend. Shows there are usually pretty nuts and we knew it would be extra crazy with people in costumes and practically swimming in fake blood. For us, this show freaking rocked. Probably one of the biggest shows we’ve had up there yet, and quite possibly one of the rowdiest. I can’t even begin to say how much I enjoyed this show. Thanks to Dan for filling in, Jon for selling merch, Dustin for having us (and letting us dine from his hot dog machine afterwards), the mighty Toxie, and everyone who was willing to let Dave spit blood all over them.
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Thanks to everyone who came out to the two Misfits shows. Next up are our Halloween shows in Richland on the 30th and Longview on the 31st. Be sure to check out the Longview one in particular as it will be our last show with Jim on drums! His road case company, Caseworks, has taken off so we’re actually going to be parting ways on pretty good terms. Unfortunately this means we’ll be taking some time off to look for a new drummer so if you or someone you know wants to play drums for a band like ours then have them e-mail us. In the mean time come check out our two remaining shows this month!
Show Journal 2004-10-19
Tonight was our second show with The Misfits (aka The Misfit). The venue for this one was a lot bigger complete with a much bigger stage and lots of bright lights. The turnout was pretty good, but certainly would have been better if it didn’t fall on a Tuesday night. As guessed the show was pretty damn fun. We actually got to hang out with Dez and Jerry a little bit “backstage” which was really the highlight of the evening for us. The funniest moment is when Jerry told us that we “always dress so sharp”. That’s ironic because the only time we’ve ever dressed up was for these two shows. Not to mention I never got a chance to wash my clothes so although I might have looked sharp, I probably smelled like ass. Aside from Justin jumping and landing on the monitor and twisting his ankle the set was pretty fun. Last Second Left were pretty cool and super nice guys as well. Thanks to everyone who showed up early on a Tuesday and thanks to the Misfits and crew.
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Wow, thanks to everyone who came to the Portland show w/ the Misfits last night. If anyone is looking for some entertainment we are playing with them again on Tuesday in Bend.
Show Journal 2004-10-16
I can’t believe we got to play with the Misfits. The first song I ever learned on guitar was a Misfits song. The first song I ever played in front of people was a Misfits song. Every time our band has recorded we’ve done a Misfits song. We’ve been covering Misfits songs at our shows since we started. I absolutely love that band and I think it would be a serious understatement to say I was just a little excited about this show. Yeah, sure there’s only one Misfit left in the band, but seeing Marky Ramone and Dez from Black Flag in the lineup was a fair trade off. To be honest I had already had a great show before we ever played. With the exception of the screeching noise that deafened everyone for 15 seconds our set went really well. The shirts and ties seemed like a good idea but good lord it was freaking hot on stage with two shirts. The best part was that people were actually moving during our set and I couldn’t have been happier to see that. Poison Idea was second and to be honest I still can’t believe we got to play with them either. They are a huge influence for bands around here and everywhere else as well. The Misfits were last and nothing else needs to be said. Major thanks to everyone who showed up early, those who traveled from Longview and Richland and everyone who got stuck outside during our set because of the security. I can’t believe we get to do it again on Tuesday.
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We’ve got some new shirts and stickers. Check ’em out at our merchandise page. Also, due to some miscommunication the Eugene show on the 22nd is cancelled. Bummer.
Show Journal 2004-10-08
First TSOL, now the UK Subs. It’s been really cool to get to play with all these influential and amazing bands. I couldn’t believe a) how nice the UK Subs were and b) how much they could still rock. I gotta make a special mention the age because the guitar player is 50 and can jump higher than Justin. More impressive still was the singer who is over 60 (!!!) and still gets up there and rocks the crowd like no one’s business. I hate to sound corny but it was really inspirational in a way. Rest of the show … no Red Flags went first and they have come a long way since the Brother Spud days. I would have watched more but the Ash Street burger wreaked havoc on my insides and I had to go wandering the lower Burnside bar area in search of a half way sanitary restroom. If you live in the area you’ll understand what a daunting proposition this is. Statch was second and has always been a pleasure to watch since we met them back in the EJ’s days. We were third and I thought we did pretty well. A few people were singing along including the masked bandit El Santo. Somehow I suspect El Santo wasn’t supposed to be in the bar but your secret is safe with us. The new Ash Street stage was cool, the sound was good and all in all it was probably the best response we’ve had at a bar show in ages. Best part about our set was that the UK Subs seemed to dig us. Colin overheard Charlie saying that we were “shit hot”. We think it was a compliment and will take it as such. The Subs were on right around midnight and as I mentioned they sounded amazing. They’ve got that perfect old school sound but it’s still melodic and rocks … ahhh … so good. Glad I finally got to see them on their last tour ever!
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The pics from the tour are posted. Check them out on the pictures page in the ‘2004 Tour’ section. Also, we’ve gotten a lot of e-mail about Halloween. We are actually playing two shows that weekend. One in Richland on the 30th and one in Longview on the 31st. Different nights, different sets, maybe even different costumes, try and check one (or both) out. Speaking of shows we just added a second date with The Misfits on October 19th in Bend!!!
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After one last twelve hour drive we are home from tour hopefully in time to catch the impending eruption of Mt. St Helens. Overall the tour was a sucess. No major mishaps and we manged to play in 8 new cities and return to 4 other towns we hadn’t played in since 2002. Pictures and show journals will be added later in the week. Huge props to Thirty3 for letting us play with them for the first week. Even bigger thanks to Dan for filling in on drums for the second week of shows. Show your support and check out his real band Alliance.
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