Show Journal 2001-04-20
Back to Anderson after almost a year. Our past shows there had been absolutely incredible and we were dying to return. In fact we were so excited we drove all the way from Portland to Redding (about 7 hours) just for this one show. The show was supposed to start at 6:00 but there was some mix up about the start time so it ended up starting around 7:30. The first band finished playing and then everyone was forced to sit and wait 45 minutes for the drummer of band number three. How is this possible? Band number two was using the drum set of band number three so everyone there (including band number four) had to sit around and wait for the arrival of the drum set. Eventually it finally arrived and life was good again. In fact life was real good because Hand Over Fist rocked so hard that it was almost scary. Those guys ruled. The bad news was that due to the delay they had to cut their set short which was a shame since they played so well. Hand Over Fist was cut short, but Spent was the band that really got screwed tonight. They were told they could only play 10 minutes since they held everyone up. Ouch! They ended up playing a few extra songs but the thing that really sucked for them was that they had to play without their second guitar player. Rumor has it he was at the show at one point but he never returned to play so they had to play without him. Note to Justin … please don’t ever do that! They pulled it off ok and I thought they sounded pretty good. Due to all of the delays a lot of people had taken off by the time we played so the crowd was down to about 25 or 30 people. The crowd size was a little disappointing but I think we all still had fun. Rumor has the low turnout was due to two factors, 1) a huge car show in Redding and 2) the fact it was 4/20 and people wanted to “party”. Speaking of which at exactly 4:20 on 4/20 we were in Weed, CA getting gas. Crazy huh? Anyway, back to the show, we played three songs and then just started taking requests for the rest of the show. It’s always cool when people know your songs. The drive back to Portland kind of sucked, but there was one memorable moment. At one point Justin asked Dave to hand him his coat and Dave handed him a box of doughnuts. You know you are driving way too late at night when you blur the line between clothing and junk food. Thanks to everyone who stuck around to see us play and extra thanks to Brent for busting out the ‘Clerks’ shirt!
Show Journal 2001-04-13
I’ll try to keep this brief but there was way too much to write about. First off the show was a benefit for a Richland skate park. Dusty’s, Atomic Records and the kids in town did an amazing job of promoting the show and it was huge! Well over 300 people were at the show which was totally cool compared to our usual Richland bar crowd of 40-50. The show was in the ballroom of the Red Lion hotel. It was a nice, big, swanky place with tables, chairs, chandeliers, etc. Not the typical setting for a punk rock show. The Creeps who I had never heard of before played first and absolutely rocked. They reminded us a lot of The Dwarves and the crowd went nuts for them. Yelling, dancing, circle pits and enough ozzy signs to last a lifetime. After that they raffled off some skate decks, cd’s, shirts, etc. Juba played second and got an ok reception. They were great musicians, but unless you are playing full speed it’s hard to follow an act like The Creeps. Anyway, a few more giveaways and then we finally got to play. I’ve got to say that on a scale of 1 to 10 this show was easily an 11. We had so much fun playing I couldn’t believe it. The crowd (which stuck around late) really seemed to dig it. People were mashed against the stage, dancing or standing on the stage, jumping off the stage and shouting along the whole time. Set highlights included Dave hitting Justin in the face with his bass, the guy with the prosthetic legs exclaiming “I almost broke my leg off” after a stage dive, and the random dudes taking their shirts off on stage and then dry humping each other in front of Justin. However the highlight of the evening (and perhaps my entire year) was when some kid climbed up on a chandelier in the middle of the floor and started to swing the whole thing back and forth. More impressive still this was smack dab in the center of the ballroom floor and hovering above a huge pit. It only lasted a few seconds before he got pulled down and kicked out but the memory will last a lifetime. The dude risked life and limb for punk rock. I was speechless. I thought our set felt great, we got to play extra songs and I think that was the most energetic we’ve ever been on stage. It’s hard not to be with such and enthusiastic crowd. About the skate park … the show pulled in $1400 for it! Thanks to everyone who came to the show, and especially everyone who passed out flyers and helped promote it. Also super big thanks to Dustin from Atomic Records for hooking us up on the place to stay and for just being the coolest guy around.
Show Journal 2001-04-07
Items of interest at tonight’s show. Very large crowd including lots of people that I work with. Justin managed to lose his shoe in a song. I nearly decapitated Dave with a guitar pick. We played two new songs, one went well, one didn’t go so well. People seemed to dig us and we signed lots of stuff, especially shirts. Dave and I left after our set to go see Dead Even at the Paris who rocked. We returned to catch Homegrown and they rocked too. After the show I accidentally packed up the RX Bandits bass drum. Oops. Those are the highlights. Thank you for reading.
Show Journal 2001-02-25
Kind of a low turnout tonight but I think the people who came got a pretty rad show. I missed Burnout’s set but I can only assume that they rocked. They usually do. Spare Lead was fun to watch and played pretty well. Their guest MC stole the show when he opened their set with his rendition of Rappers Delight. Good For Nothing was pretty darn cool as well. They sound way different and considerably better than last time we saw them. The only thing that sucks about them is that they make us feel old and slow. Oh wait, we are old and slow compared to them. Anyway, they kicked ass and their drummer rules. Our set was good and lots of fun for us to play. The coolest part of the night for us was the appearance of the 2 guys from Dead Even … again!!! They saw us in Bend on Friday, drove to Eugene to see us play on Saturday and then drove all the way up to Portland to see us tonight. Now, here’s the hardcore part … their car broke down about two miles from the club, so they ran to the club to catch our set. Did you hear that? They ran. Damn, that has got to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do for us. Those guys rule! Don’t get me wrong, the girls who made us cookies are pretty high on the cool scale, but these guys broke their car for rock and roll. Thanks to Pine Street for putting on the show despite the low turnout. It’s a welcome change to see a club taking one for the local bands.
Show Journal 2001-02-24
Basement shows are always cramped, hot and incredibly loud. This one was no exception. Polar opposite from last night’s show, but still a lot of fun to play. Compact 56 rocks hard. Excuse me, they rock very, very, very hard.. Totally rad show by them. Our set was good but it went by pretty quick. Since it’s a house we were supposed to be done by 10:00, but since there were 3 bands before us we didn’t start until 9:45. We burned through a couple of songs as fast as we could and thankfully the owners of the house let us play an extra 15 minutes. We got to play a cover tonight (Astro Zombies) and also unveil a new song. Not too much else exciting to report on this show. Thanks to the owners of the Animal House for letting us play late and also thanks to the people who came all the way from Portland and Bend. Also, a special mention to the guy who saw us at Thee O back in ’97!
Show Review
The Lonely Kings were supposed to headline the show but they cancelled, leaving Portland’s 800 Octane as the evening’s final band. I’d never heard their music before. I know a few people who saw them open for Face To Face last fall. They all said that 800 Octane was great. They weren’t lying. 800 Octane was incredibly rockin’ and played with more vigor than most bands I’ve seen lately. Their guitarist Justin jumped around like a madman, which is even more amazing when you consider how low the Animal Farm ceiling is. 800 Octane rules and I hope we can play with them again soon. (Compact 56 / compact56.com)
Show Journal 2001-02-23
I would have never thought we could top the last Bend show. Last time there was a great lineup, tons of people there all in front of the stage and going off. Amazingly this was better. There were still three or four hundred people, except this time they were stage diving, cheering and doing the thing I love to see most, singing along with the words. That’s gotta be the best part of playing live, when people know the songs. The only thing that sucked was the kid who got knocked out cold on the stage monitors. We gave him a shirt though for taking a beating at our show. Aside from the bodily injury it was amazing, our set rocked, the crowd rocked and everything just rocked. Speaking of rock, the other bands were all great. I finally got to see most of Dead Even’s set and they rule. One Last Thing was great as usual (go buy their new cd) and Divit was very impressive as well. A lot of people started to leave while Divit was playing but it was their loss, those guys are rad. Again, super big thanks to Dead Even for setting up another amazing show and promoting the hell out of it. If you live in Bend and were at the show remember that you have those guys to thank for making it happen. Oh yeah, special shot out to Jamie and Tim from Thrust!
Show Review
Next was Oregon’s own 800 Octane . These guys never cease to amaze me. They put on such a good show and the crowd always loves their spooky punk sound. They played an incredibly tight set and this time Eric didn’t put a hole in the stage. Good job Eric. Also, always be sure to check out 800 Octane whenever you can. They are simply amazing, and the nicest guys you will ever meet. (Dead Even)
Show Journal 2001-02-18
Longview rocks. The people that come to the shows make it one of the coolest places to play in the Northwest! We got to play with the Secretions tonight which was cool since we played a week of shows with them last year. It was good to see Luckie Strike again and see that they are doing well after having all of their equipment and merchandise stolen! It’s always cool to see the Jimmies play, so no surprise there. Thanks to TJ for setting up yet another rad show.
Show Journal 2001-02-17
Tonight’s show was the show that almost was. All of us were completely stoked to finally be playing with Longshot. Unfortunately both of us had so many technical difficulties during our sets that it was hard for either of us to really get into the swing of things. Longshot had the power cut out on them, a bad guitar cord and a broken guitar strap. We also had a power failure, squealing microphones and inaudible vocals. It was a little under whelming for the “crowd” but I think most people still had a pretty good time. There were a few moments where you would forget about all the trouble and realize you were at a pretty good show. Those moments were few and far between but all in all it was still an ok show. Maybe next time things will run a little smoother. Special thanks to Longshot and the people who came back to see us again from the December show.
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