Show Journal 2005-10-13
Wow, what a weak show. Given the solid lineup I was expecting more than, oh, twenty people. Nope. The high water mark was about 18 people watching at one time and it sure as hell wasn’t for us. The Illegal Guardians were interesting. The singer was very, very, very young and far cooler than anyone reading this was at that age. Why? Two words. Shiny jacket. Also we discovered that the “1,2 Freddy’s coming for you” song is particularly creepy when sung by an actual kid. The Manholes were up second. I really wanted to like them but I actually had to leave the room during their set. Their drummer Colin is one of the coolest guys on Earth and the main reason we took the show. He does more to promote music than anyone you’ve ever met in Portland. Anyway, after waiting ten minutes between bands they ended up asking us to borrow a guitar amp, a power cord, two guitar cables and Dave’s bass … none of which had even been hinted at until they were on stage. It’s a little rude but they seemed like nice enough guys so we obliged. Then over my shoulder I hear “it’s 800 Octane and Smegma’s fault no one is here”. What the fuck? Then I hear it again. Are you serious? You’re complaining about us while you’re borrowing our stuff? Fuck you. Then the asshole says it once more while he’s looking at me. Hey I’m sorry the show sucked, but you can eat my ass since it’s your show too. (Sorry Colin, we know you tried.) After an indeterminable period of wailing and sucking Wednesday Night Heroes finally took the stage and totally stole the show, which was pretty easy because the bar was so fucking low by that point. Super energetic punk kind of like Dropkick Murphys meets The Unseen. Very cool. We were all impressed and a pit even broke out. This was more impressive since the singers fly was “open for business”. Our set was ok. It’s never easy to rock for a dozen people and I’m not sure we did. We did play the revamped version of ‘T-Minus’ for the first time ever which I guess was ok. Smegma was last and was very, uhmmm, interesting. I can definitely see why they are the reigning lords of all that is experimental in music. It was kind of like improvisational jazz for punks. It was nice to see Mike Lastra up there as he recorded our Kelvis and Get In The Van albums. Thanks to Colin for setting up the show, and Jason and Tizzle for sticking it out.
Show Journal 2005-10-09
It’s official. I am finally burnt out on The Misfits. I’ve seen almost every member of the Misfits perform this week in some form or another. On Tuesday we went up to Seattle to see Dazing just to see them play a set of Misfits songs with Doyle on guitar. Tonight we played with the current lineup of The Misfits with Jerry on vocals and Robo on drums. After the show I scurried down the street to see Michale Graves (ex “new misfits” singer) perform with The Misfats (Portland’s own overweight Misfits tribute band). I figure I’ve heard at least 50 Misfits songs performed live this week. As I’m typing this I’m copying a lounge band performing Misfits songs onto an iPod. I have the Misfits box set, all the albums, covers of Misfits songs by bands I like, covers of Misfits songs by bands I don’t like and even our own recordings of Misfits songs. Dustin’s former band even did an EP of Misfits songs. I can play a whole helping of Misfits songs on guitar because those were the first ones I learned. There is a good chance on any given day someone in our band with wear an article of Misfits clothing. This entire week has consisted of Misfits discussion to almost everyone I’ve come in contact with. Old stuff vs new stuff. Danzig vs Jerry. Jerry vs Doyle. Graves vs Danzig. Who’s better live? Who’s more energetic? Who sold out? Who didn’t? You know what? I am officially burnt out. No one asked, but there it is. I’m done … at least for a while. Highlights from tonight? We got to take Robo for a ride in the van and he told us about touring in a van during the 80’s. It was very cool to hear a story (even a short one) straight from one of the legends. The other highlight? Plan R. Those guys killed it tonight. Seriously. Some attitude, some smarts, some speed, some sing-alongs and then some more attitude. It only took one chorus but Plan R is now one of my new favorite bands. Do check them out. Thanks to the Thrasher presents crew and the Hawthorne Theater folks as well.
Show Journal 2005-10-07
Sometimes it’s weird to think how long you’ve known people. After looking through the show listing we’ve known the guys from This Day’s End since 2001. If I recall correctly they couldn’t even drive when we first met them. Tonight was actually Sam’s last show with the band (after 7 years … you do the math) so we were flattered that they invited us to play. In typical 800 fashion we arrived late and missed most of Sam’s solo set and finished loading in right when A Mind Like Yours started. Holy ripping leads! There are days I wish I could play that stuff but then again I know there are days that everyone who comes within earshot of my guitar is thankful I can’t. Our set was pretty good. You’d think we’d know how to tune by now but apparently not. Played ‘Tina’ for the first time in a while and got vocal help during ‘Feeding Time’ from Chris, Sam and a few others. Very cool. This Day’s End totally stole the show though. I guess they didn’t really “steal it” since it was theirs to begin with, but then did own it and that’s a fact. Two covers were performed, the Refused and later Rise Against. Good thing I was the uber-chump wearing a Rise Against sweatshirt. Best moment of the evening was when Crozz dedicated a song called Decay to someone’s teeth. Looking around I’m pretty sure I was the only person laughing and sadly I couldn’t stop for the duration of the song. Hell, it’s still making me chuckle now as I type this almost 14 hours later. Anyway, we’re sorry to see Sam leaving, but glad to see This Day’s End carry on. Thanks to the Wow Hall, Derek, This Day’s End and of course the Eugene Punk Department for keeping tabs on us.
Show Journal 2005-09-29
On paper this show should have sucked even more than the one last night. Smaller venue, worse sound, marginally friendly staff and amazingly even less people. Excluding bands and employees there were 5 people that stuck around for both bands. It should have ranked as the worst show ever, but it was actually kind of fun. Why? Because Fabulous Disaster is totally one of the nicest bands in the world. Despite having been on huge tours, releasing albums on Fat Wreck and pretty much having seen and done it all they still got up and totally rocked as if they were playing in front of 1000 people. It was almost inspiring to watch. Letting it all go on stage with less than 10 people in the room is difficult to do and the bands that can do it deserve their props. How was our set? Who cares. Most of the fun this evening was watching Fab D, hanging out, talking like Borat, and making use of the $60 food/drink tab. All in all a pretty good evening.
Show Journal 2005-09-28
Hands down the worst show of the year. Seriously. It’s not even worthy of my description. Thanks to the folks at Devils’s Point and Rainin’ Blood for trying though!
Show Journal 2005-09-24
Ahhhh sweet redemption for our less than spectacular last show in Longview. Super solid lineup tonight and it definitely added something special to the night. People were up and moving for the first band and didn’t stop until the last song of the night. It’s nice to see the Board Room with better sound, a better layout and better lights. It was exceedingly cool to get to play with The Secretions and The Independents, both of whom we’ve played with numerous time. Kevin from the Secretions even busted out his 800 windbreaker from 2000! The Trashies were up first and I’m not quite sure what to say. I just couldn’t keep my eyes off the stage. You just had to be there. We were up second and had a blast despite all the technical problems. What problems? First was Dustin’s broken kick pedal. Next was Dave’s “tuning problem” in Still The Same. (By tuning problem I mean he couldn’t remember how to play the tune.) Then towards the end Justin broke a string and my spare guitar was missing a string too. Again, Kevin Secretion saved the day. I guess it was payback for the time Dave helped him avoid getting his ass kicked by a bunch of meatheads at Reid’s. The stage was small and slippery and despite all the setbacks we did ok. We busted out a few songs we haven’t played in almost 1 year and a half (Kelvis, Still The Same, New Song #2). It seems Dustin can do no wrong and the amount of songs he’s learned is phenomenal. Fast forward to the Secretions. The quick synopsis? Asses were kicked. They sounded great and haven’t lost a step despite being at this for just about as long as we have. Great guys, great songs and a great show. I had forgotten how much I really like the Independents. They totally rocked it. It was cool to see their frantic energy in front of a worked up all ages crowd. They bring a smile to my face every time. The Queers were last and you can take away my punk rock credibility but I actually hadn’t heard them before. They were pretty good. The singer kind of rubbed us the wrong way by bitching about the sound system for the first few songs, but I guess if you are used to “real” venues it’s gotta be odd. Still respect is given and it was cool to see so many people singing every single word. Like I said before, great show tonight. Thanks to our Sacto homies The Secretions, props to the Independents for being one of the nicest bands ever, and a shot out to TJ for pulling off one of the best shows I’ve seen all year.
Show Journal 2005-09-17
Tonight’s show was definitely a little humbling to say the least. Section 8 started off in a respectable manner even though most people didn’t know what to make of them. We played and although it wasn’t our finest hour it wasn’t too shabby either. Then I saw Bane and I felt puny. They were so energetic, so raw and so god damn heavy that I was amazed. The singer had so many intelligent things to say about music and the scene that it bordered on inspiring at times. They put me back in high school discovering a new band for the first time. I bought a CD and a shirt. I’m hooked. After having our ego’s reduced by Bane we then got/had to watch Strung Out. If you aren’t familiar with them Strung Out is sort of the ultimate musician’s band for punk rock. Some of the stuff they do with the guitars is just ridiculous. I can barely even follow it let alone play it. Dustin commented he was happy to see the drummer make a mistake just to prove he’s human. After witnessing the fury of Bane and the complexity of Strung Out I felt a little bit smaller. Actually a lot smaller. Definitely a great show and although it is was initially depressing it’s definitely cool to get to play with bands like these to see how great bands can be. Thanks to Thrasher Presents and the Loveland folks for being so nice to us.
Show Journal 2005-09-10
Holy crap, what an awesome show! Highlight of my life … we’re playing a song (I think it was Rise Again) and the PA cuts out. We finish the song minus vocals and are left fumbling around on stage killing time while the sound guy tries to fix the PA. Justin is about to break into the good old “anyone know any good jokes” routine and then some people start yelling for us to play a song. It’s quickly decided by some people up front that we should play ‘Ghosts Of Monochrome’ because they know the words and can sing along. We look at each other and decide we might as well. We start playing the song at full stage volume and quickly notice the whole front of the crowd knows all the words and are singing it so loud I can hear it over the music. Amazing. Absolutely, completely and totally fucking amazing. Thank you Richland for having the most supportive music fans ever. The rest of the show was pretty great but those 3 minutes just summed it all up for me. Thanks to Dustin and the folks at Ray’s, our Countdown homies, This Day’s End, all our friends in Richland and best wishes to Cryssi!
Show Journal 2005-09-03
We rarely get to play the Ash Street but when we do it’s always a blast. Tonight of course was no exception. Switch Hitter was first and they were a pretty rad band. The singer showed up wearing a Tiger Army shirt with a sticker of a tank on his guitar and the word ‘Hoss’ (his name) tattooed across his knuckles. Safe to say we were going to like this band. Awesome band, awesome songs, nice people and the nicest “switch bitch” ever. 48 Thrill was next and rocked the hizzouse. Rumor has it, it was their first show but you would have never known. The songs were instantly catchy and felt like you had known them for years. Very cool and I hope we get to play with them again. Valid Effort was third. We played with them a while ago at Devils Point and knew they were pretty tough. Through the Ash Street sound system they sounded huge. We played last and did alright. We tried a new song for the first time ever that was met with the sound of crickets. Other than that the set was good. Afterwards we were greeted by the Bratwurst truck which conveniently parked in front of the club. All in all a good night. Thanks to the other bands, J Crash for his work on the show and the fine folks of the Ash Street!
Show Journal 2005-08-27
Grants Pass rocked my world tonight. Cool people, cozy venue and good bands. Best part for us that we finally got to play with Virus Nine. We’ve been crossing paths with them for 4 or 5 years and never got to play the same show. We hang out with the same friends, play with the same bands, they’ve seen us, we’ve seen them … just never played the same show. They completely tore it up too. In fact they were so good it was almost depressing. Our set went really well. A few people seemed to know the words, which was cool since we’ve never actually played in Grants Pass before. People were moving despite it being incredibly hot which made it all the more fun. Thanks to V9, Tyler for setting up the show and the dude from Bend who knew all the choruses.
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