Summer of Ska
So the Summer of Ska preshow I played kinda sucked. There were few people there, and it was just lame. I did my thing and people didn't really care. The '72 Dolphins did sweet, and I was kinda stoked to finally play a show with them. More are in store, I'm thinking. Texas Pete were good too. Dealey Plaza was the last band, and uh... no. They covered "Until The Day I Die" by Story of the Year. Now, this alone doesn't make them bad (because I half-assed covered half of the song) but they (a ska band, mind you) played it just like SOTY, just adding horns. LAME. Me and the Dolphins hung out in the back stage area which was like a story up but it overlooked the stage. We were very enthusiastically clapping and singing and shit while Dealey Plaza was singing. I'm pretty sure the band didn't know we were sarcastic. Whatevs.
The main event was sweet. Showed up after doors were supposed to open and they still weren't. Scanned the line and found friends near the front. Bonus! The whole usual ska gang was there, so that was fun. I think we're slowly welcoming more people into the fold, too! Westbound Train went on first, and they were the band I was most excited to see. They're just really good! They were introducing their last song, "Bigger Things In Mind" aka my favorite Westbound Train song, and their singer Obie says "This song is dedicated to my friend Matt Wixson, who I just saw out there." Fucking rad. Obie, if you remember, was just hanging out at Django's when I recorded the song there. After their set I went over to him and said hi and he was like "Dude, you should've contacted me and I would've had you on the guest list!" I told him I didn't have his phone number or anything, so he gave it to me. Friend!
Suburban Legends were next. I enjoyed them a lot more than I thought I would. I don't really care for the new songs much, but after seeing them live I think I finally get it. They're just really fun songs to dance around to. And we did a lot of our new gig called simply "dance party". It was developed at the Alk Trio/Agaainst Me! show, and it basically involves kind of doing the twist from the waist down and alternately throwing your left pointer finger and right pointer finger into the air. After the set I talked to Brian (guitarist) and confessed how many times I'd seen SL. Tonight was number nine. He was shocked and I listed them off, and I told him his shit is still fun. For some reason I introduced the dance party to him. Whatever.
Big D was up next. They were really good. They hadn't played in the area since Warped Tour last summer, so they were definitely overdue. They're kinda a hit and miss band when you see them live, but tonight they were definitely on. Not much more to say about that. Didn't talk to the dudes at all.
Voodoo Glow Skulls was next. Ugh.
Catch 22 closed the show. I didn't like the new songs when I heard them live the last few times, but when I finally heard the new album and realized it's really good, I also learned that I don't mind those songs live anymore. Overall, pretty satisfying set. Catch 22 is a band that never really surprises you, and it felt just like the last half-dozen times I've seen them. Someone in the ska posse brought squirt guns, specifically for going nuts during "Keasbey Nights". We got into the pit and just started shooting people. It was real mobster shit.
Afterwards a group of like 20 of us headed over to Niki's, a pizza place like right around the corner from St. Andrews. Best idea I had all day. Great food and just a good time. Like I said, the gang is expanding.
I'm tired as hell now. Really oughtta sleep. Maybe I'll have a dream about the enormous ego everyone thinks I have. Shit.
The main event was sweet. Showed up after doors were supposed to open and they still weren't. Scanned the line and found friends near the front. Bonus! The whole usual ska gang was there, so that was fun. I think we're slowly welcoming more people into the fold, too! Westbound Train went on first, and they were the band I was most excited to see. They're just really good! They were introducing their last song, "Bigger Things In Mind" aka my favorite Westbound Train song, and their singer Obie says "This song is dedicated to my friend Matt Wixson, who I just saw out there." Fucking rad. Obie, if you remember, was just hanging out at Django's when I recorded the song there. After their set I went over to him and said hi and he was like "Dude, you should've contacted me and I would've had you on the guest list!" I told him I didn't have his phone number or anything, so he gave it to me. Friend!
Suburban Legends were next. I enjoyed them a lot more than I thought I would. I don't really care for the new songs much, but after seeing them live I think I finally get it. They're just really fun songs to dance around to. And we did a lot of our new gig called simply "dance party". It was developed at the Alk Trio/Agaainst Me! show, and it basically involves kind of doing the twist from the waist down and alternately throwing your left pointer finger and right pointer finger into the air. After the set I talked to Brian (guitarist) and confessed how many times I'd seen SL. Tonight was number nine. He was shocked and I listed them off, and I told him his shit is still fun. For some reason I introduced the dance party to him. Whatever.
Big D was up next. They were really good. They hadn't played in the area since Warped Tour last summer, so they were definitely overdue. They're kinda a hit and miss band when you see them live, but tonight they were definitely on. Not much more to say about that. Didn't talk to the dudes at all.
Voodoo Glow Skulls was next. Ugh.
Catch 22 closed the show. I didn't like the new songs when I heard them live the last few times, but when I finally heard the new album and realized it's really good, I also learned that I don't mind those songs live anymore. Overall, pretty satisfying set. Catch 22 is a band that never really surprises you, and it felt just like the last half-dozen times I've seen them. Someone in the ska posse brought squirt guns, specifically for going nuts during "Keasbey Nights". We got into the pit and just started shooting people. It was real mobster shit.
Afterwards a group of like 20 of us headed over to Niki's, a pizza place like right around the corner from St. Andrews. Best idea I had all day. Great food and just a good time. Like I said, the gang is expanding.
I'm tired as hell now. Really oughtta sleep. Maybe I'll have a dream about the enormous ego everyone thinks I have. Shit.