| | Okay, wow, everything that has happened in the last couple of weekends, from February 17 to February 25...
February 17, The Moose Lodge. This was the first show I did there, and I plan on going back regularly. House Of Commons opened the show (albeit it a little late) and "Prison Break" is one of my favorite songs right now, especially one of my favorite local songs. Kurt is a stud on stage. Then came Keep And Confess, who once again showed why they're going to be a force to reckon with in the 515 hXc scene. Then came Burning The Broken... I suck at describing different kinds of hardcore/metal, so I won't try here, but BTB was as solid as always. They were followed by Chasing Victory, who asked to be bumped up from their headlining spot. They are SO good, holy cow. They weren't as hard as some of the other bands, but everyone was very into them anyway. I love Chasing Victory. Then came hometown heroes When We Fall. Again, their brand of music is so hard to describe... put hardcore, indie, and progressive in a blender. Finally, An Airbag Saved My Life closed the show... and do I really need to say anything about Airbag? They're always amazing; one of my favorite live bands for sure.
February 18, House Of Bricks. What a way to finish off a SWEET weekend. Five bands, and we opened with Stallions Versus Unicorns. If SVU opens a show and it doesn't feel awkward, you know you have a great line-up. They were followed by Slaughterhouse 6, who provided as much skanking and fun as anyone could as for, per usual. They were followed by The Effects, another of my favorite live bands. Not since Squad Five-O have I seen a band deliver the rock 'n' roll like these guys can. This was followed by Offering's last HOB show... and they did their signature on-stage move, which I hope Stuck With Arthur steals. I'm actually sad Offering is breaking up, they're a ton of fun, and such great guys to boot. Finally, SWA finished the show for us, and everyone knows how much I love SWA, so I won't say much more. After the show, I hung out with The Effects at their hotel, as did Darin, Jeff K, Sami, and one of The Effects' friends. A good time was had by all. I love The Effects.
February 24, Vaudeville Mews. SOLD-FREAKING-OUT. Holy crap, an AMAZING show, and I'm really glad The Envy Corps and General Sherman let me in on this. Luke was adamant after the show that it was the combination of TEC, General Sherman (who always do AMAZING together at the Mews), Christopher The Conquered's debut, and IowaRock.com's promoting that landed it with a sell-out crowd. CTC's set was amazing; maybe I just don't know Chris as well as I thought I did, but it appeared to me that he had a lot coming out of him that he couldn't get out in an SWA set. He was definitely in his element, and I definitely want to see more of it. Then came General Sherman,who I love love love to death. I'm really glad that we get to work together a lot. And finally, The Envy Corps. It's not a matter of IF they'll get big, but WHEN. They played for about an hour, which is twice as long as I'm used to for a set, but I only noticed because I had to check my watch for other things. Holy smokes, I am SO happy about everything with that show.
February 24, Graceland. I won't say much since I wasn't there, but from what I heard, everything went well. Hopefully I can help set some more shows up there, and actually get down there to watch them. But all of the guys from Spoken, Staple, and Trouble With Ferguson said their show with AudioKineticAssault went really well, so thank you to Jordan for helping make that happen.
February 25, Blinks. Again, I missed the show, but heard great things about it. DJ Dad/MC Mom had to cancel, but I heard Stuck With Arthur, Atombender, and The Poison Control Center put on an amazing show, and that PCC's Blinks debut was especially great. Hopefully, we'll make it happen again.
February 25, Mason City. This blog is WAY to long, so I'll be fast. Another first for me, using the American Legion up in Mason City. All of the touring bands, Spoken, Staple, and Trouble With Ferguson, put on great shows, and even though they're probably used to more professional venues than the American Legion, fun was had by all. The local bands, Regretting Yesterday and Senseless Beauty were both better than I had expected; if they all get some really good equipment, they'll sound even better. I'm sure I'll be working with both of them in the future. Thanks especially to the Senseless Beauty guys for helping make this show happen.
NEXT SHOWS (all at the House of Bricks):
March 4: Sweet Afton, Thoughts Of Crossing, Adelynne, Atombender, Killer Boots, DJ Dad/MC Mom, Yeti on a Budget, Angry Gods of the Radio, September [KATRINA RELIEF FUNDRAISER] - 2:00, $7
March 5: The Heartless, Amidst The Affliction, For Today - 5:00, $5
March 6: Family Unit, Truman, The Dig Angees, Punch Drunk - 5:00, $5 |
