9/13/08 - Airline, Sunward, Homer Hiccolm and the Rocketboys, Here In Arms, King Bucks

braved hurricane ike to head to dada for method entertainment's second annual bbq bash. knuckles and the piledriver came with, and josephus, batman and wifey showed up, too. damn near a real crowd, eh?

pretty big turn-out at dada, i thought, especially since it was only 7:15 when we got there. and as knuckles put it, the place was crawlin.

doorman made my fuckin year by doin a double-take while checkin my ID and sayin, "man there's no way you look that old". ha!

first band we saw was the King Bucks, and they were damn good. really enjoyed their set, which surprised me, being as how i am not a fan of the country. i would say they probably lean closer to the americana side of the country genre (since i actually liked it), but whatever it was, i dug it. really talented group of musicians, great vocalists. loved the multi-part harmonies. don't know how many were covers and how many were originals, but i liked everything i heard.

next up was Here, In Arms, who i've seen once before. some really nice folky, bluesy, alt-country-ish pop.

Homer Hiccolm and the Rocketboys were next, with the Unabomber making a guest appearance, sittin in on lead. really like these guys - very well-done piano/guitar-pop tunes, with a little wall-of-sound thrown in every once in a while. everyone in my crew (except for josephus, who has taste) let out a collective yawn and headed over to zini's after a couple songs, but screw them - whattatheyknow. joe and i really dug it. great set.

at one point, john solis (method entertainment head honcho) bought me, the piledriver, and knuckles a shot (a red-headed slut, if you must know), thereby instantly making him Our Hero.

next up was Sunward, who was easily the highlight of the evening for me (but you coulda guessed that, eh?). one of my earlier descriptions of their sound: dark, lush, wall-of-sound, sometimes moody, anthemic art rock with a splash of psychedelia thrown in. loved the new visuals. loved the radiohead cover (i think i might like it better than the original, actually), love the scorching violin, love the psychedelic guitar and lap-steel. fantastic, high-energy set. shoulda been the headliners, no doubt.

at one point, my man pete blew through at ninety miles an hour, just to make an appearance and secure his indie music cred, i guess.

Airline headlined the evening, since Deadman had to cancel, being as how it was raining and all. i've seen airline a couple times before, and i usually enjoy it. maybe it was because knuckles kept screaming in my ear "this band sucks ass" over and over, but for some reason, i just didn't get into it. they played their usual brand of guitar/piano pop, but i had to agree wif knuckles - after a while, it started to get repetitive. i won't hesitate to catch them again, tho, since i've enjoyed them in the past, but last night, they just didn't connect with me.

managed to prove my "creepy old man" status by rapping to manya of blue petal, tellin her how much i liked their set at the ultraviolet show, which caused her to run screaming from the room (kidding, but she did move a few chairs away from me. great ego-boost, that was).

at some point while airline was playing, some fire-twirlers showed up and started flingin fire on the patio. apparently, they were associated with some sort of art show goin on in the far-bar. also associated with that was holy diver, who somehow showed up on the bill. i really wanted nothin to do with what they were bringin, so we went and checked out the (seemingly way-overpriced, at least to this art novice) art in the far-bar. didn't buy anything, case you were wonderin.

all in all, a pretty good night. so i can say what i said last year - nice job, solis.

3/1/08 - New Frontiers, Homer Hiccolm, Quiet Company, Gazelles

Why does it always have to be...fire?
Why does it always have to be...brimstone?

blahdeblahdeblah i have nothing to say, you have nothing to hear i am very drunk

holy shit i think my dog can sense when i';m drunk and she;s like scared of me when i am, isnt that weird??

went to dada tonight for quiet comapny and new frontiers and praise baby jeebus the piledriver came with me!! gawd damn i hate goin alone, so thanks for that, mr. P!!!!

inhaled 8 oz of the cheapest goddam vodka i could buy at the sto, wheeeeee!! gooood stuff, that is. ok, mebbe not good stuff, but you know.....it woiks.. just aks the piledriver he had some too

beard pretended he dint know me, but that;s ok, i dont mind payin for thees guys. the piledriver almost has to go all krav maga on some guys ass he bumps into at the door. now THAT wouldve been funny.

first up was the gazelles, who i've seen at least like twice before and said "meh" bof times. this time was no different except i was much drunker, so i thot theys aight, but the piledriver hated the lead, says he was way too earnest, so i trust his judgement, he was not as drunk. he is the master judger of earnestness, you know... i shit you not. i dont remember much, truthfully.

ran over to zinis so mr p could catch a bite and a glimpse of my alt-universe girlfren. luckily, he did not show an interest, else she surely would have fallen for his luxurious sideburns, you know. they are glorious and hipnotic, after all.

next up was quiet company, who i;'ve seen multiple times befo - see below you lazy bastards. i love this band, and they did not disappoint. kicked me ass.

i think we went to zinis AGAIN to meet up with batman (who had just finished his set wif 1000 MFH at the curtain club) and wifey-poo and i-could-swear the suspiciously underage-lookin dude from the xmas party. mr p. had more pizza, no doubt to make more in-roads with whatser-name, the pizza gal. sneaky bastard.

next up was homer hiccolm and the rocket boys, who in my opinion need to change their name, just sayin. dont member the details, but i remember thinkin they were great - lotsa dudes on stage, keys and geetars and such (howzat for detailed reporting?), super guitar/piano-pop stuff.

last up was new frontiers, their cd release party and all. twas perty good, but the solo acoustic interlude in the middle was a total buzzkill. nice enough, allright, but i'd rather hear the whole band, if ya don mind.

huge crowd at the dada, been along time since i seen it like that. oh, and dude - you, the early-forties poser with the spiky hairdo and steroid arms, sittin at the table with yer back to the band like yer too fuckin cool to even care, drinkin yer bud light - i fuckin HATE you.

on the way to the car, the piledriver practically TAUNTS the cops, daring them to come bust our asses. funniest goddam thing i've seen in a long long time.


ok, i'll add links and shit tomorrow, dont be a dick