Post by Bret Walker on Feb 11, 2003 12:40:45 GMT -5
Wow. That's about all I can say about this past weekend. The fact that I'm just writing about it today, Tuesday, should be an indication of how much energy was expended this weekend. I didn't even go to work yesterday, and my voice still isn't back to normal.
So.
We started out on Saturday by meeting at Parkie's house to rehearse a couple songs we weren't 100% sure of yet. That turned into a two hour rehearsal. So then we packed up our shit and went over to the gig, at The Bridgewater Pub in Bridgeton, NJ. We set up on the stage (awesome stage, by the way - the drums were on an entirely different level than the rest of the band, which was already four feet off the ground) and started off the festivities with our Limp Bizkit cover, Faith. The place was fairly full, but there weren't a lot of people out, probably because of the recent weather. Still, more than half the people there were actually out to see us, so that was promising.
After the second set, fatigue started to set in. My voice was starting to go because of the Audioslave and SOAD songs, plus the cigarette smoke was killing me. But we hashed through a third set with even more ferocity than the previous two, and stretched it out to last until 12:40. After all, we are professionals. Then we packed up our shit and dragged ass home. All in all it was a good show, but I don't know if we'll do another three-set gig like that one again. Wow.
The next night was less strenuous, with only one set. The Cove in Roselle is a sweet little punk club adjoining a bowling alley. It's about perfect for punk shows, and I wouldn't mind playing there again. The opening act was a band from Wayne, NJ, called Paramesia (and I have to apologize to those guys, I must've copied your web addy down wrong because I can't connect to it. Email me and I'll fix it, coz you guys kicked major ass). Paramesia is a hardcore band and when I say hardcore I mean Hard. Core. Drums, two guitars, and two vocalists. That's it. The vocalists had a sort of vocal dogfight throughout the show, screaming back and forth. I fucking loved it. It brought me back to the hardcore shows I used to go to when I was a wee lad in New Brunswick. If you get a chance to check these guys out, don't pass it up.
So we hit the stage around 9 or so. The set was loose and relaxed, and I talked the crowd up a bit between songs, spewing political filth and whatnot, the normal fare for one of our original songs. The crowd reception was awesome. Nods of approval, warm ovations, and one time, during Nocturnal Emissions, there was a couple dry-humping by the bar. It brought tears to my eyes. Or was that the cigarette smoke?
Despite the fact that my voice was cooperating with me, my hands weren't. Tony re-injured his already broken thumb, and my right hand was so badly cramped that I kept dropping picks, and I ended up playing half the songs with just my index finger, which tore up the nail and bruised all around the cuticle. Nobody seemed to notice, even when I stopped playing in the middle of a song, shook out my hand, and resumed playing. Who gives a fuck, anyway? It's punk rock, baby!
Regardless, The Cove show kicked the shit out of the Bridgewater show. It was a better crowd and we got to do a bunch of originals as opposed to the slew of covers we were forced to do at the Bridgewater. Still, the Bridgewater show financed the Cove show for us, so it wasn't all bad.
After the show, we took the advice of our gracious host and headed over to a tiny little throwback diner from 1955 called White Rose. It was a little unassuming place, with just a counter and stools, a jukebox, and two guys that looked like they'd been soda-jerking there since they were in highschool, circa 1950's. But the service was awesome, the food perfect (maybe it was because none of us had eaten for 11 hours, but then again, it was greasy and fatty - just like diner food ought to be), and the bill for five of us came to a mere $32!!! We took our leave of Roselle and headed home, unpacked and hit the sack around 2:30 AM.
We need more weekends like this. It was a bonding experience I won't forget. Next stop, Asbury Park, February 23rd for the Battle of the Bands. If you want tickets, let us know, they're $8 if you get them from us or $10 at the door.
OK, and now it's time to rest again ;D
So.
We started out on Saturday by meeting at Parkie's house to rehearse a couple songs we weren't 100% sure of yet. That turned into a two hour rehearsal. So then we packed up our shit and went over to the gig, at The Bridgewater Pub in Bridgeton, NJ. We set up on the stage (awesome stage, by the way - the drums were on an entirely different level than the rest of the band, which was already four feet off the ground) and started off the festivities with our Limp Bizkit cover, Faith. The place was fairly full, but there weren't a lot of people out, probably because of the recent weather. Still, more than half the people there were actually out to see us, so that was promising.
After the second set, fatigue started to set in. My voice was starting to go because of the Audioslave and SOAD songs, plus the cigarette smoke was killing me. But we hashed through a third set with even more ferocity than the previous two, and stretched it out to last until 12:40. After all, we are professionals. Then we packed up our shit and dragged ass home. All in all it was a good show, but I don't know if we'll do another three-set gig like that one again. Wow.
The next night was less strenuous, with only one set. The Cove in Roselle is a sweet little punk club adjoining a bowling alley. It's about perfect for punk shows, and I wouldn't mind playing there again. The opening act was a band from Wayne, NJ, called Paramesia (and I have to apologize to those guys, I must've copied your web addy down wrong because I can't connect to it. Email me and I'll fix it, coz you guys kicked major ass). Paramesia is a hardcore band and when I say hardcore I mean Hard. Core. Drums, two guitars, and two vocalists. That's it. The vocalists had a sort of vocal dogfight throughout the show, screaming back and forth. I fucking loved it. It brought me back to the hardcore shows I used to go to when I was a wee lad in New Brunswick. If you get a chance to check these guys out, don't pass it up.
So we hit the stage around 9 or so. The set was loose and relaxed, and I talked the crowd up a bit between songs, spewing political filth and whatnot, the normal fare for one of our original songs. The crowd reception was awesome. Nods of approval, warm ovations, and one time, during Nocturnal Emissions, there was a couple dry-humping by the bar. It brought tears to my eyes. Or was that the cigarette smoke?
Despite the fact that my voice was cooperating with me, my hands weren't. Tony re-injured his already broken thumb, and my right hand was so badly cramped that I kept dropping picks, and I ended up playing half the songs with just my index finger, which tore up the nail and bruised all around the cuticle. Nobody seemed to notice, even when I stopped playing in the middle of a song, shook out my hand, and resumed playing. Who gives a fuck, anyway? It's punk rock, baby!
Regardless, The Cove show kicked the shit out of the Bridgewater show. It was a better crowd and we got to do a bunch of originals as opposed to the slew of covers we were forced to do at the Bridgewater. Still, the Bridgewater show financed the Cove show for us, so it wasn't all bad.
After the show, we took the advice of our gracious host and headed over to a tiny little throwback diner from 1955 called White Rose. It was a little unassuming place, with just a counter and stools, a jukebox, and two guys that looked like they'd been soda-jerking there since they were in highschool, circa 1950's. But the service was awesome, the food perfect (maybe it was because none of us had eaten for 11 hours, but then again, it was greasy and fatty - just like diner food ought to be), and the bill for five of us came to a mere $32!!! We took our leave of Roselle and headed home, unpacked and hit the sack around 2:30 AM.
We need more weekends like this. It was a bonding experience I won't forget. Next stop, Asbury Park, February 23rd for the Battle of the Bands. If you want tickets, let us know, they're $8 if you get them from us or $10 at the door.
OK, and now it's time to rest again ;D
