Live Music
Spice invited a few people to join her Saturday night to see some live music from some local bands. Not many people seemed interested because only Jhianna and I went with her. That’s ok. I prefer the smaller crowds. I’m a protector type person, and in large crowds, I have a hard time keeping track of everyone. Anyways… We went to see some live music at the Bluebird Theater.
We went to Pete’s Diner on the way to the theater to get some chow before the big show. The food was ok (King’s Chef is better.) After eating, we managed to get a parking spot about three blocks from the Bluebird, and we walked to the venue. We managed to get there a few minutes before the doors were opened. We hung out, and watched the really freaky people in black leather and too many piercings. It made me feel a little old, and a lot conservative. It brought me back to the days when I had long hair, a mohawk, and tons of earrings. The only thing I have left from those days are the earrings.
We got our tickets as the doors opened. As we were walking to the door, the bouncer told us to take anything out of our pockets that he might think is a weapon. Damn. I always carry my Buck knife and Leatherman with me. I hardly remember that they are there until something like this happens. I decided to risk it. The worst that would happen would be that I would have to walk back to the car, divest myself of my “weapons”, and walk back to the Bluebird. I took my cell phone, keys, and other stuff out of my pocket. He patted me down, and did a horrible job of it. He didn’t pat my waist where weapons are usually kept. That’s ok. I really didn’t want to have to walk back to the car.
Once we were in, we were presented with a balcony (which is where we went), several tiers of flooring, and a mosh pit in front of the stage. Not many people were there, but it was only 8 o’clock, and the show didn’t start until 9. As we got closer to the time of the show, more people started to appear. I did a quick scan of the theater, and decided that they could pack 300+ people in the place. Turns out they only got maybe 120 in the door by the time the show started.
The first act, which is the one that we really came to see, was Swingarm. They only played 6 or 7 songs, but they rocked the house with every song that they played. I don’t expect much from small-time local bands, but I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of their music. The beat was good, the lyrics merged with the music quite well, and the musicians really knew their stuff. The bass lines and guitar licks kept the flow of the music going quite well. I was impressed.
While Swingarm was tearing down, and Blackout 7 was setting up, there was an acrobatic burlesque show going on. Two women in lingerie hung from the ceiling and did some pretty impressive stuff. One was on a giant ring that she would swing from, hang by her knees, and cavort on like it wasn’t that dangerous. The other woman hung from the ceiling by these two long strips of cloth. It was like something right out of Circe d’Soleil. It was quite impressive. It also didn’t hurt that both of them were really hot women.
The second band of the night, Blackout 7, sucked. They sucked harder than any band that I’ve heard before. They played 6 or 7 songs, and they all sounded exactly the same. They had the same rythm, riffs, licks, and notes. The singer did his best to distort his voice while screaming into the microphone. I guess he thought that volume over quality was the way to go. He was wrong. If you plan on going to a venue where Blackout 7 is playing, make sure to get good and hammered before they get on stage. It’s probably the only way to really enjoy their music.
It was a great relief to finally get Blackout 7 off of the stage. While they were tearing down, and prepping for the main act, the burlesque women were back in action. Even though I had seen their routine not more than 45 minutes ago, it was still just as impressive. I couldn’t believe the tricks that they were doing. I can’t imagine the lumps, bruises, and broken bones they must have gotten while practicing their art.
The main act finally got on stage. King Rat got on stage, warmed up a bit, and then jumped into their act. I was highly impressed. They had the fun, upbeat rythms of The Ramones, with the vocals of Green Day, some guitar riffs that reminded me of The Offspring (from their early days), and a punk edge to it all. The lyrics were understandable (as opposed to shoved down your throat), and I like that in a band. The guitarist was awesome (made me wish I could play half as well as he did.) I had a hard time hearing the bass riffs, and I’m not sure why. I really like the sound of a bass guitar, so I was a litle disappointed that it was missing. The band was really animated, and they put on a great stage show. If you ever have the chance of seeing King Rat in concert, go check them out. They’ve been together for a long time (first CD is from 1997,) and it’s quite obvious in the polished nature of the show that they put on.
While there, Swingarm was giving away demo CD’s, so I picked one up. When they announced the free CDs, they said, “Make sure and pick up a free CD and t-shirt!”. I thought both the CD and the shirt were free. After getting my CD, I asked for an XL t-shirt. The cutie behind the counter dove into a large box, but came up with a large. She asked me if a large would be ok. Large t-shirts are a little tight on me, but I still fit into them nicely. I accepted the t-shirt, and she said, “7 bucks!” I was kind of surprised since thought the shirts were free too. I had made her work so hard on finding the shirt, that I couldn’t walk away. I pulled out a 5 and a handful of 1′s. The 1′s were sticking together, but I managed to get them separated. While I was fumbling for the cash, she mentioned that she was working for free. She wasn’t getting paid for the work she was doing. I decided to hand her the whole wad of cash, and told her to keep the extra as a tip. I saw her a little later, and she asked me who sold me that “good lookin’ shirt.” I decided to flirt a little, and said, “I don’t know her name, but, man, she was hot!” She laughed at my joke, smiled at me, and then got lost in the crowd. It was good to make someone laugh and smile.
After the show was over, I noticed that King Rat was selling some CDs. I decided to check them out. They were selling 4 CDs, and I asked about the price. The guy tapped each CD, and said, “10, 5, 5, and 2.” I decided that I like them enough to shell out $22 for four CDs. I handed over the cash, picked up the CDs, and started to step away. I noticed they had a fan club kind of sign-up sheet. I decided to throw my name and email on the sheet. While doing that, the guy complained about the quality of their web site. Jhianna happened to be standing there, and she stepped up, threw her arm around me, and said, “Then this is the guy you want!” The King Rat sales guy looked interested, and I told him, “Yeah. I do web development for a living. Look me up (my name was on their fan club list), and we can work something out.” He looked at my name on the list, threw an asterix next to it, and said that he would be in touch. It would be very cool to do some web work for something as fun as a band. I just hope they can afford my prices, so that I can earn some money from it. Doing something for the “cool factor” doesn’t quite put bread on the table.
Once we were done at the Bluebird, we hit the road. I asked a few times if there was any other place that we’d like to go since it was only about 12:30. No one had any ideas, so we headed home. I was the driver for the night, so I made sure that Spice got home, then we headed to Jhianna’s house. I dropped her off, and then headed home myself.
It was a good night of (mostly) great music, and I had fun hanging out with my friends. I hadn’t done the local band scene since lived in San Antonio back in ’96 and ’97. I had forgotten how much fun it could be. I’ll have to check out more live bands in the area to see what else I can find.
