Tied For Last

First band of a ??? band night, and apparent wet t-shirt contest.

This was a weird gig because I was real happy with the way we played, we had a good time, and the audience - who definitely was NOT there to see us - seemed to dig us quite a bit. On the downside, other than the playing, everything else pretty much sucked.

First, the gig itself: The crowd had a mostly biker/classic rock/metal vibe, but not in a bad way at all. They seemed to like us as much as they could possibly get into a punk band, and they really dug "Eve of Destruction." Many in the crowd made it a point to stop band members afterward to tell us they enjoyed the show. That's always cool.

We made a decision to not really promote this one because the Kenny's gig in NYC on Tuesday was far more important, so we brought three whole fans. The rest of the crowd was made up of friends/family members of the bands that followed us.

The sound was pretty good throughout, which was a pleasant surprise considering we had worked with the sound guy previously (at Mr. Beery's), and we weren't too thrilled that time.

Our set was cut short because the place was running REAL late, so we had to cut three songs out. I don't mind it that much, but they only informed us of this when they decided we only had time for one song. Professional sound guys and promoters give you the warning that you have at least TWO songs left - not one. A one-song warning isn't enough to really ensure that you end the right way.

The gig was in Amityville, which, in the summer, is probably a great place to play, but on a freezing cold night in January, I don't advise it. Getting there was dificult (Amityville must be Iroquois for "land of many forks in road"), and finding a place to park was damn near impossible.

This gig was booked with the guy who booked us at Mr. Beery's back in August, and I'm not too happy with the way these things are run. Basically, we do all the work, our fans get gouged for $10 at the door, we have to pay for our drinks (including soda!), and we don't get paid.

Lord knows we're not in this for the money, but if I'm driving an hour out there, waiting an hour to set up in a freezing cold bar (with no bartender) because the club is running late, entertaining their customers for an hour, and then driving an hour home, I shouldn't have to PAY for that "privilege."

Worse still, the club went around to "collect" the ten dollar cover from our friends who were all there long before the door guy. VERY uncool. I bought 'em each a drink and wanted to pay their cover, but they wouldn't let me.

Set List:
Party Dress
Lead You On
Live In
Wasted
Beautiful in Black
Superstar
We're Alright
Eve of Destruction
A Song for the Ladies
I'm Not Fine
Take Janine Away