Tied For Last

First band of a four-band night.

Last month, when we played The Continental (10/11), we met up with a really cool band called The Trakes. Rev Caroline, our manager, got to talking with Guru Kowalski, their manager, and they decided that maybe the bands would do well playing with each other again. Guru contacted us soon after, and offered us the slot at Trash, and, never having played Brooklyn, we jumped at the chance.

We were supposed to go on at 8:30, but because the 10pm band had a death in the family, we were bumped back to 9pm. This didn't bother us, and we actually were hoping that it meant we could play a longer set. On the way out to Brooklyn, we were in a three-car convoy when it was realised that Geller didn't have EZ Pass. He stopped following me and dropped from my rear-view. Tom caught up to me, and as we were crossing the Triboro Bridge, Rev. Caroline (in my car) spoke to John B (in tom's car) and found out that Geller (in hiso own car) had gotten pulled over for talking on his cell phone while driving when he was talking to John B about finding a way to catch up to us. We got to the bar, and Geller got there about five minutes later, with a ticket in hand for $95.

We were told that, when we got there, we were not supposed to set up and that we had to wait for the sound guy. We waited for awhile, and he was nowhere in sight. In the meantime, though, we met and got acquainted with the guys from Roots Rock Rebel, the band that was to follow us. They were very cool guys as well.

Finally, the barmaid came back and said that the sound guy was on his way, and that we should set up, but we shouldn't plug anything in. The guys in RRR had adjusted the lights so that we could see while setting up, but the bartenders seemed worried that the soundguy would freak, so they turned them off again.

We were supposed to go on at 9, and we had people there, but the soundguy didn't show up until about 9:05. We ended up not being able to take the stage until about 9:45. I'm not going to address this any further other than to say that, by all accounts, the sound for both the audience, and onstage, was problematic to say the least, and it was completely out of our control.

That said, we had been itching to play by that point, and we wanted to pay back Guru by putting on a kickass show, so we played at a pretty high energy level. When the sound problems were kept in check, we were having a fantastic gig with a good crowd response. When the sound problems would resurface, we would just put our heads down and play through it as best as we could.

The good news is that I think we played quite well under the circumstnaces, and virtually all the clubs patrons and staff, all of the audience, and both The Trakes and Roots Rock Rebel gave us really positive feedback and treated us quite well. We felt very welcome, and that's always nice. Both I and Rev. Caroline spoke separately with Steve Blush, the DJ/promoter for the night, and he seemed very cool as well.

I was surprised that we were able to play at such a high level because both Tommy and I were VERY sick. Something about adrenaline and caffeine that helped us get through. My voice, though sore from a bad cold, held out pretty much the whole set. Tom rescued me on one line in Ziggy Stardust (our closer), but that was the only performance issue the whole night.

After our set, John B had to cut out, so Tommy had to drive him home. Kisco Slim, Rev Caroline and I stayed around to catch RRR and The Trakes. It was WELL worth it! Both bands, though sufferring sound problems, blew the roof off the joint. It's so rare that we lay with other bands that are ever any good, so to have played with two other great bands in one night was really awesome.

Roots Rock Rebel play a cool brand of roots punk and have a great look and a great sound. It's raw, with a little bit of a twang, and remains quite catchy. After their set, John, the drummer from RRR, called me aside and said that he wanted to see if we could get together and do some shows with them as well. I'd fucking love to, and hopefully Rev. Caroline can set that up, because it'll definitely be a treat for you.

As for the Trakes, when I saw them at the Continental, I was carrying out my equipment for part of it, and I had to leave before they were finished, so while I liked them, I didn't really get to pay too much attention. This time, I was able to watch the whole set, and, DAMN - those boys from the future can play.

They played a set of catchy punk with a definite progressive bent. They claim to come from the year 3172, so I guess that kind of explains it. They probably had the worst sound problem of the night because, at the beginning of the song before their last, the guitar sound went out. For a three-piece of guitar, bass and drums, that meant there was no lead instrument and for most bands, the lack of melody might kill 'em.

Instead, the bassist and drummer kept playing, and the guitarist/singer stopped playing and just sang the song. He even "sang" the guitar solo. It was a hell of a ballsy move, but it totally worked. They even played one more song with just bass and drums, and, sure enough, they pulled that one off as well, and it sounded great. I can't wait to see them again.

Set List:
SAILOR
SUPERSTAR
BLOODY TUESDAY
WE'RE ALRIGHT
GOT NO LIFE
A SONG FOR THE LADIES
BAGHDAD
TAKE JANINE AWAY
ACHIEVER
SHE WAS JUST A GIRL
ZIGGY STARDUST