Tuesday, May 6, 2008

on two sides

so, the week was rather fun. we definitely had a great time, and the shows went well. maybe we overindulged a little, but wouldn't want to disappoint the fans, right?
cleveland was nothing like we expected, and after a terrible drive we were welcomed at the beachland in royal fashion. great people there, and they made sure we were fed and drunk before we played and that when we left we had a hotel room to stay in.
Dead Meadow were great dudes as we expected and we had a great time hanging out with them and shooting the shit. good dudes to chat with about b-movies and stupid shit like x-box games.
most impressed by the sheer amount of gear that those dudes had...it was fucking crazy, it seemed like it took them around an hour to bring it all in from the u-haul and once it was finally onstage it looked like some kind of weird soundsystem from mad max at thunderdome.

it was definitely the first night that thing really really clicked with the new lineup and there were drunken hugs, on stage even.
things are a lot smoother and continued as such in cincinnati. the show there was a little light but some kids who'd seen us at the ravari room with NBT came out and were nice dudes. generally good times, and again, we were treated real well at the comet. the burritos at this place are out of fucking control and i suggest if you ever roll through the nasty nati that you go around and grab one.

the bottle show was a little strange, i suppose that it was a shitload of fun, but i was a little too fucked up and the crowd was not what we have gotten used to here in the city. i know that sounds crybaby of me, but i think it is just a testament to the fact that we need to work harder. i think we're kinda in an odd position with MM right now. i can't tell if it's oversaturation, but i've always felt that we've kinda teetered between the hipster kids who really dictate that popularity really liking and supporting us and just a complete dismissal from them. it's a strange boat to sail and it's not something that we actively address, but it really is hard to ignore the affect marketing has on us. (and i guess everyone for that matter) hopefully things continue to roll along and we can get this next record done and take some time off.

either way, it wasn't a bad turnout, just little light.

saw narrator's last show the next night and it was incredible. played everything i wanted to hear and there were smiles all over the fucking place. it's going to be strange to not play with them anymore. honestly, the best experience i've had in a band directly involved all those dudes and i feel closer to them as individuals than anyone else in the music circle that we run with. there's a certain kind of kindred existence there. anyhow, they were given a real proper send off and i couldn't be happier for them. it's just a shame we couldn't make it out to NYC to see the last show proper. fuck those dorks for doing it there. regardless, go buy 'all that to the wall' if you don't have it already.

also, if you're looking for some new shit to listen to, i suggest you go take a peek at this incredible band, blank dogs. you might have heard the stuff they put out on todd's hozac label a while back, but their best stuff is on their full length 'on two sides' which you can download for free from their blog site:

we'll see what is happening after the local h show and i'll post some more.