Tag Archives: NoFX

Cincinnati, Folk, Live Shows, Music, Music Video, Photography, Punk, Review, Road Trip, Ska, The Awesome

The Fermented & Flailing Tour Featuring NOFX, Teenage Bottlerocket, & Tony Sly – Madison Theater – Covington, KY – 04/30/2010 – Concert Review

Leave a comment

Punk rockers of all shapes, sizes, and age filled up the Madison Theater last Friday night to see the Fermented & Flailing Tour in Covington, KY.  The tour, featuring long time independent punkers NOFX with special guests Teenage Bottlerocket as well as Tony Sly of No Use For A Name (NUFAN), did not make it to Northern Ohio during this tour as much as I would have like it to have, but I did the next best thing and drove 4 hours to the tour and do not regret it one bit.

I was highly bummed out when I arrived to Covington in the afternoon as I found out first hand that another band that has been touring with them, The Menzingers, were cancelling their performance that night due to food poisoning.  I was actually on the phone with Greg, the guitarist of the band, trying to set up an interview with them before the show when he informed me that they were behind in schedule and considering going to a hospital as their drummer, and friend, was not in good shape.  As much as I wished I could have seen this amazing up and coming band I understood the situation and wish them luck.  There is always a next time.

The Madison Theater was packed by the time I got there and after scoping out the area and seeing how inconvenient the photo area was I decided to forfeit the idea of getting up close and snapping some shots of the bands.  As much as I wanted to it just was not a good idea.  The stage overlapped the sectioned off area and there was hardly enough room for the bouncers to stand there and do their thing.  Not to mention this venue did not have adequate isles or areas where people could move freely around the sides.  I made my choice and was ok with it.  I was still able to snap off a couple shots but more importantly I still was going to enjoy the show.

Locals Loudmouth opened the night with their impressive 90’s inspired pop punk / ska sounds.  There were a ton of fans in the house that were very aware of who this act was who hail from the Cincinnati / Covington areas.  Their lead singer admitted that he had “whiskey hawk” in between songs and pointed at the green mat of hair on his head promising that he tried to get it up over and over.  The band clearly was stoked to be sharing the stage with members of the Fat Wreck Chords family and put forth a great set.  I am kicking myself still as I missed their merch table after the show but I plan on looking into these guys some more very soon.

Tony Sly, seasoned punk rocker and front man of NUFAN, took the stage with his acoustic guitar in hand and informed the crowd he wanted to play some songs.  The response some of the crowd gave him was disrespectful as they booed him.  Sly did not let that bother him and played songs off this new album such as “Keira” and “Already Won”.  I know I was excited to hear “Toaster In The Bathtub” and “Soulmate”, a NUFAN cover that I could not help but sing along with.

I cannot say that everyone in house was rude to him but there were enough drunk fools around where I was that just went overboard making fun of him to make my blood boil.  Perhaps an acoustic set was not what those concert goers were looking for that night but I think what pissed me off the most was that all the folk who were mocking and booing him literally had no idea who he was.  This guy helped pave the punk rock road that these kids were standing on and they had no idea who he was – I guess I just wish those coming to early conclusions could have been a little more educated.

The brave Sly continued through his set and thanked everyone for listening to him.  An intimate performance down the street at Molly Malone’s may have been more appropriate for his set but honestly I was not complaining and was thrilled to have finally seen him live on his own.  Still I could not believe how many so-called punk rockers booed him…

Power pop punks Teenage Bottlerocket (TBR) delivered a killer set opening with “Skate Or Die” and pretty much did not  break until their last song.  Their punk rock thrash assault on the crowd had the tightly packed venue going insane with tracks like “Bigger Than Kiss”, “I Don’t Wanna Go” and of course brought more calamity when they announced they were going to play “30 Seconds Of Rad” and commanded all to a pogo throw-down.  Their set was fun, fast, and just what was needed to get the fans ready for the headliner.  Most folk there that night may have solely came to see NOFX but I am positive that they left glad they were there in time to see Teenage Bottlerocket do their thing.

The venue seemed much warmer once TBR left the stage and was filled with smoke from cigarettes and other substances.  I decided to head up to the balcony area and I did so just in time as NOFX emerged on stage.  The foursome clearly was pre-gaming it a bit before performing that night but did not hesitate to play for all who paid to see them.  Greeting the crowd Fat Mike noticed a fan in a wheelchair and asked her to be brought onto stage.  After words were exchanged between band and bouncer the girl finally emerged to the left of the stage and had the best seat in the house.  The band said they had a song they were going to play her later as she reminded them of someone they once wrote a song for.  Fans all over cheered in approval.

The rest of the night was just a blur of NOFX tracks from their lengthy catalog, insults from the band to the crowd, and just overall madness.  At one brief moment Fat Mike hinted that the band was thinking about playing “The Decline” but a fan in the crowd told him that he played it last time they were in Covington so not wanting to repeat himself Fat Mike said never mind and then joked that the band was thinking of playing Heavy Petting Zoo in it’s entirety.  Sadly that did not happen either and I was rather  bummed out as I have always wanted to hear “The Decline” live.

Poking fun at the crowd, they yelled at fans for waving erratically at them and even pointed out a couple ICP Juggalos who apparently were not ashamed to show up in painted faces.  The fans took the insults just fine and some chose to throw their drinks on stage soaking Fat Mike more than once.

The band did play tons of tracks including “Bob”, “Linoleum”, “Murder The Government” and even “Cokie The Clown” with Eric Melvin lending his pipes.  At one moment El Hefe picked up his trumpet and started playing the opening notes to “Arming The Proletariant With Potato Guns” and I honestly felt privileged as this was the second time I had seen NOFX play the song in less than a year.  They may have had a hard time getting through the jokes this time around but it was still hilarious.

Other tracks the band played included “Kill All The White Man”, “Franco Un-American”, the tear jerking “My Orphan Year”, “Bottles To The Ground”, and even “The Brews” which was the perfect sing along for a Friday night punk rock show.  After a quick encore which included the highly anticipated “She’s Nubs” dedication to the girl who had been on stage all evening the band slowly left the stage while Eric Melvin serenaded the crowd with his accordion skills.  Dodging their stagehand/keyboardist Melvin kept playing songs to everyone for what felt like ten minutes before finally giving up his instrument and calling it a night.

The band may have screwed up on a lot of their songs, were off key more than once, and did not look entirely thrilled to be playing that night but I would never expect anything else.  It was NOFX, they can do whatever the hell they want to do during their show and I would leave satisfied.  Having seen them tons of times in span of 15+ years I know what to expect from the foursome who just do what they want and don’t care what you think.  I can admit that as long as they continue to tour I will be making my best effort to see them live because a NOFX show is just that damn entertaining.

Cincinnati, Good Times, Live Shows, Music, Punk, Road Trip

Road Trip: Fermented & Flailing Tour Feat. NOFX – Covington, KY

1 Comment

I will be embarking on my first road trip of the year with my good pals this weekend to see NOFX, Tony Sly, Teenage Bottlerocket, and The Menzingers play at the Madison Theater. 

Fat Mike is not looking so fat as of late...

I am beyond stoked to see such a line up and will be covering it so expect a full review of the shows and my personal shenanigans before, after, and during.

Until then, have a good one!

Music, New Release, Punk, Review

Fat Wreck Chords – Wrecktrospective – CD Review

2 Comments

If one of your New Year’s resolutions for 2010 was to listen to more punk rock music you are in luck. Recently Fat Wreck Chords put out their first ever anthology full of punk rock goodness — 88 songs to be exact. Wrecktrospective is a three-disc collection of greatest hits, demos, and even limited edition material that spans the 20 years since the label was founded.

Formed by NOFX frontman Fat Mike with little advertising and no commercial help, the independent punk label has issued over 280 releases and is a well known favorite of many Warped Tour fans. The three-CD set contained in the digi-pack is just a sample of all that has been Fat.

The anthology is more or less a musical history of the bands that have put out material over the last 20 years since Fat Mike decided to start the label. Featuring punk bands from the past and present, I can only imagine that it was no easy task to take so many songs from such a span of artists and put them into the compilation, but it was done perfectly.

Throughout the set I was reminded of a slew of bands I stopped listening to over the years and was happy to hear them all over again. When a label has put out over 280 releases, sometimes it’s hard to remember them all.

The first disc is full of non-commercial hit songs also known as “Fattest Hits.” Listening to the first segment was like a blast from the past for me as I have been a Fat Wreck fan since its inception. Featuring familiar tracks by current label mates NOFX, Strung Out, and the Mad Caddies, the CD includes 33 songs by 33 different bands.

The disc also contains tracks from former Fat alumni who either disbanded or went on to bigger and better things over the years such as Against Me!, Less Than Jake, Hi Standard, and others. The first disc alone brought back good memories of amazing bands that I used to rock out to on a daily basis. If I were to make a greatest hits Fat album I might have selected just a handful of other tracks for some of the artists, but all in all they did a good job putting it together.

The demo disc, or disc two, features many tracks that were hidden gems until now. I had heard some of these tracks as well as variations on other Fat compilations before, but having all of them all on one CD is so much more fulfilling. From the Mad Caddies’ “Polyester Khakis” (where they sample Body Count) to the acoustic “Everyone Is Telling Me I’ll Never Win, If I Fall In Love With A Girl From Marin” by Bracket, I really enjoyed the collection.

Perhaps the most exciting feature of this set is the third disc as it contains the limited release Fat Club 7″ series in its entirety. For people like me who missed out on the Fat Club this is a dream come true as it previously was not available on CD. Then again I am sure people who were lucky enough to join the Fat Club will appreciate this as well so they don’t have to figure out how to use the USB record player to transfer their prized collection onto their computers.

I would have loved to have seen a fourth disc in this set including all of NOFX’s 7” of the month club tracks and the joke in its entirety but I’ll take what I can get at this time. At only $15 on the Fat Wreck Chords website this is a steal of a release and even includes a fold-out poster showing every Fat Wreck Chords release ever put out.

My only complaint with this set is the lack of a DVD. I think it would have been fitting to throw in a disc featuring live performances and music videos by an assortment of the bands. Seeing how Fat Wreck Chords strayed away from mainstream overload (aka MTV), I would have thought they would have built up a collection of videos and footage that further helped celebrate the two decades of accomplishment. Who knows, that could be in the works.

Previous Fat fans may not get as much out of this set as a newcomer might mainly because many of the songs on the disc have been on other Fat compilations over the years. Still it’s a nicely put together collection of what makes Fat Wreck Chords.

Upon checking out the music I took a minute to read the insert pertaining to the record label written by Fat Mike himself. It’s really an interesting read as Fat Mike confesses that the record label was all about “putting out punk bands that I really like” and talks about the ups and downs he went through starting his own business.

Knowing how the music business has been going these days, I was not shocked to read that Fat Wreck Chords is basically back where they started with little financial gain but I am so proud of them for doing their best to continue. With so many labels out there that folded over the years due to money issues (i.e. Grand Royal), I really hope to see Fat Wreck Chords last another 20 years and with their roster I have the feeling it will not be that difficult.

To grab a copy of this 3 CD punk gem head over to Fat Wreck Chords and nab it for only $15.

Here is a funny video:

(please note this is for humor purposes only and if you can not take a joke then you are a jerk…)

Track Listing:
1: NOFX – The Separation of Church and Skate
2: Lagwagon – Violins
3: Propagandhi – Back to the Motor League
4: No Use For a Name – Soulmate
5: Bracket – 2RAK005
6: Strung Out – Too Close to See
7: Face To Face – You’ve Done Nothing
8: Good Riddance – Weight of the World
9: Tilt – War Room
10: Me First – Leaving on a Jet Plane
11: Wizo – Raum der Zeit
12: Frenzal Rhomb – Never Had So Much Fun
13: Hi-Standard – Wait for the Sun
14: Snuff – Martin
15: Goober Patrol – Easy Life
16: Swingin’ Utters – Windspitting Punk
17: Screeching Weasel – Cool Kids
18: Mad Caddies – Mary Melody
19: Consumed – Brutal Truth
20: Sick of It All – The Bland Within
21: Avail – Black and Red
22: Less Than Jake – Gainesville Rock City
23: Anti-Flag – Turncoat
24: Rise Against – Heaven Knows
25: The Real McKenzies – Kings of Fife
26: The Lawrence Arms – Like a Record Player
27: Dillinger Four – AMERICASPREMIEREFAITHBASEDINITIATIVE
28: None More Black – Everyday Balloons
29: Against Me! – T.S.R.
30: Descendents – ‘Merican
31: Only Crime – R.J.R.
32: Chixdiggit! – I Remember You
33: Dead To Me – By the Throat
34: Good Riddance – Flies First Class
35: Rise Against – Alive and Well
36: The Flatliners – Eulogy
37: NOFX – It’s My Job to Keep Punk Rock Elite
38: The Lawrence Arms – On With the Show
39: Lagwagon – Bury the Hatchet
40: Western Addiction – The Church of Black Flag
41: The Loved Ones – Living Will (Get You Dead)
42: Star Fucking Hipsters – Immigrants & Hypocrites
43: Bracket – Everyone is Telling Me I’ll Never Win, If I Fall in Love With a Girl From Marin [Acoustic]
44: American Steel – Sons of Avarice
45: Nerf Herder – 5000 Ways to Die
46: Propagandhi – Middle Finger Response
47: None More Black – Slytherin? My Ass!
48: Swingin’ Utters – A Promise to Distinction
49: Against Me! – You Look Like I Need a Drink [Acoustic]
50: The Soviettes – Multiply and Divide
51: Zero Down – No Apologies
52: No Use For a Name – Always Carrie
53: Dead To Me – Writing Letters
54: Strung Out – Alone
55: The Dickies – My Pop the Cop
56: Avail – Done Reckoning
57: Mad Caddies – Polyester Khakis
58: The Sainte Catherines – Hau Weg die Scheisse
59: Epoxies – It’s You
60: Smoke or Fire – Goodbye to Boston
61: Anti-Flag – Underground Network
62: The Vandals – Underground
63: The Vandals – Why Are You Alive
64: American Steel – Middle of the Night
65: American Steel – New Religion Everyday
66: The Real McKenzies – Another Round
67: The Real McKenzies – Loch Lomond
68: MXPX – The Road Less Traveled
69: MXPX – You Hold the Key
70: Strike Anywhere – Antidote
71: Strike Anywhere – Asleep
72: Randy – I’m Stepping Out
73: Randy – Unite
74: Randy – Freedom Song
75: NOFX – Zyklone B Bathouse
76: NOFX – Spaghetti Motel
77: Swingin’ Utters – Black Mountain Rain
78: Swingin’ Utters – Outside Life
79: Strung Out – Dig
80: Strung Out – Lost Motel
81: Enemy You – The Promise Breakers
82: Enemy You – Kind Hearts
83: Enemy You – Emma
84: The Lawrence Arms – Porno and Snuff Films
85: The Lawrence Arms – A Toast
86: The Lawrence Arms – Overheated
87: One Man Army – Victoria
88: One Man Army – She Wants Me Dead

Funny, Music, Music Video, New Release, Punk, Review

NOFX – Cokie The Clown – CD Review

2 Comments

Leave it to NOFX to keep it unique for their fans. This time around the 25 year punk rock veterans have released a five song EP titled Cokie The Clown. The uniqueness of this EP is that four of the songs were choice cut tracks for their most recent full length release that the band chose to take off Coaster and release at a later time. Like a chaser swig of beer to a strong shot, Cokie The Clown follows Coaster perfectly giving the fans just a little bit more NOFX zing to tie them over until the next round.

The cover of the EP shows Cokie The Clown, rather a scary looking Fat Mike clown portrait that makes Pennywise in Stephen King’s IT look harmless. On the back of the EP is a circus flier comically showcasing the band as entertainers of the mediocre show.  The EP contains four unreleased tracks and an acoustic version of one song that appeared on Coaster.

Opening track “Cokie The Clown” incorporates anti-sobriety with full on abuse in a first person sung song about said clown and his shenanigans with Eric Melvin providing introduction. I cracked up upon hearing the clown asking to be watched while juggling “eight balls” as well as the line “I will trip you down those 12 giant steps” knowing exactly which steps he referred to.

“Straight Outta Massachusetts” resembled something that Matt Stone or Trey Parker of South Park fame might have written for a musical. Still catchy and fun the song told the story of a rowdy 5 year old (who later grows up to be Fat Mike I am assuming) shun by his father from the east coast to the west coast to be with his mother. The song originally appeared on an episode of Pancake Mountain featuring Fat Mike and his adorable daughter.  (If you have never heard of Pancake Mountain you should click THIS.)

“Fermented And Flailing” and “Codependence Day” both kept with the fats riffs and ever so candid lyrics speaking of the pros and cons about alcoholism.  Just like most NOFX songs the lyrics are to the point about their opinion but also well formulated.

Unquestionably the most depressing song of the year “My Orphan Year” that already choked me up on Coaster got even sadder thanks to Fat Mike picking up an acoustic guitar and slowing things down all by himself. The true story formulated into song about Fat Mike losing his folks in 2006 seriously will bring tears to eyes of many (including myself). Let it be know, even rampant punk rockers have feelings too.

The EP is available on CD and also will be split into two 7”s for all you vinyl junkies out there. As an added bonus Fat Wreck Chords is offering a Cokie The Clown bundle including a t-shirt and either the CD version or the two 7” discs of the EP.

Cokie The Clown comes out on November 24th but if you can not wait you can pre-order it right now by going HERE.

Fat Mike actually dressed up as Cokie at the Riot Fest in Chicago and pulled a not so typical prank involving a plastic flower and some white stuff…

If that is not hilarious enough, check out the video that just posted up on MySpace for “Cokie The Clown”:

NOFX – Cokie The Clown

NOFX | MySpace Music Videos

Here is the Pancake Mountain version of “Straight Outta Massachusetts” featuring Fat Mike and his daughter:

Blog On, Festival, Guest Blog, Music, Punk, Review, Road Trip, Rock

Blog On: Invasion of the Yuppie Punx featuring Pete “The Electric Grandmother” Faust

Leave a comment

Two of my favorite people in life had the chance to hit up this years Riot Fest Chicago in, you guessed it, Chicago.  Pete and Mary Alice were gracious enough to share their experience with me and all you crazy readers out there.

Riot Fest, for those of you who may not know, is basically a 5 day punk rock Lollapalooza.  Instead of me listing all of the bands here, I felt it best for a busy guy like myself to post the concert poster of it:

Pete, aka The Electric Grandmother, has been a good friend of mine since the days when I was young.  We have always shared a true love for punk rock and even if he keeps telling me over and over that punk is dead, I know he is not speaking of the punk that binds our friendship so strongly.

Please enjoy Pete and Mary Alice’s hilarious and heartfelt story/review about the time they left Ohio to see some classic punk rockers play out in Chi-Town.

Thanks guys for the share!  I turn it over to Pete now:

It’s Friday morning, and we’re about to get breakfast at Wendy’s in the Columbus airport.  Two young ladies are waiting in line with us, one with green hair and one with pink hair, both decked from top to bottom with authentic punk rock garb.  “You guys going to Riot Fest?” I asked them.  “Yeah, which night are you going?” the green-haired girl responded.  “Um,” I swallowed.  “All three nights.”  After breakfast, as I walked with our laptop slung over my shoulder, hand in hand with my beautiful well-dressed wife, I realized that we had officially become yuppie-punks.

Who’d of thought?  Not me, but then again I never picture myself in the future, I just do a lot of planning ahead. It wasn’t careful planning, but an uncharacteristic spur of the moment idea by my wife and I to go see our beloved Screeching Weasel in Chicago at the 2009 Riot Fest.  Those who know my wife Mary Alice know that she only travels in style, and since I’m lucky enough to be attached to her, I travel in style by proxy.  Here’s me getting punk rock in our hotel room:

And here’s my wife showing everyone how a hotel robe should be worn:

After an exciting trip to the newly renamed Willis Tower, we ventured downtown to the Congress Theater for the first of three Riot Fest nights.  The doors opened at the venue at 5:30 PM, and we left our hotel room at 7:45, as we were only interested in seeing the Dead Milkmen, the fourth of five bands scheduled to perform that night (told ya we were yuppies).  Being that we hail from Columbus, the land of late-starting shows, we figured we’d be there in plenty of time – not so.  When we arrived at the Congress, the Milks were already 10 minutes into their set.  We were a bit disappointed, but not crushed since we’re hardly Dead Milkmen aficionados.  We found out later that we had missed them performing “Punk Rock Girl,” but did manage to catch “Bitchin’ Camaro,” as well as a few other well known singles that poseurs like us enjoy.  The staff at the venue seemed really cool, and the crowd in attendance made us not feel too old to be there.  There were lots of people there in their 30s and 40s, interspersed with the kids that were born after the Dead Milkmen were formed.  We left before the Murder City Devils came on, because we’re old and don’t like to watch bands that we know nothing about.  All in all, we were at the venue for maybe 45 minutes.  Such poseurs.  We went back to our fancy hotel and drank until bedtime.

The girls who we met at the airport said they were going only to see Cock Sparrer, a 70s/80s-era Cockney-Oi!-Working Class-Skin-Et Cetera band who reform occasionally to do Oi! things on stage.  We managed to catch Cock Sparrer on Saturday, as we had made sure to leave early to catch NOFX, a longtime favorite of ours that has enjoyed a listening renaissance with us in the past year.  We made sure to go to the venue’s upper balcony while Cock Sparrer performed, as we wanted no part of the inevitable skinhead roughhousing that was to occur below.  We ended up enjoying the band on many levels, and they seemed like cool people. They were nice bald guys in their 50s, who were just there to perform British working-class anthems for a bunch of rich American kids, and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Even if that Oi! stuff isn’t my thing, I still enjoy watching a crowd sway and wail and “Whoaaaaa” to Sham 69-style boot boy music.  My wife kept laughing at the similar thematic elements in the bands songs, i.e., “This song’s about working!”  (Seriously, they have a song called “Working.”)

Cock Sparrer from the balcony

Sorry it’s so blurry, our camera sucks.  Look at that well-lit guy at the bottom, that’s weird.

Following the Sparrer was the NOFX.  I had seen them perform only once before in 1996, and they were the exact same band – which is a good thing.  Fat Mike took the stage wearing Joker makeup, a la the late Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.  Following some intro music and a few minutes of self-deprecating jokes, the band launched full speed into the classic “Linoleum,” and the crowd went batshit crazy (as did we).  The band then proceeded to hammer through their (45-60 minute?) set in maniacal fashion, only occasionally interrupted by the trademark crowd-baiting banter from Fat Mike, which included his teaching a 12-year old audience member the definition of “Felching.” It was very cool to see all the characters that we’ve come to know from viewing NOFX: Backstage Passport multiple times, not just the band, but the wacky road/tech guys that work with them.  Our favorite is Kent, who Mary Alice got a picture of while working the sound board (see below).  The entire set was superb, except for their closing lip-sync dance number to Avenue Q’s “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist.”  I wouldn’t call it un-funny, just wasted time where they could have played more songs.  Perhaps the funniest moment of the weekend occurred after we left the venue.  A school bus was parked out front to haul some of the crowd to an after party.  People out front were laughing and taunting them while they hung out of the windows of the bus, and the bus crew were yelling back in turn.  As we were walking down the street to catch a train back to our hotel, the school bus passed by with all the punks hanging out of the windows, making horrendous noise and yelling at people on the street.  Right before the bus left our sight, we saw the emergency roof on the top of the bus being opened by someone, who then stuck there head out into the night air.  Never had I seen such a hilarious and encouraging sight.  Watching it made me feel like a teenager again, and gave me hope for the future.  Poor bus driver, though.

Fat Mike aka Cokie the Clown

Kent!

Sunday night found us at a cool little restaurant having dinner with an old friend before heading to the Congress to see the one and only Screeching Weasel.  Much like the Dead Milkmen on Friday, the Weas were not the headlining band, so we knew we had to get there with plenty of time to spare.  After leaving the restaurant, we were under the impression that we were very early to see the band; we were not.  As we walked up to the balcony to watch what we presumed to be one of the first bands of the night already in progress, my wife turned to me and asked, “Does that sound like Screeching Weasel to you?”  I said with utter blind confidence that it didn’t, then ran out to the seating area of the balcony, only to see grumpy frontman Ben Weasel singing about a girl named “Cindy,” who currently was having a problem with methadone.  I turned in horror to my wife and stared blankly.  “WELL C’MON!” she shrieked, and we bolted down the stairs toward the venue floor.

Mary Alice had the good sense the ask a merch guy how long they had been on, who shrugged and offered that they maybe had been on five minutes.  Now normally this kind of situation would make me crazy, and I would not be able to get over how we missed the beginning of their set.  But once we stepped on the floor and saw the band under the lights, it didn’t even matter anymore.  Sure I’d been drinking, but I was still instantly sobered (ouch, sorry) by the sheer magnitude of it all.  Here was a band that I had been following with only my ears for 14 years, and suddenly their songs were coming to life before my eyes.  I had never seen Ben Weasel or Dan Vapid (the only two classic/recognizable of five band members anymore) move around before, and I was just mesmerized.  I’m not usually that much of a fan-boy geek, but I couldn’t help it.  The songs being performed were my life, and represented so much of the life my wife and I have made together.  During one of the last songs, my wife and I turned to each other and kissed amongst the surrounding mass of humanity.  At that moment she and I were the only ones there, and band was performing just for two lovers.

Now that you’ve barfed, I’ll just say that it was a great time.  The staff and crowd were getting irritable and stressed after three chaotic nights, Mary Alice was underwhelmed by Screeching Weasel’s performance as it compared to NOFX’s the previous night, I really had to pee after their set, but none of it even mattered.

We were all that mattered.