Friday night Atlanta’s Beat Beat Beat rolled through town, playing one of the rare punk rock shows that actually happen in Chapel Hill. Punk shows in Chapel Hill usually suck, partly because most of the punk scene is in Raleigh and no one likes to drive out here (a problem compounded tonight by the fact that Double Negative were playing a show out there) and partly because the venues are more bar-like and don’t feel very DIY. The Cave, where tonight’s show was held, is a perfect example… it’s a bar first and a music venue second, which you can tell by the lack of stage and the absolutely terrible sightlines. The part of the bar where the bands play seems a few inches lower than the rest of the place, so unless you’re one of the 10 (maximum) people who cram into the space right in front of the band then you probably don’t see anything. Compounding that, most bands usually set up their merch just to the right of the stage, further reducing the amount of space from which one might actually see a band play. This place just really bums me out, which is why I was stoked to see that Beat Beat Beat was playing first and I’d be able to make a quick exit at the end of their set.
The other thing about this show was that it was part of a fest called Blackbeard’s Lost Weekend. Apparently this is the fifth year of said fest, and even though I’ve lived in Chapel Hill for six years I’m pretty sure that this is the first I’ve heard of it. Further, most of the people at the Cave seemed like either regulars or people who had some to see these particular bands… it doesn’t seem like the festival had its own dedicated cadre of attendees. Still, they’re the ones who managed to get Beat Beat Beat here so I guess I owe them some thanks.
My friend Dennis and I hatched this theory about Beat Beat Beat that they’re really just a Rolling Stones-type bar band who happened to do all the right drugs on the night they recorded their Living in the Future LP. That LP is infused with so much Johnny Thunders-esque swagger that it’s hard to believe that anyone who self-identified as a punk could have created it, but when Beat Beat Beat started setting up their equipment I was surprised to see them sporting black stretch pants and shirts from bands like the Briefs (though, admittedly, the singer did have a Stiff Records shirt which seemed about right). Also, the band’s set didn’t seem as stimulant-fueled as their LP… the songs were a hair slower and sloppier, inching more toward Dolls territory rather than Buzzcocks. However, the guitar leads (my favorite part of the LP) were there in full effect… that guy nailed every single fucking note, which was awesome to see. Further, he looked totally bored and nonchalant while he was doing it, which was awesome. The vocals were maybe a bit less tuneful than the recorded versions, but I suppose that’s to be expected. All in all a quality set from this band. I hope they make it out soon and play a more DIY show… I have a feeling this show would have been mind-blowing if they’d been playing to 75 hyper-active house-show attendees rather than about an equal amount of old bar hags and not-quite-hip-enough hipsters.
Here’s a video of Beat Beat Beat playing “When the Birdmen Fly” by the Fun Things (they also played a cover of “Out of Luck” by the Pointed Sticks which fucking RULED, but unfortunately I didn’t get a video of that):
OK, it’s time to stop the self-pity train and get back to work. Who doesn’t like demos? Actually, I never was a big fan of tapes, but in general I dig the raw recording quality of demos, and now that I run a label I get a lot of them randomly in the mail. Here’s a few that have been accumulating in a pile next to my turntable for a few months:
Criminal Intent
I guess that I’m a little late on this one as Criminal Intent already have a killer debut 7″ out on Sewercide Records, but this demo is still very much worthwhile since only a couple of the songs appear on both releases. Criminal Intent play ripping, simple, early 80′s style hardcore. For the longest time I was trying to think of who they remind me and I finally figured out that it’s the almighty ABUSED from New York City. The singer has a very similar, hoarse voice and the music is basic ripping hardcore with an ever-so-slight metal edge to the riffs. Seriously, if all of the retards repping NYHC didn’t have their heads so far up their asses this would be insanely popular. Seriously, get this (and their EP)!
Coptic Times
This is something a little different than what I typically listen to… modern-sounding hardcore with a pretty overt rock influence. Though I never actually heard them, this is what I imagine that band the Suicide File probably sounded like… to me Coptic Times could probably be compared to Lion of Judah, but with both the “hardcore” and “hard rock” knobs turned up a few notches. Honestly, the ’82-style hardcore is getting a little tired for me right now, so this is a breath of fresh air. I can see this band going in a Bridge 9-type direction if they got a lot better production, but the rawness on this one is really grabbing me. Looking forward to hearing more.
Insomnio
I snagged this Spanish band’s demo from No Way’s distro because, hey, how often do you see Spanish demo tapes bumping around in US distros? I hate it when reviewers make band comparisons solely based on geography, but it seems pretty clear to me that Insomnio are deliberately referencing a long tradition of Spanish punk bands like Eskorbuto and RIP (the same tradition that Peligro Social is referencing, by the way). In other words, you have mid-paced, super-catchy punk with fluid, infectious guitar leads… this isn’t miles away from what No Hope for the Kids is doing, but this feels a little more from-the-heart and rooted in ’70s British punk. The only thing is that the recording quality is super raw… maybe I just got a bad dub on my copy, but it sounds really hollow, like a 4th or 5th-generation copy. This is one of the few bands in this batch that I think could benefit from a professional recording, so hopefully we’ll hear more from this band in the future.
Insubordinates
Insubordinates are a new band from Rochester, NY, and while they didn’t say so explicitly (and I couldn’t find any info online) I’m pretty sure that they have something to do with Skate Korpse, a recently-deceased Rochester band who were onto some pretty killer surf-punk on their last few releases. If Insubordinates don’t have anything to do with Skate Korpse I’d honestly be shocked because this is really similar to the last 2 Skate Korpse EPs… very Agent Orange-y surf punk with bubbly, walking basslines and Ben Weasel-esque vocals that really stand out. Not only does the vocalist have a really cool tone, but he also has a really unique cadence… he doesn’t sing precisely on the beat and it almost sounds like he’s just ranting at times, but it all comes together sounding really cool. I tried to get in contact with these guys about distro-ing this demo but the email they wrote in their note didn’t work, so if you’re in Insubordinates get in touch!
Insurgents
Fuck, this demo is raw as shit but I love it! Insurgents are mining the old Western Mass, hyper-speed sound that made Deep Wound and Siege legendary… if you’re looking for newer comparisons think Total Abuse, but even more raw and fucked up. I’ve always been really into bands who can play a zillion miles an hour but manage not to sound grindcore… god knows you would never mistake this demo for a Napalm Death bootleg… this is core to the core! With four songs in a little over 3 minutes this one is over before you can get comfy in your chair, but fuck… what a 3 minutes! I’m way into this but unfortunately this is another demo that I can’t find any info about online.
Kids on Fire
The last demo in the batch… I think the band just randomly sent me this in the mail. This sounds like a real studio recording, but the music is really basic. The first song has a chorus that goes “circle that A / shove it up your ass” over some really generic hardcore, then after doing that for about a minute the band heads into a pretty corny breakdown. Really, this demo is all over the place… “Pig” is pretty cool stop/start hardcore that sounds like it could come from the first Government Issue EP, but the next song “The Kids Are All Fucked” (pretty generic title) goes for a Flipper / Pissed Jeans / Snake Apartment kind of thing. They do it competently, but isn’t a competent Flipper imitation pretty much a contradiction in terms? Anyway, this is well-produced so I’m sure some people will dig it, but this never quite comes together for me.
Last night one of my new bands, Logic Problem, played our first show. We were asked to play this show sometime in early September, I think, after we had practiced just 1 or 2 times. We had 6 songs pretty well down at that time and I figured we’d have 5 or 6 more practices before our first show. Fast forward a month and we’ve practiced twice together since then, so we threw together a practice for the afternoon of the show, learned a few covers and headed out to Durham to play.
Off with Their Heads and Four Letter Word were supposed to play, but when we arrived at the show they were just passing Richmond, which is about 3 hours away. We eventually decided to play at about 9:30, so the handful of people who were there shuffled inside and stood in front of us.
It’s funny, after being in Cross Laws so long you would think I wouldn’t make so many mistakes with this band, but it definitely felt like a first show. We didn’t spend any time getting our levels right so all I could hear was bass… since we hadn’t practiced a ton I rely on Nick’s guitar a lot, and not hearing him really screwed me up a few times. There was one part where I totally played the wrong part of the song, but thankfully the part I played had the same rhythm and count so somehow it worked. Hell, it actually sounded pretty cool I think. Cameron was really nervous (this was his first time singing for a band) so he got totally shitfaced before the show, but he was probably the best part of the band. He didn’t move around too much, but he sounded really good and he had practiced a ton and knew all the words really well.
We played a bunch of covers since we didn’t have too many of our own songs ready to go… in the middle of the set we dropped what I think was a pretty cool version of “Field Day for the Sundays” by Wire, which led straight into “Solitary Confinement” by the Weirdos. During our last original song Nick broke a string… we should have just cut the set short there because things were getting dodgy, but we got greedy and attempted a cover of “Orgasm Addict” by the Buzzcocks, which we had just learned that afternoon. Cameron didn’t really know the words (he had a cheat sheet for that song) and I think that Nick was having problems remembering certain parts as well… I think we played about 3/4 of the song before we just said fuck it and stopped. No one even clapped for us… bummer.
Anyway, here are some pics… thanks to Hank for taking them. Hopefully you’ll see us raging somewhere around NC again soon. We’ll practice more for the next one, we promise.
I think one of the reasons I haven’t been reviewing too many records is that I carry most of the good records I hear these days in my distro. It seems like a a conflict of interest to rave about the good ones here, and if I pan the bad ones then I’ll be sitting on my 10 copies or whatever I ordered until the end of time. At least that was my thinking lately, but now I say fuck it… I’m talking.
Regulations: Different Needs EP
As I start to type this review I am listening to this record for the very first time. I asked a few people about this record and I heard from one person that it’s really good and from one other person that it totally sucks. Two songs in and I like it a lot. I am 100% burnt out on the slow, catchy California punk that Regulations and the Vicious were doing, so this comes as a refreshing change of pace. It still sounds like old LA punk, but I’d peg the main influence as Rhino 39 now. In other words, the band has returned to the slightly faster sound of their early EPs. I was starting to think that I hated the Regulations, but I back this.
Anti You: Pig City Life EP
This is a really short, one-sided 7″ from this Italian band on Punks Before Profits Records. Apparently these guys are touring the USA soon and I have no doubt that they are completely wild live. The label is pushing the Circle Jerks comparison hard and you can tell that’s what they’re going for… short, choppy songs with more snare fills than you can shake a stick at. It’s no Group Sex (of course), but I think it’s pretty good. One thing, though, the ‘Jerks would never do the sxe-sounding breakdown that Anti You pulls in “Problem Child.” So, in summary I’m looking forward to the show but this record probably won’t get a ton of play around here.
The P.M.R.C.: Polyphonics for the Modern Renaissance Cannibal EP
For some reason I was under the impression that Texas’s the P.M.R.C. were a grind/power violence band. Why on earth did I think that? This EP sounds to me like it could have come out on Pusmort Records in 1986… it has that same combination of mid-paced heaviness and catchiness that made Pusmort-era Poison Idea, Final Conflict and Christ on Parade so great. The vocals are crazy, too, definitely channeling an H.R. influence and sounding a lot like that band Restless Youth’s killer first EP. If you ask me I think this is the way hardcore is going. Everyone on earth and their little brother has figured out how to do the 1982 sound so I’m looking for bands like PMRC so add a tasteful dash of metal while keeping it punk as shit.
Fy Fan: Self-titled EP
I’ve always been annoyed by band descriptions that take the “blank meets blank” form, even though I’ve been guilty of doing this from time to time. Well, it’s appropriate here because Fy Fan really do sound like the perfect union of the best Swedish crust and the best Danish hardcore. This was recorded by Tommas from Kick N Punch / Hjernespind records so it has similar production values to Amde Petersen’s Arme or Hjerte Stop, but Fy Fan aren’t a melodic punk band at all. Truthfully, they sound eerily like Totalitar. They have that talent for creating riffs that are catchy as the plague yet barreling and powerful. I wonder if I would like this as much if it were produced like a straight Totalitar rip-off, but with the disjunction between the songs and the production I’m really digging it.
Diatribe: Aftermath Demo 7″
If Fy Fan are Totalitar meets Amde Petersen’s Arme, then Diatribe are Discharge meets more Discharge meets even more Discharge. Don’t make the mistake of thinking Diatribe are some kind of Disclose-esque d-beat clones, though. This doesn’t sound like a modern Dis-band, it just sounds like straight up Discharge… raw, barreling, simple… this has all of the things that made you love Realities of War. This record is another in the “Demo-lition” series on Get Revenge Records, but you may actually be able to get your hands on one of these since I believe he pressed 500 of this and the Zero Defex 7″ whereas he only pressed 200 copies each of the first 4 records in the series. Still, this won’t stick around forever so don’t sleep… this is some killer hardcore.
Civic Progress: Petroleum Man EP
Wrapping up this post are Civic Progress from St. Louis. Their bass player told me that they actually recorded this record in October of 2006 but they just got it about two weeks ago, three or four days into their tour. I think that’s an even longer gestation period than the Direct Control LP. Anyway, this EP is totally worth the wait. Civic Progress share a couple of members with Cardiac Arrest and I suppose you can tell that… they have a similar raw, straightforward hardcore sound. However, the thing that I love about Civic Progress is that they incorporate a lot of different influences. “Crimethinc Is a Joke” (best song title of 2007!) is a bouncy, catchy punk song, while “IFA” is a mid-paced song that wouldn’t be out of place in an 86 Mentality set and “Kill the President” is a straightforward hardcore rager. Live they also had a few songs that sounded like Heresy and they even covered Warsaw (the pre-Joy Division band)! Somehow, despite all of these different influences it all comes together perfectly for one of the most varied and memorable EPs I’ve heard in a long time. Out of all of the EPs I’ve written in this post I predict that this is the one I’ll go back to the most. Oh, and by the way the first press of 500 on No Wire Records is pretty hard to get, so if you see one snatch it up. I think it’ll be repressed soon on No Way Records with a different cover, and the band also just recorded for another 7″ that’ll be out on Fashionable Idiots.
Other stuff I’ve been listening to lately (maybe I’ll write about some of this soon): Red Dons LP, Criminal Damage LP, the Hell: Typical Shit EP, Career Suicide: Attempted Suicide LP, Wasted Time: No Shore EP.
Last night Jay Reatard’s traveling tour rolled through town. I’d been excited about this show since I heard about it… I’m a big fan of Jay Reatard’s solo LP but I didn’t think I’d ever get to see these songs played live, so this was a nice treat. The show was at the Downtown Event Center, a venue that’s very much like the bars where I used to attend shows in high school and college before I really got into the DIY HC scene. There were a shitload of people there (by my estimation at least 100) which made the big space seem less big, but it’s still not my favorite spot to see shows. Still, it’s nice to hear bands on a professional PA every once in a while and this place does sound really good.
Heads on Sticks played first, which a solo project featuring one of the guys from Strange and Birds of Avalon (two big-ish indie rock bands from Raleigh). I had listened to this guy’s myspace songs earlier in the week and I thought they were terrible… really weird indie rock without any redeeming parts. Tonight was quite a bit better… it was just him and his electric guitar but he had a bunch of different gadgets and gizmos up on stage to help him build up a song as he went, adding drum beats and sequenced guitar tracks underneath his live performance. He ended with a cover of “Shadowplay” by Joy Division. I was excited because that’s my favorite Joy Division song, but he didn’t play the song’s killer guitar lead, which is the whole reason to listen to that song. Oh well.
Double Negative were up next. At first they seemed a little uncomfortable on the big stage, but this is a band that has a bag of tricks for every environment. In this kind of setup you can really hear how creative Scott’s guitar playing is… I love when he drops out and just lays feedback over top of Justin’s bass lines. There were a bunch of younger kids that I don’t see out much and they danced super hard to Double Negative… I wasn’t really in the mood for that since I’d just had a 4-hour band practice before the show, but I was glad to see them stoked. They also played a brand new song I hadn’t heard before (it ruled… definitely moving in the more fucked up direction of their more recent songs) and “Excited About Myself” from the upcoming EP on Sorry State. All told, another killer set from these guys.
I was catching up with the Crossed Eyes guys after Double Negative finished their set* and all of a sudden I hear guitar playing behind me… Jay Reatard is starting his set. That has to have been one of the quickest load-ins I’ve ever seen. Once the band were into the first song they didn’t stop for around half an hour… as soon as one song would end Jay would scream out the name of the next one and the band would leap straight into it. The drummer totally had that Marky Ramone-style 16th-notes on the ride cymbal move totally down and I have no idea how he kept that up for the entire set.
I really liked the set a lot… it was great to hear the two distinct (often harmonized) guitar parts that Jay writes for each song and they played so fast and so hard that the energy level was through the roof the entire time. At the same time, though, the show was missing some of my favorite aspects of the LP. I really like Jay’s singing on the record, for instance, but the songs were played so fast that he pretty much just yelled out all the words as fast as he could. It still sounded cool, but it was a totally different experience than the record. That’s probably a good thing in the end, but fair warning: if you see this tour don’t expect the mellow, new wave-y Jay Reatard you know from the records.
So, I finally just wrote my big piece about the last Cross Laws show, and as I was doing so the fact struck me that over the past few weeks I’ve seen several new reviews and gotten a few mail orders for our demo tape, which came out in November of 2006 and (if I remember correctly) was sold out by the end of the year. It just goes to show that despite the fact everything seems to move so quickly these days thanks to the internet, there are still plenty of people living on old school punk rock time. The band got a lot of recognition just around the time we broke up, so it’s frustrating to think that if we could’ve stuck it out for another year, for instance, we probably would have reached a whole new level of popularity. Not that that’s the goal, but artistic progression is even more gratifying when people actually get to hear it.
On September 1, 2007 Cross Laws bookended a 55-week campaign of musical annihilation, ending (fittingly) in the very place we began: Durham, North Carolina, halfway between the band members’ residences in Raleigh and Carrboro. In the months between that first and last show we played places as far away as Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Brandon, Florida, but it’s hardly being modest to say that we were a local phenomenon. Unless you lived in or around Raleigh you probably only got a chance to see us once, and that was probably when we were an unknown band at the bottom of a bill. I know we gained a handful of fans through those shows, but in the hardcore scene almost everyone comes out just for the headliners, so the marginal amount of fame we garnered spread through message boards, myspace bulletins and the occasional, anachronistically-photocopied zine.
I give that brief account of our rather strange tenure as a band because our last show was, for me, the first show where I felt like a real band. Before that, it always felt like we were riding on someone or another’s coattails, either by touring with much better bands like Wasted Time, Government Warning and Double Negative, by being associated with the much better bands on my label or by getting on all the best hardcore shows because our friends booked them. However, our last show brought out the people who knew the words, who danced and who actually cared. Even though there were only a few of them, it felt incredibly special to know that we’d touched anyone at all.
In addition to Cross Laws’ last show, September 1 was also conceived as a celebration of the awesomeness that is Dennis Duffy, Cross Laws’ bass player and singer. As most people who cared about the band know already, Dennis joined the Peace Corps and got assigned to go to Turkmenistan for the next two and a half years. Dennis booked the show not only as a send-off for his own musical endeavors, but as a chance to see all of his favorite bands one last time. As such, there was absolutely no filler on this show. If Dennis didn’t think the band ruled they didn’t play, end of story.
The first band of the night was Crossed Eyes, the other band that Dennis played bass for. Not only was this the record release show for Crossed Eyes’ Rattled EP on Sorry State Records, but it was also billed as the band’s last show with Dennis. Unfortunately, it’s looking like it may be the band’s last show period because they’ve been practicing with some new faces and word on the street is that they’re going for a slightly different, poppier sound. As for tonight’s show, it was straight up punk. You know that I love this band because I put out their record, but ever since I heard the final mix of those tracks I’ve been obsessed with this group. I’ve probably played Rattled myself more than any Sorry State release since the Direct Control EP, and I’m happy that I got to see them one last time after I had heard the recorded versions and could appreciate this band a little bit more. It’s too bad the rest of the audience didn’t have that chance, because Rattled is a classic record and the band were spot-on for their last show, as you can tell by this video of “Scottish Pop:”
The crowd during Life Trap
After Crossed Eyes played, Life Trap from Nashville, TN took the stage. It really meant a lot to me (and to Dennis and Matt too) that these guys drove all the way from Tennessee to play our last show. Those guys truly love hardcore, and I remember them being way stoked when we came to Nashville even though they’d only heard our kinda-crappy demo. I feel like our midwest tour was probably the most important event in Cross Laws’ lifespan, so it was great to have Life Trap there to remind us of it. That also reminds me that our friend Sara who we met on tour also flew out from Chicago just for this show, which still leaves me flabbergasted every time I think about it. Anyway, Life Trap are simply one of the best live bands in the world… I always felt a kinship with them since they play so fast and hard and don’t pull any of the bullshit “we’re punk rock, not hardcore” poses that are so popular lately. Anyway, they ripped but they seemed a bit frustrated with their set. There were some equipment troubles and Nico chipped one of his teeth on the microphone just a few songs in. Still, even on their worst day Life Trap are one of the best bands in the world.
Wasted Time and Daddy Ferrell!
After Life Trap were Wasted Time, who as I’ve been saying since our midwest tour this spring, are probably the hottest band in the world right now. There might be a band or two that’s better, but Wasted Time are absolutely at their peak, playing each show like they’ve got something to prove. They had a slightly different lineup tonight; Zach couldn’t make it out, so Eric was playing bass and Mick (who I guess is only playing local shows with the band now) on guitar. They fucking tore through their set… every time I’d think to myself that I’d been dancing way too hard and needed a break they would play another song that I just HAD to go crazy for. They also recruited a local Durham drunkard who had wandered into the show in a sort of Beau Beau/cheerleader role. Honestly, that guy creeped me the hell out but Mark thought he was hilarious. He definitely made this show different, that’s for sure. Anyway, if you have the opportunity to see Wasted Time do NOT blow it because one day they’re going to pass their peak and you’ll have missed the boat. Thankfully, though, I don’t see that day coming any time soon.
Wasted Time were followed by Double Negative, whose set was unfortunately plagued by equipment troubles. I think Kevin only sang one song before the PA got annihilated by the heaving, moshing masses. DN ripped through their set anyway, and if you were up in the front singing along then you probably never even knew the difference since so much of the band’s power comes from their instrumentation.
Who needs a PA? Singing along to Double Negative.
Chaz managed to secure a second PA system in time for Direct Control’s set. For some reason a lot of the younger kids chose to sit out DC’s set, which is a shame. I consider Direct Control to be the band that kickstarted North Carolina hardcore, and Brandon, Eric and Mike are personally responsible for introducing a lot of people who would become the inner circle of the Raleigh hardcore scene. I guess a lot of the younger people missed that whole era, which is too bad for them because Direct Control are simply amazing. Their set was also plagued by a lot of equipment and memory troubles, but DC are never less than incredible.
Dennis grabbed the mic for a solid quarter of Direct Control’s set.
After DC finished a pretty long set it was time for Cross Laws to start setting things up. I was kind of nervous as we were getting things together. We’ve been known to play a shitty set or two in our day and I was really hoping that we would go out with a bang. I was pretty sure we would be fine because I know I’d planned to play my absolute hardest, but all three of us had been going crazy to every single band all night and I, for one, was already soaked in sweat and exhausted. However, when we hit the first note I knew everything was going to be ok… we locked in and even though there were some bumps along the road everything sounded great. It’s hard not to play well when there’s so much positive energy in the room.
The whole night (and especially our set) is a blur, but a few moments stick out. The biggest one for me was when my guitar strap fell off and the whole thing went flying across the stage during the intro to “Joke’s on Me.” It’s a testament to how on we were that night that when I finally got my guitar plugged in and strapped to my body again all 3 of us dropped right into the middle of the song at exactly the right spot. Luckily my friend Billy (who had driven down all the way from Maryland) managed to get a video of this fracas:
Also, here’s a video that Scott from Double Negative took of us playing “Acceptable Loss.” Check out all of the crowd surfing that was happening… crazy!
We played through just about every song we knew, including covers by Negative Approach, SOA and Inferno (which ended up being kind of our signature cover, sort of like Corrupted Morals is/was for Direct Control). We had planned for our last song to be “The Relic,” the last song we wrote and the song that all 3 of us are proudest of. We ended up getting an encore so I guess we played a few songs after that, but here’s a video of “The Relic” taken by my buddy Nick:
After we finally finished playing and everyone in the band said their piece, the crowd spontaneously grabbed Dennis, lifted him above their shoulders and sang “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow:”
Afterparty!
Afterward the party moved to Chaz’s house where, aside from a brief, incredibly stupid fight was totally awesome. When I got home the sun was coming up, but I felt that I’d squeezed every single bit of fun that could have possibly been gleaned from this night. Thanks so much to everyone who came out as well as everyone who saw any of the other shows that Cross Laws played. And thanks most of all to Dennis and Matt who made possible one of the most incredible experiences of my life.
You can see a lot more pictures of the show here and here and here. If anyone else has pictures from the show online please post a link in the comments section.
I have been called out for my unplanned blogging break twice in the past two days, once by Ryan Leary and once by Hank Williams. There are a lot of reasons I haven’t been blogging lately. I’ve been incredibly busy at work for one; I’ve spent the past two weeks applying for fellowships for the spring. That involved writing pretty much all day long, and when you write all day you don’t really want to blow off steam by writing more at night. Secondly, after spending a couple of weeks with the beauty that is my new iPod touch I decided that I was finally going to take the plunge and go Mac for my primary desktop computer. I found a cheap Mac Mini on craigslist and got it all set up, but it’s taking a little while to adapt my well-worn computer routine to new, unfamiliar software. I’m very happy with the change so far, though, and I think I’ll be sticking with the Mac for the foreseeable future.
In addition to these rather coherent excuses, I’m also feeling like there’s less room for blogging as some of my other music-related endeavors get busier. Cross Laws ended on September 1 (I still need to write a post about our last show, which was amazing) but I’ve been playing with two new bands since then. Just scheduling practices for these is pretty overwhelming, and when you combine that with the fact that my record label has been extremely busy lately it means that all of the time on my calendar that’s devoted to punk rock gets eaten up pretty quickly.
So, with that I’m going to stop blogging about how I haven’t been blogging much and get to work on that Cross Laws last show post.
