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NO USE FOR A NAME, YELLOWCARD, THE EYELINERS, & SLICK SHOES- Cotton Club, Atlanta, GA, October 19, 2002- The only reason I made this journey was to see the EYELINERS. That was my sole purpose on this trip. After being stuck in traffic for an hour and a half in the middle of nowhere Tennessee, I began to get nervous about the possibility of me getting there and missing the EYELINERS set. Finally, I reach the Cotton Club in downtown Atlanta, a club to which I had never been, and I see that there is still a mile-long line outside the place. This brought a huge smile to my face, not to mention the fact that as we were pulling in, we rode right by Lisa from the EYELINERS. Well, the show kicked off with SLICK SHOES doing the opening duties. I was thoroughly unimpressed as I knew I would be. I think they are bit confused as to what type of band they want to be. Their singer had all the right moves of a hardcore frontman while the rest of the dudes worked on their pop punk image complete with all the right jumps and everything. Their songs had a little mix of both, but they were the worst elements of both. They did a lot of little pauses (which I pretty much hate) and they also had a lot of weird little parts that are common today's worst hardcore. Basically, they just made me even more anxious to see the EYELINERS. So finally, they were done and the EYELINERS took the stage. I went nuts. It seemed as though it was more of a NUFAN/SLICK SHOES type of crowd, though, which really sucked. SLICK SHOES got more of a opening scream than the EYELINERS did and that's sad. The few of us who knew who they were and loved them for it went completely nuts for them. They put on one of the best shows I've ever seen them play. They rocked out all my favorite tunes including "Broke My Heart" which I usually have to request. They mixed it up from all three albums, drawing mainly from the "Sealed With A Kiss" album. Gel was running all over the stage and getting the crowd into it and getting them to shout. I saw many of the people surrounding me get converted to the gospel of the EYELINERS. They all forgot who those other bands were for that 30-45 minutes of rock n roll fury. Prime example was this guy next to me trying to look tough in his leather jacket waiting around for NUFAN. At the beginning of the EYELINERS set, he was just kinda there looking around at everybody, but about halfway through, he was pumping his fist in the air along with me and the rest of the EYELINERS crowd. I think that was the first time I've witnessed a full rock n roll coversion. It was great. And of course after their set the EYELINERS were swamped at the merch booth and being chased down for pictures and interviews. Atlanta got a good taste of what good pop punk/rock n roll is that night. I tried to make it through YELLOWCARD who followed the EYELINERS, but I couldn't do it. They had a violin player, which I knew could not be a good thing. They did a little Fat Wreck type of skate punk west coast crap and inserted the violin whenever they felt necessary. He did a back flip at one point, which made the crowd go nuts, but for me that still wasn't enough. I left about halfway through their set, said my goodbyes to the EYELINERS and got the hell out of dodge. So basically, I accomplished my mission and got out when I could. Don't waste your time with those other bands. See the EYELINERS whenever you can! THE LOST SOUNDS & ERASE ERRATA-The Hi-Tone, Memphis, TN, July 14, 2002- Ok, this was my first ever journey to the great city of Memphis. It's a pretty rad place with a super cool record store or two. We got to the Hi-Tone super early and began drinking our Pabst early as well. You can't drink anything but PBR in a place called Hi-Tone, it just wouldn't be right. Both bands did their sound checks, and I have to say that the LOST SOUNDS' sound check was the most annoying sound check I had ever heard. So, after a couple of hours, ERASE ERRATICA take the stage which was all dark except for a few black lights that illuminated their costumes. They definitely had a good idea for a stage show, but they were just so super boring. Their songs were terrible wanna be 80's dance pop with East Bay Ray type guitar licks that didn't really fit in anywhere. The singer (if you could call it that) was just basically talking out of rhythm about who knows what and she would occasionally belt out an ear piercing scream or two. I was basically pissed that I paid 5 bucks to see this crap at the moment, but I stick around cause I wanna check out Jay Reatard's side project the LOST SOUNDS. So finally, they're done with their set, but the morons I'm surrounded by screamed for more, and more we all got. After all that hoopla, the LOST SOUNDS finally take the small corner stage and crank it up a notch. They sounded like a more raw version of the MURDER CITY DEVILS. It wasn't exactly what I would expect from Jay of the REATARDS. They were really good though. Their bass player reminded me a lot of Ben Weasel from the cover of the second RIVERDALES LP. He had all the stage moves down. But anyways, they rocked. They had the crowd going, which apparently isn't that hard after seeing that first band of the evening. They played a set that wasn't too short or too long. They fit my attention span quite nicely and I would definitely recommend a LOST SOUNDS live show to any MCD fans or to anyone who likes synthesizers!. LUCKY GUNS and THEE SHAMS-Red Rose Coffee, Murfreesboro, TN, July 12, 2002- Ok, I walk into the Red Rose not knowing anything about THEE SHAMS except the fact that they have a deal with Telstar Records, which is always a plus in my book, and they're from Cincinatti. I go inside and they've got all this vintage equipment set up and I'm really starting to think I'm in for something good. When they take the "stage", they look like they just crawled out of a garage in the 1960's. It's great!! They start right into their set and start rockin! Five minutes into it, I've already made up my mind that this is the best show I've ever seen in Murfreesboro. Their drummer was untouchable. This kid could play like no other, and he did it tradtional style. He was throwing in fills all over the place, but it all sounded good. He was like a controlled Keith Moon or something. I've never seen anybody play like this guy. Their sound in general was like a bit more psychedelic version of the SONICS, although they've said they've been compared to everything from a fuzzed out 60's garage band to CCR. They told me they just play music, and you can call it what you want. They're great! You've gotta check them out if they ever come near you. Next up, was the ever so loud Murfreesboro rock band the LUCKY GUNS. They've got a lot of new songs that are making a splash around here, but they've definitely lost some intensity since losing their second guitarist. Plus, it was weird to see them in the setting of the Red Rose. It's always a pretty good show to check out nontheless.... THE QUEERS, EYELINERS, PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES, and YOUR ENEMY'S FRIENDS-The Echo Lounge, Atlanta, GA, May 21, 2002- After a long ass drive from Murfreesboro to Atlanta, I was ready to see some rock n roll. I was already pissed that the INDEPENDENTS weren't going to be at this show. I still don't know why they weren't at this one. They were at every other show on this tour. On top of that, it took a lot longer than expected for the rock to begin. The first band, YOUR ENEMY'S FRIENDS started a lot later than expected and they never really made up for it. They put on a decent show and I guess they're good for what they do, but I don't like what they do. My friend dug it and so did about a fourth of the crowd, but not this guy. I was there to see the EYELINERS and THE QUEERS dammit! YOUR ENEMY'S FRIENDS had a weird sound that's really hard to describe. They had a keyboard that had super bassy undertones to it and they sounded like they wanted to be a mix between the REFUSED and MURDER CITY DEVILS, but couldn't quite pull it off. Then, the EYELINERS took the stage and my night got instantly better. With Mr. Jim of MTX fame providing the steady punk rock beat, the EYELINERS blasted through about a 30 minute set of pure pop punk bliss. It's still strange for me seeing the EYELINERS with Laura out front and some random guy on the drums, but it's still the EYELINERS and it's still a rockin show. They mixed up the set with songs from all 3 albums (Which a recent Lookout! ad only gives them credit for 2 albums, but anyway...) with only one from their debut "Confidential" CD. Throughout their set I could see the drastically uninformed Atlanta audience being won over by their incredible live show. This show was among the best EYELINERS shows I've ever seen. Gel was all over the stage as usual chewing gum, guzzling Bud and shredding solos on her Mosrite copy. (Where's the Silvertone?!?!) This did get a little bit hindered about halfway through their set however, when her wireless system's batteries went dead and she had to plug straight in. It was still great, and as with every EYELINERS show, I left with a set list and some of Gel's beer on me. Next up was PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES. I liked how they worked out the line up for this show. They alternated the pop punk bands with the other guys. So, I could sit through one band and hate it, then rock out for a while, then catch my breath again while this band was on stage and prepare myself for the rock of the QUEERS. PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES has the old bass player from MURDER CITY DEVILS on board and he put on a good show. They were all super talented, but once again, just not my thing. They had a few dedicated fans storming about the crowd. They came complete with the angry female singer that sang about whatever. I couldn't understand the words at the show, but my friend acquired their CD that night and we listened to it on the way home. Basically it's got the emo feel to it where everything has gone wrong and now it's time to bitch about it. They put on a good show though, and their drummer is awesome. He was doing some off the wall shit that was super entertaining to watch as a drummer myself. I was still ready for them to stop playing though. I wanted to see the QUEERS play and then go hang out. Finally, the QUEERS took the stage!!! The crowd went nuts as Joe, Dangerous Dave (John Cougar Concentration Camp), Phillip (Teen Idols) and some other TEEN IDOLS guy whose name escapes me at this moment all stormed out and grabbed their instruments. Then, after a shout of "Hey, we're the fucking Queers," the place bursted out into a punk rock frenzy. It quickly became one of those shows where you can't hardly breathe, your feet a barely touching the ground and some numbskull is crowd surfing and you're trying your best not to get kicked in the face. Well, I didn't do a good job of that, after about 10 songs (which translates to about 4 or 5 minutes at a QUEERS show) I got the kick in the face and of course, since I'm a nerd, my glasses were broken. So now I'm a bit pissed, but the QUEERS keep rockin' and I quickly forget about it all. They were banging them out one after another with almost no inbetween song banter. Finally, they took a few seconds to give a small tribute to JOEY RAMONE and they played the RAMONES rare track "S.L.U.G." to which nobody but myself and the QUEERS knew the words. I was screaming my lungs out and it payed off a little. I think it freaked Joe out that someone knew the words cause he looked at me during the song with a bit of a confused look on his face and gave me the point. They played all the classic QUEERS tunes you love to hear plus some newer ones you might not know yet, and a few off of those truly terrible records they put out on Hopeless. And of course they dedicated "Punk Rock Girls" to all the girls in the audience and "especially the EYELINERS." I think the QUEERS were on top of their game that night. That also happened to be one of the best QUEERS shows I've seen. It would have been a much better show without the two other bands. They should have kept it QUEERS, EYELINERS, and INEDEPENDENTS, but what can you do???? THE BRIEFS and THE BEATINGS-Local 506, Chapel Hill, NC, March 25, 2002- Alrighty, where do I begin?? Well, the BEATINGS of Baltimore, MD took the stage at the never packed 506 and started out with a couple of rockers. They were a funny looking bunch though. The singer pretty much looked like the standard 77 type punker. He had the tight pants and platform shoes and the little haircut to boot, but the rest of the band looked like a bunch of kids he picked up at the clinic or something. The lead guitarist was a straight up metal guy with moves stolen from Zakk Wylde while the other guitarist looked like someone's dad dressed like an 80's punker for Halloween. The bass player wanted to be Bowie or something. He had on these super high glitter platform boots that he could barely walk in, and I don't even want to start talking about the drummer. I'd feel guilty for the next year if I told you what I thought about that guy. But anyways, they were decent. THey did a revved up version of the classic BOYS song "The First Time". After they were done amusing us, the bleached blonde BRIEFS took the stage and rocked out like I haven't been rocked in years. They had the Sci-Fi new wave early 80's punk thing down to a science. They were great and they played their radio hit "Poor & Weird" as their second song. They all came out wearing these super cheap 80's sunglasses. They put on a stellar show. They played the whole set back to back almost no stops. It was all go from the first 4 count to the last. Definitely want to see these guys again and I'll still be blarin "Poor & Weird" on my radio show!! The BRIEFS rocked it.....GO SEE THEM!!!!!! THE EYELINERS with SHOWOFF and BRAND NEW-Go Studios Room 4, Carrboro, NC, March 24, 2002- Ok, I waited way too long to do this review. I don't really remember too much about the opening bands, but that's not important. All I remember is hating it until the EYELINERS took the stage. They had Dave from the Indiana band THE BEAUTYS on board banging the drums. This was the first time I had seen the EYELINERS without Laura on the drums. This was a completely brand new experience for me. They rocked out a solid set for the 20 or 30 kids that actually showed up. Carrboro/Chapel Hill kids only care about Lookout! bands if it's the DONNAS or THE QUEERS. There was about the same number of kids at this show as there was when they came through last time with the GROOVIE GHOULIES. But, aside from the lame crowd, it was an awesome show. My brother even got on stage and sang Ben Weasel's part of "Could've Been You" with the band. At the end of the set, we kept yelling for more and it somehow got decided that Laura would play drums during the encore. People were yelling out requests all over the place. I requested "Broke My Heart" which is one of my faves from the "Confidential" CD and they played it!! They totally rocked it out, and it was refreshing to see Laura rocking out behind the drums again. It was like all the EYELINERS shows I had seen before.....I can't wait to see them again!!!!!! |
