Bands, bouncers, boozers, and blowers of air

October 5, 2011

I drove today. Getting out of my driveway was a bitch, because there was a truck blocking half of it. So, I drove through my yard and the sidewalk. Good thing it’s not landscaped. Door times were off, so we played some speed in the car. Then, it appeared that there was a ghost inside my car. There was a random thump from the back and my headlights decided to turn themselves on. We went inside so we didn’t get sacrificed to the dead. There were a lot of strange people that came out tonight, some of whom I never expected to see at such a show. Abbie :D Melissa >:( PETER! You’re alive!

Maelstroms did better than last time. I’m glad you found some real clothes. :)

Victory Heights were really good. I missed them; it’s been a long time. I really wish they played in the Springs more often. I wish there had been more crowd participation, but whatevs. The guitarist is apparently single, if anyone wants to hit that up.

Forty Fathoms is getting so srs. They even had a backdrop. A big backdrop. And they’re about to release an EP. Get stoked on it. Taylor limited his inappropriateness to just one moment, which is a little surprising, considering the crowd was older than the 15-year-old one at Sunshine Studios. 

It was a pretty typical Altars, minus like 50 people, which sucks since it was their tour kick-off show. Sorry, bros. :/ Colorado, WHERE YOU AT?! The pit was actually pretty calm. I spent zero time on my ass. It was a little disappointing, to be honest. Nonetheless, people were still scared. Girls, if you’re going to stand up front, GROW A PAIR. THIS ISN’T EVEN THAT BAD. I like Hayden. He is pretty swell. I want more Avila, plz. PLZ?! And good luck in Canada! :D

As a side note, if you’re going to be in a band in the local scene, TAKE PART in the local scene. Don’t just come to one show ever to whore yourselves out and DON’T talk shit about other bands just because they aren’t going to help you get places. If you’re going to come to a show, you be there to support the bands NOT just for “business”. Kthnx. 

There was a creepy guy hanging around outside. He said he came for a punk show. Wut. How were you misinformed, exactly? Where do you get your info? Anyway, please go home now. Once again, you are creepy.

NOBODY WANTS TO SEE YOUR BALLS, ANDREW. NOBODY. ESPECIALLY NOT ME.

September 2, 2011

While I was on the way to pick Hollie up tonight, a man ran in front of my car. I don’t know if it was a suicide attempt, or if he was just drunk or crazy, but he did succeed in scaring the shit out of me. Then, a little while later, I went to drop my brother off at the house, but he locked himself out. And he chased my car down the street. I don’t understand how we could get there an hour late and still be early. So, while we were waiting in the car, we saw an old lady approaching us from behind. I kind of thought she was a drunk homeless guy because she was staggering while she walked. And, you know, she was old, so she kind of looked like a guy. Which, I mean, I was looking in my rear view mirror and I already need glasses (proven by the MovMou incident). But, she wasn’t. Because she was actually bedazzled and had a wallet. But honestly, she was probably still kind of drunk. “We should jump her.” I mean, logical conclusion, right? Just kidding, we most definitely didn’t jump her. We’re good citizens.

Anyway, we decided to go tonight in order to maybe find some new local bands. 

The first band, Fatal Memory, was a good mainstream-radio-appropriate band. Not really my thing, but good nonetheless. They probably shouldn’t have been on this show though, because everyone there was so HXC and just came to throw down, so they insisted on being assholes for no good reason.

I have to admit, I was a little turned off by Liberator because two of their members were part of the aforementioned assholes. Really, guys? I don’t know how you do it in Denver, but down here, we’re all about broha love. The whole walk in, flip them off, shrug, and walk back out thing was pretty uncalled for. Anyway, I’ll put that aside. You guys had all the basics of hardcore down. Your Acacia Strain cover was lacking a little in the brutality department though. My face could handle it.

As The Sky Darkens had moments I really liked and then moments that I wasn’t too keen on. It was mostly the former though. You guys really overused the phrase “Get the fuck up” though. And thanks for informing us when the breakdown was. I really needed that. :) Also, there was this girl in the corner who was REALLY enthusiastic for you. Her dancing was crazy. Somebody should have filmed her and put her on youtube, cause it was pretty amusing.

Maelstorms (HAHAHA, I’m so damn funny), I mean, Maelstroms. To that one vocalist, you were dressed kind of weird. Wifebeaters are only appropriate when you’re A) sleeping, B) working out, C) working on your car, or D) beating your wife. And get this, anyone who wears a bandana is pretty much guaranteed to be an asshole. Hollie called it from the get-go. What 21+ year-old starts beating up a 16 year old kid? I’ve seriously never seen someone get dragged out in that fashion. There was a guy sitting on top of him while two others were dragging him out. You bounced back fairly quickly though. It must take a lot to act cool again after that happens to you. Anyway, overall, you guys were pretty good. I liked the chanting bit at the end of the last song. Good luck on your Sunshine show later this month; I’m sure the crowd there will be better.

July 29, 2011

Last night was strange. First and foremost, Hank was early. Hank is NEVER early. NEVER. We saw this guy at King Soopers who disappeared a long time ago. There was no where to park, which doesn’t make much sense, considering everyone was fifteen. Speaking of which, Arnold, you still kind of look like you’re on meth. This now has me a little concerned that you really are.

Welcome back, Matt Meehan. The Springs has missed you, but it doesn’t look like you’ve missed us. I find it really odd to see you fronting a hardcore band, but Crowdkill played a solid set, especially considering you guys were missing a member and you were all sick. Way to pull through. I hope to see you guys again under better circumstances.

Telling False Time, I’m surprised you all fit on stage. I see you were missing a vocalist though, which could explain it. I’m glad you guys played more than three songs, and I think you guys really stepped it up this time around. It was a good set for your first show at the Black Sheep. And I appreciated your moment of silence, though I didn’t appreciate the people who refused to participate (hey bouncer, I’m looking at you). To the lead vocalist, I’m fairly certain I gave you a flyer for a Destruction of a King show at Territory Days. I realize this is irrelevant. Also, since when are you guys from Colorado Springs?

The Skyline Surrender, I know I saw you once with A Citadel Surrender, but I don’t remember it at all. You guys were really good.

I love Sheridan. I feel like their set wasn’t as intense as usual (it didn’t make Hollie nearly cry), but there’s no doubt that it was still amazing. It pissed me off people were complaining about the religious aspects of their songs. If you don’t like it THAT much, please GTFO. No one’s asking you to listen.

I see the whole shaving your head to look hardcore thing is still continuing to run strong. I see more and more each show we go to.

Altars. Sorry to tell you, but you will clearly never rid of the name Monuments.

Ross, we join the legions of people sending you thoughts and prayers in the hopes that they’ll help guide you onto a path of recovery. Mike, I think you did a good job at recovering from such a terrible and difficult situation as far as the band went. I don’t think anyone blames Altars for what happened last night, and if they do, their logic is quite distorted. I feel like a lot of things happened during that period that shouldn’t have though that probably made the situation slightly worse than it needed to be. Most importantly, most people were far too concerned in fulfilling their own curiosity to respect the fact that the best thing to do was to give him space. Also, to the guy who was standing near us making snide remarks about what happened, you are sickening. I don’t know if you were joking or what, but regardless, the things you said were so entirely wrong, I’m almost sure you lack any sense of empathy. Please, start thinking before you speak.

Were you guys really not expecting an encore again? Of course if you didn’t play The Struggler, people were going to ask for it. And due to the fact that the bouncers were MIA, everyone got to stage dive and be super excited. Mike, I saw you almost fall of the stage. You should have seen your face. But it’s okay; it’s a good thing you didn’t hurt yourself.

On our way home, we almost saw a car accident happen. Fortunately, it was just barely avoided. There was also a guy practically walking in the street on 30^th that Hank nearly hit. Luckily, that didn’t happen either. At Shell, I swear a guy got out of a truck in the parking lot and went behind the counter as if he worked there. Don’t you guys have uniforms?