Wednesday. My day off. Sort-of. My day to do Stewart stuff, and on this day my Stewart stuff is to get ready for our show. I have all these rituals before shows, not like some people, but I like to take my time getting ready and this Wednesday was no different. I started it off by watching the Season Premier of House. (RAH! Wilson is the fucking bomb!) Then cleaned the kitty boxes. (So not RAH! Boo.) Then all the primping, etc. I barely had time to warm up, which was sad, but so it goes. Then biscuits and gravy. Mm... biscuits...
John and I grabbed the gear from the space and booked it downtown. There was a line out the door- not to see us of course, but it was still nice to see a line out somebody's door. It's good to know that people still go see shows on Wednesdays.
It was wicked early. We unloaded then went off to pick up pizza. I decided at the last second that I wanted to give out free pizza at this show. Just because. We all deserve it. It only managed to feed the bands and the first 5 or 10 people there, but still. At least it was something.
One by one everyone arrived. The Steinways, Lost Locker Combo, the pop punk kids, all our friends, everyone. It was so nice to see everybody and because we put together the whole night and there was nothing to worry about, it was also so nice to get to actually hang out and talk to everybody before hand! Seriously! I love seeing you guys, especially before I'm all frazzled and rocked out.
The Steinways were awesome as usual. Lost Locker Combo were just so impressive. I mean, what other band can you see perform and leave without a shirt on, covered in water, silly string, and chocolate? Saysha and Mark and I danced the shit out of that dance floor with Alexander and Brook. We started a mosh pit during LLC, like we do, and it was just so much fun. I was so tired, but it was so worth it. Did you guys have fun too? I hope so, I felt so bad, I stepped on SO many people! Sorry!
I've been looking forward to this show for a while now (as you all know,) just because it was our first real pop punk show where all the bands were specifically choosen by me, based on what I love about music- silly, funny, loud, fast, and awesome awesome tunes. This kind-of music reminds me why I love to be alive, or that I love to be alive more precisely. It was good stuff.
We had a whole new set in honor of the occassion. It was also Saysha's birthday (actually, her birthday was Thursday, but this was her unofficial party,) and we all sang to her during the break. Happy birthday Saysha!!! Happy golden year! We also debuted Leave Me Here with the whole band and this time I didn't mess up all the chords. Ha ha! I love that song. As sad as it is, it makes me so happy.
Thank you so much to everybody! I was going to list everybody separately, (or at least I started to,) but there were just too many people- so thank you ALL! I can't believe I'm so lucky to know so many fucking awesome people. Even though I don't know you all that well, I feel like I will one of these days. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This was actually the best show I've had in a while. Only because of all of you. I mean, seriously, it's fun to play and all, but it's life affirming to play to a room full of your favorite people. You guys are all so great, the music was all so amazing, I just really felt like a part of something. And I can't thank you enough, but I'll try anyway. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are all so wonderful and I love you.
Until next time, keep on rockin' in the free world-
Set List:
-This Happens
-Try So Hard
-Falling Stars
-Don't Look Back
-Consider Me Gone
-Leave Me Here
-Not That Bad
-Adaptation
-No More Jealous Girlfriends
-Guiltless
-Stuck In My Head
Check out these crazy awesome photos by Green Andy. (Thanks Andy!!!)
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
CMJ Showcase Show @ Trash Bar
Make sure to come see us Tuesday, October 16 at The Trash Bar in Brooklyn. It is the first night of the CMJ Music Marathon and we would like to see you rockin' out in front while we play!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
September 14th @ The Card Shop
In August Saysha and I went to a BBQ in the Bronx at the Crafty Records house where we met a ton of really really really awesome people, one of which is a singer/songwriter named Brook Pridemore, another of which is a guy named Dan who owns Crafty Records. When they asked us if we would be the band at their Card Shop show, we were honored!
If you haven't been to City Island in the Bronx I highly recommend it. It's like another world; I don't even like the water and I thought it was beautiful. Saysha and Andrew and I got there first (Saysha was freshly back from her yoga weekend, and by freshly back I mean she had been home for about an hour,) but we didn't want to be the first ones there so we went to the end of the street to check out the view for a while. When Ryan pulled up we decided to make our presence known.
Dan and Reina had prepared dinner for everyone. It was delicious! They really know how to entertain. Little did I know that the only people there were the performers, so I felt like an idiot when I had to ask Paul who he was. Sorry about that Paul...
Brook and I went to get John and met everybody at the venue, Dan scored us a gallery called The Card Shop to play in. It was beautiful with art on the walls, a couple of big couches and a bathroom. He brough the PA and some speakers and we geared up our amps. Everything was just so nice and chill. It reminded me of the coffee houses I used to go to in high school. The fun awesome ones where all the local bands play and everyone is just so happy and into it. That's pretty much exactly what it felt like to me.
We played with Ivan Sandmore, Paul Baribeau, and Brook himself, funny because everyone else had a guitar and that's it, and there we were with our drums and amps and ear plugs. Ha ha! It's fun being the loud ones. But seriously, thank you so much to everybody who came out and danced- especially that kid in front- dude, I don't know your name, but you're awesome! Thank you so much!
If you like singer/songwriters, you definitely have to check these guys out. Ivan has such a beautiful voice. Ethereal almost. Paul blew me away, I swear. I spent all day Monday listening to his CDs. Brook too. He has this incredible ability to command a crowd. When we saw him at the BBQ he came out in the center of a ring of punk rockers with a beat up acoustic guitar, I so thought it was going to be disastorous, and he blew me away. He's so good! He asked everybody to come up and dance with him so Saysha and I did and it was awesome. I was singing his song the whole way home.
Anyway, that's all. It was a really fun show, parties are my favorite. Speaking of which, we have another one coming up this Wednesday, September 26th at The Knitting Factory- it's Saysha's birthday party! Yay!!! Please come. It's going to be lots and lots of fun, I promise.
Until next time...
Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Try So Hard
-Consider Me Gone
-Guiltless
-Stuck In My Head
Knitting Factory NYC
Our next show is at the Knitting Factory (NYC) and we are playing with some really great bands, so do yourself a favor and get there on time. The show starts at 7:30p.m. and all the directions can be found on the KF website.
If you would like to purchase advance tickets, please use this link to Ticket Web
If you would like to purchase advance tickets, please use this link to Ticket Web
August 24th @ Trash Bar
Home. Ah home. It's so good to be home. Thank you SO SO SO much to everybody who came out to welcome us back!
Now, it's not that I was tired. I had plenty of time to rest for this show after our tour (plenty being a relative term) and I was AMPED! Especially, especially because we had our new BANNER! Yes, Stewart now has a banner. And a kick drum head. We're so dorky, I love it. :)
It's not that I was tired, but personally I was unprepared. Just because after getting home I just wanted to do a show where I didn't need to think or worry about anything. And Trash Bar was that show.
We get up on stage and eventually I get my guitar in tune, the set list drawn out, and Saysha and John were nice enough to adjust my amp for me. We kicked in with good ol' Without You and we were back with a vengence! It had been two months since we played New York and we brought it up a notch, I'd say.
The funny part was, right off the bat, at the very beginning of the first song, I think the first part of the first chorus when my lip touch the microphone I got zapped like you wouldn't believe. I don't know if you could tell from the audience, but from where I was standing the lights noticeably dimmed. Then when I touched John the same thing happened. Less so, but still.
6 times. I counted. I got shocked 6 times by the 4th song. Apparently Saysha and John were getting shocked when they touched each other too. Ah!!! It's funny, don't get me wrong, but distracting as all hell.
After Falling Stars I let everybody know what was going on and asked the sound guy if he had any suggestions:
"...switch on your amp?"
"Switch on my amp?"
"Is there a ground switch on your amp?"
"Oh. Yeah, probably. ... Oh yeah! Funny that. Oh, that's so much nicer, I can't even tell you. Thank you!"
Nice. Problem solved.
It was a glorious night, John's parents were there from Arkansas, and his Aunt from St. Louis, Ryan's friend Brian from Cyber Christ came, Demetra was there to rock out (check them out this Saturday at Luna Lounge!), Joe from Noisebin, Romeo of Strictly Platonic, Mark, Jacob, Leslee, Will, Abbie, Scott, Bill, Brook, Rich, The Anabolics, Andrew, all of our wonderful friends who are too numerous to list! We love you guys so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming!
We missed you. We really did. It's so good to be home.
Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Six Degrees
-Leave Me Here
-Try So Hard
-Consider Me Gone
-Adaptation
-Guiltless
-Stuck In My Head
-Saturday Night
Now, it's not that I was tired. I had plenty of time to rest for this show after our tour (plenty being a relative term) and I was AMPED! Especially, especially because we had our new BANNER! Yes, Stewart now has a banner. And a kick drum head. We're so dorky, I love it. :)
It's not that I was tired, but personally I was unprepared. Just because after getting home I just wanted to do a show where I didn't need to think or worry about anything. And Trash Bar was that show.
We get up on stage and eventually I get my guitar in tune, the set list drawn out, and Saysha and John were nice enough to adjust my amp for me. We kicked in with good ol' Without You and we were back with a vengence! It had been two months since we played New York and we brought it up a notch, I'd say.
The funny part was, right off the bat, at the very beginning of the first song, I think the first part of the first chorus when my lip touch the microphone I got zapped like you wouldn't believe. I don't know if you could tell from the audience, but from where I was standing the lights noticeably dimmed. Then when I touched John the same thing happened. Less so, but still.
6 times. I counted. I got shocked 6 times by the 4th song. Apparently Saysha and John were getting shocked when they touched each other too. Ah!!! It's funny, don't get me wrong, but distracting as all hell.
After Falling Stars I let everybody know what was going on and asked the sound guy if he had any suggestions:
"...switch on your amp?"
"Switch on my amp?"
"Is there a ground switch on your amp?"
"Oh. Yeah, probably. ... Oh yeah! Funny that. Oh, that's so much nicer, I can't even tell you. Thank you!"
Nice. Problem solved.
It was a glorious night, John's parents were there from Arkansas, and his Aunt from St. Louis, Ryan's friend Brian from Cyber Christ came, Demetra was there to rock out (check them out this Saturday at Luna Lounge!), Joe from Noisebin, Romeo of Strictly Platonic, Mark, Jacob, Leslee, Will, Abbie, Scott, Bill, Brook, Rich, The Anabolics, Andrew, all of our wonderful friends who are too numerous to list! We love you guys so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming!
We missed you. We really did. It's so good to be home.
Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Six Degrees
-Leave Me Here
-Try So Hard
-Consider Me Gone
-Adaptation
-Guiltless
-Stuck In My Head
-Saturday Night
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
August 18th @ Tritone
This was the longest leg. Detroit to Philly, no stops, rest for a couple of hours, then our last show. John was nice enough to DJ for me the whole way and after 7 hours or so just got silly and was playing all kinds of stuff: hip-hop from the early '00s, Poison (oh yeah,) and any number of random songs that I never would have thought of. Ryan and Saysha did their best to sleep. I made it most of the drive. I think we switched for the last leg at about 7 AM with an hour or so to go. I was super grumpy at that point. Actually, I don't think I was grumpy until we got to my parents' house and everyone woke me up. Grr! I don't like waking up! :)
We said hi to my Mom, I made everyone breakfast, then John and I went back to sleep. Do you see a theme? That must be boring to read but that's what tour is: drive, sleep, eat, play, drive, sleep, eat, etc. Not very exciting I'm afraid. I should have Ryan and Saysha write these bits since I was dead to the world. Can you guys fill in the blanks please?
From Saysha: While you were sleeping in Philly Ryan and I practiced yoga, (I was teaching him all week), got cheese steaks and reubens and Mallomars at the awesome Mrs. Marty's Restaurant.
Cheese steaks for lunch, Yum!
The festival was so eclectic. MC'd by Jeff of South Street Sounds and attended by all sorts of people (including Christian and Terri, Kim, Ryan's Dad and my aunt, thanks guys!) we were preceeded by a metal band, an acoustic folk act, and a Dave Matthew's type band.
The show rocked. I opened with a solo rendition of Not That Bad while we were setting up, we got cut short because everyone was running over, which was fine, we wanted to go home, but in the meantime there was lots and lots of rock. Jeff kept talking about how we were from New York and picking on New Yorkers and I said something like, "actually, 50% of us are from here... so yeah..." It was funny.
All in all it was a great fucking tour I'd say. You were all great, we had a blast, I think we rocked pretty hard the whole time, and it was funny because despite the fact that my diet, sleep and lifestyle got all messed up for a week, by the end of the tour I got my voice back. It was pretty fun. Lesson learned, when you're sick, drink whiskey and go on tour. The perfect remedy.
Set List:
-Not That Bad
-Dark Side
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Half Here
-Guiltless
-Stuck In My Head
We said hi to my Mom, I made everyone breakfast, then John and I went back to sleep. Do you see a theme? That must be boring to read but that's what tour is: drive, sleep, eat, play, drive, sleep, eat, etc. Not very exciting I'm afraid. I should have Ryan and Saysha write these bits since I was dead to the world. Can you guys fill in the blanks please?
From Saysha: While you were sleeping in Philly Ryan and I practiced yoga, (I was teaching him all week), got cheese steaks and reubens and Mallomars at the awesome Mrs. Marty's Restaurant.
Cheese steaks for lunch, Yum!
The festival was so eclectic. MC'd by Jeff of South Street Sounds and attended by all sorts of people (including Christian and Terri, Kim, Ryan's Dad and my aunt, thanks guys!) we were preceeded by a metal band, an acoustic folk act, and a Dave Matthew's type band.
The show rocked. I opened with a solo rendition of Not That Bad while we were setting up, we got cut short because everyone was running over, which was fine, we wanted to go home, but in the meantime there was lots and lots of rock. Jeff kept talking about how we were from New York and picking on New Yorkers and I said something like, "actually, 50% of us are from here... so yeah..." It was funny.
All in all it was a great fucking tour I'd say. You were all great, we had a blast, I think we rocked pretty hard the whole time, and it was funny because despite the fact that my diet, sleep and lifestyle got all messed up for a week, by the end of the tour I got my voice back. It was pretty fun. Lesson learned, when you're sick, drink whiskey and go on tour. The perfect remedy.
Set List:
-Not That Bad
-Dark Side
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Half Here
-Guiltless
-Stuck In My Head
August 17th @ Paycheck’s Lounge -by Saysha
Thursday night...Chicago to Detroit. Andrea hauled ass across the state of Michigan in seven hours, all hopped up on saltines and green tea. Ryan and I crashed in the back. I was dreaming of my Mom's house and all the good eats that we were promised. John did a good job keeping Andrea awake with iPod and conversation.
We arrived at my Mom's house in New Baltimore MI, which is a sleepy little lake town about 30 miles outside the city of Detroit. My Mom was super happy to see us. I was excited to be at my old house, but Andrea and John were exhausted, so they crashed in my old bedroom which is now the guest room, and Ryan and I went out with my family to the local diner to eat huge omelets and pancakes. PANCAKES!!!!!
Then we got back to the house and Ryan and I rode bikes all around my old neighborhood. It was really funny, just like it was when I was a kid, except a lot more fun now cause I'm a grownup person and not a pissed off kid anymore. There were kids selling lemonade on the street and the sky was blue and perfect and sunny.
Back at the house Ryan and I played Mario Brothers One, which is a lot harder than I remember, so we gave up and watched bad TV. Then Ryan took a nap and I read on the porch until the wasps bothered me too much. By this time Andrea and John were starting to get up and Ryan and I were now outside jumping on the ginormous trampoline that is in my Mom's backyard. Soon all four of us were on the trampoline. It is very hard to bounce on a trampoline with four people but we managed to have fun without killing each other.
It was almost dinner time. mom and dad made us steak and twice baked potatoes and corn! It was delicious. Ryan's piece of steak was as big as my head I swear. It was amazing. And he almost finished the whole thing. Even though it was bloody inside.
Around 5 o'clock my cousins showed up to party. We were running the set in my old bedroom, which was pretty surreal, but also one of those "beyond your wildest dreams" moments. When we were done we went to load the car again and mingle with the cousins. I really wanted to hang out at the house and play the show in the garage, but we had to go kick ass at Paychecks, which I've been dying to play since the days of my youth. So off in the car again to rock some more.
]When we got to Paycheck's we unloaded the van in the back. Ah, Hamtramck! The old stomping grounds! Hello urban blight! Hello crackheads! Hello Vernors in a can and everybody smokes like a chimney and I'm smoking even though I quit cause you can smoke ANYWHERE in Michigan.
Paychecks fucking rules. It's an old Polish Bar that is smoky with a pool table and Molson Ice on Draft with this huge ass stage which is as big as Luna Lounge. The sound is great, there is a 20,000 dollar lighting rig and SMOKE MACHINE. Very metal. All we needed was a mini Stonehenge and a bunch of dwarves prancing around it. (If you don't get that, please go rent Spinal Tap, come back and read this again....it will be funny.)
There was a slight misunderstanding about who would go on first but the staff at Paychecks really took care of us, once they heard that we had to drive 10 hours to Philly after the show. So we got to play first! Yay!
My family arrived as we set up. Nine o'clock rolled around, the light show started flashing, the fog machine fired up and we kicked off "Without You." Everyone was a little shy to get up and dance (the crowd consisted mainly of my underage cousins) but soon everyone was up in front rocking out. (Props to Jeff from Wool and Water for dancing and being awesome!)
After the show we managed to mingle, sell merch (with the help of my two lovely cousins Stacy and Stacy) break down, pack the van, take photos and say goodbye in under an hour. We hung out in the back alley of Paychecks with my family, who all seemed really excited and happy. My Mom was nice enough to give us gas money and peanut butter cookies. I got a couple cans of Vernors, one for me and one for Andrew when I got home. If y'all don't know the joy of Michigan ginger ale in a can, you haven't LIVED.
I was sad to leave but happy we could rock here and make such a nice memory. As we pulled away I broke out the homemade cookies and the Vernors. A fantastic way to end a great day.
Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Half Here
-Try So Hard
-Consider Me Gone
-Guiltless
-Adaptation
-Stuck In My Head
-Saturday Night
We arrived at my Mom's house in New Baltimore MI, which is a sleepy little lake town about 30 miles outside the city of Detroit. My Mom was super happy to see us. I was excited to be at my old house, but Andrea and John were exhausted, so they crashed in my old bedroom which is now the guest room, and Ryan and I went out with my family to the local diner to eat huge omelets and pancakes. PANCAKES!!!!!
Then we got back to the house and Ryan and I rode bikes all around my old neighborhood. It was really funny, just like it was when I was a kid, except a lot more fun now cause I'm a grownup person and not a pissed off kid anymore. There were kids selling lemonade on the street and the sky was blue and perfect and sunny.
Back at the house Ryan and I played Mario Brothers One, which is a lot harder than I remember, so we gave up and watched bad TV. Then Ryan took a nap and I read on the porch until the wasps bothered me too much. By this time Andrea and John were starting to get up and Ryan and I were now outside jumping on the ginormous trampoline that is in my Mom's backyard. Soon all four of us were on the trampoline. It is very hard to bounce on a trampoline with four people but we managed to have fun without killing each other.
It was almost dinner time. mom and dad made us steak and twice baked potatoes and corn! It was delicious. Ryan's piece of steak was as big as my head I swear. It was amazing. And he almost finished the whole thing. Even though it was bloody inside.
Around 5 o'clock my cousins showed up to party. We were running the set in my old bedroom, which was pretty surreal, but also one of those "beyond your wildest dreams" moments. When we were done we went to load the car again and mingle with the cousins. I really wanted to hang out at the house and play the show in the garage, but we had to go kick ass at Paychecks, which I've been dying to play since the days of my youth. So off in the car again to rock some more.
]When we got to Paycheck's we unloaded the van in the back. Ah, Hamtramck! The old stomping grounds! Hello urban blight! Hello crackheads! Hello Vernors in a can and everybody smokes like a chimney and I'm smoking even though I quit cause you can smoke ANYWHERE in Michigan.
Paychecks fucking rules. It's an old Polish Bar that is smoky with a pool table and Molson Ice on Draft with this huge ass stage which is as big as Luna Lounge. The sound is great, there is a 20,000 dollar lighting rig and SMOKE MACHINE. Very metal. All we needed was a mini Stonehenge and a bunch of dwarves prancing around it. (If you don't get that, please go rent Spinal Tap, come back and read this again....it will be funny.)
There was a slight misunderstanding about who would go on first but the staff at Paychecks really took care of us, once they heard that we had to drive 10 hours to Philly after the show. So we got to play first! Yay!
My family arrived as we set up. Nine o'clock rolled around, the light show started flashing, the fog machine fired up and we kicked off "Without You." Everyone was a little shy to get up and dance (the crowd consisted mainly of my underage cousins) but soon everyone was up in front rocking out. (Props to Jeff from Wool and Water for dancing and being awesome!)
After the show we managed to mingle, sell merch (with the help of my two lovely cousins Stacy and Stacy) break down, pack the van, take photos and say goodbye in under an hour. We hung out in the back alley of Paychecks with my family, who all seemed really excited and happy. My Mom was nice enough to give us gas money and peanut butter cookies. I got a couple cans of Vernors, one for me and one for Andrew when I got home. If y'all don't know the joy of Michigan ginger ale in a can, you haven't LIVED.
I was sad to leave but happy we could rock here and make such a nice memory. As we pulled away I broke out the homemade cookies and the Vernors. A fantastic way to end a great day.
Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Half Here
-Try So Hard
-Consider Me Gone
-Guiltless
-Adaptation
-Stuck In My Head
-Saturday Night
August 16th @ Quencher’s
After 6 hours in the RAV we were hungry and looking forward to our $10 worth of free food and/or drinks which, turns out was a lie. $10 in drinks alone. N'yah! Curses! That was fine. It was 6. We went on at midnight, load in at 8. On the way in we passed a bar called "The Mutiny" with a sign in the window, "Band wanted, inquire within." Sweet! We can totally play a show before our show, can't we? Hells yeah! So John and I go in. I ask the pink haired, punk rock bartender, "Hey- I wanted to ask about the bands wanted sign. We're in a band. Can we play?" "Yeah, after you show me ID." Damn! What the hell is going on? It's fine, I don't mind, it's just funny. I give her my card and she gives me the schpeel- no slots open tonight I'm afraid. Ah well. Was worth a shot.
We broke up for dinner- John went for his usual checkin out the city walk, Saysha got some cheap Thai and almost got raped on the way back by a gang of locals, and Ryan and I parked it at the diner to keep an eye on our gear. I was still ridiculously sick at this point, so I thought I'd be gentle on my tummy with some soup and a burger. I saved my saltines for the ride that night.
After dinner Ryan and I went back to The Mutiny to give the cute girl our CD, but instead we found this big surly guy who looked just like the guy from Porky's. He was nice, he said, "Honestly, just keep your CD, I'm not gonna listen to it. Just call me when you're back in town." Nice.
Anyway. Loaded in, met the other bands, The Jagz were on first- they did about 50% covers? Or was it more? I'm the wrong person to ask about that but I was proud because I was the only one who knew the Power of Dreams song they sound checked to. Either way, they're a really rad band, drew a good crowd, kept everyone dancing and entertained. And their bass player was sick! In a good way sick. And their singer looked like David Hasselhoff, only cooler.
The Lusties were fantastic! I got spit on 3 times and slightly molested by Edie. Great songs, drunk and belligerent. Beautiful. But seriously they were the sweetest sweetest band and I just want to extend a warm and sincere thank you to them for hanging out, letting us use their gear and jump on the bill with them. If you can, check 'em out. It's worth it, I swear.
The stage was tiny but John still managed to make his rounds. I was really feeling that show, if only because I was in a great mood. Yay tour! We cut it a little short because we had a 6 hour drive ahead of us, but everyone was nice enough to request an encore. We did two. Not That Bad and when they asked for one more, "Come on! Even just 30 seconds!" we played No More Jealous Girlfriends. Killer.
Afterwards we packed up pretty quick, gots me some green tea and crackers and off we went, but more on that later...
Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Try So Hard
-Guiltless
-Stuck In My Head
-Not That Bad
-No More Jealous Girlfriends
We broke up for dinner- John went for his usual checkin out the city walk, Saysha got some cheap Thai and almost got raped on the way back by a gang of locals, and Ryan and I parked it at the diner to keep an eye on our gear. I was still ridiculously sick at this point, so I thought I'd be gentle on my tummy with some soup and a burger. I saved my saltines for the ride that night.
After dinner Ryan and I went back to The Mutiny to give the cute girl our CD, but instead we found this big surly guy who looked just like the guy from Porky's. He was nice, he said, "Honestly, just keep your CD, I'm not gonna listen to it. Just call me when you're back in town." Nice.
Anyway. Loaded in, met the other bands, The Jagz were on first- they did about 50% covers? Or was it more? I'm the wrong person to ask about that but I was proud because I was the only one who knew the Power of Dreams song they sound checked to. Either way, they're a really rad band, drew a good crowd, kept everyone dancing and entertained. And their bass player was sick! In a good way sick. And their singer looked like David Hasselhoff, only cooler.
The Lusties were fantastic! I got spit on 3 times and slightly molested by Edie. Great songs, drunk and belligerent. Beautiful. But seriously they were the sweetest sweetest band and I just want to extend a warm and sincere thank you to them for hanging out, letting us use their gear and jump on the bill with them. If you can, check 'em out. It's worth it, I swear.
The stage was tiny but John still managed to make his rounds. I was really feeling that show, if only because I was in a great mood. Yay tour! We cut it a little short because we had a 6 hour drive ahead of us, but everyone was nice enough to request an encore. We did two. Not That Bad and when they asked for one more, "Come on! Even just 30 seconds!" we played No More Jealous Girlfriends. Killer.
Afterwards we packed up pretty quick, gots me some green tea and crackers and off we went, but more on that later...
Set List:
-Without You
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Try So Hard
-Guiltless
-Stuck In My Head
-Not That Bad
-No More Jealous Girlfriends
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
August 15th @ Bernie’s -by John
We woke up around ten in Pittsburgh. After repacking the car and eating we headed out for Columbus. On the drive there we kept ourselves entertained with my portable DVD player named Coby. We named him Coby because that is the brand of DVD player he is; pretty clever of us. We plugged him (Coby) in to the car stereo so we could all hear the same thing and watched "Harold & Kumar." Coby was good to us. He allowed us to laugh and have a good time with toilet humor and pot jokes while working his ass off to keep that disc spinning.
We arrived in Columbus at about 3 in the afternoon and went straight to my friend Oli's house to get our heads straight before the show that night. Oli wasn't at home so we walked up the street to find her in the craft store she owns and runs called Wholly Craft. This place rules. It's full of tons of handmade crafts for a million different tastes. Handmade shirts, skirts, wallets, photo albums, you name it.
She gave us the keys to her house and told us to make ourselves at home. On our way back we took a short detour up High St. to Kroger to get some eggs so we'd have something to eat the next morn. While we were there Ryan bought a sweet 3 piece Elvis Pez dispenser set for a friend of his. They were beautiful.
When we got to Oli's, Andrea got to work on some of the projects she had to get done for her job. Ryan, Saysha and I took Oli up on her offer to make ourselves at home and proceeded to thumb through her record collection in search of something enlightening. After finding Boston's first record and throwing that on we had an impromptu interpretive dance session. The perfect way to balance our heads before a show.
At about seven we left Oli's to go scope out the venue, Bernie's. This was the one stop on the trip we were a little unsure of because Bernie's had never technically got back to us with a confirmation on the show. When we got there we undertsood why. This was the most laid back little rock bar ever. The bartender was really nice and just told us to set up and play when the feeling was right. So easy. We took our time setting up our gear, including our kick ass custom Stewart kick drum and waited till we all felt comfortable enough to get started. My friend Chris Burney played a solo set before us which kicked ass. It was a Wednesday night and the bar was pretty slow (our huge Columbus following must not have heard we were playing, or thought it was on a different night!) but Chris was still cool enough to get up there and rock it for us.
Since the only people in the bar were us, three of my friends (thank you Oli, Sarah and Matt), and a couple of local punky lookin' kids we all just took over the bar. We had full control of the stage and pool table. Pretty kick ass, really. After we were all satisfied with our pool games and our respective buzzes, we decided to play. Columbus dared us to rock, and shit! did we rock. It was one of those nights we opened with Dark Side, so right off the "audience" could sense this show was something special. It was. We started in mean and loud and didn't stop until our encore, which was The Misfits "Saturday Night."
Set List:
-Dark Side
-This Happens
-Don't Look Back
-Falling Stars
-Half Here
-Try So Hard
-Consider Me Gone
-Guiltless
-Stuck In My Head
-Saturday Night
August 14th @ Bloomfield Bridge Tavern
We didn't have a venue lined up. Or a show. I called Tommy and asked him if we could do a renegade show somewhere on the streets of Pittsburgh. We had to bring all our gear and I knew he had a generator, so I figured, why not?
He was all for it, went around to a bunch of local clubs asking if we could play, (the response to which was an overwhelming no,) but lost steam after one particular rejection that kind-of killed it for him.
So be it.
We got in at 9:15 or so, had some delicious chili and I decided it would be a good idea to do a solo show. Just because. "I'm playing Pittsburgh dammit!" We found a spot that was open and not too far, I called to make sure it was still going on,
"Yes, but it's 21 and over."
"Oh, that's no problem. Can I still sign up?"
"Uh... you sound underage."
Awesome. I love that even on the phone I can't sound like a grown up. :)
We loaded up the car, guitar, pedals, CDs, and made it over to the club. Pittsburgh is BEAUTIFUL. We got a little lost and drove around some hills, surrounded by trees, overlooking the river, and the bridges, and downtown. Seriously. Good stuff.
When we finally made it we couldn't have asked for a cooler crowd. Everyone was really drunk and happy and into everything. There was a four piece blue grass band on before us that was AWESOME! Mandelin, violin, banjo and guitar, with their friend Josephine dancing her heart out on stage. It was so fun and such good music- ending with a Brett Michaels tribute! Hilarious!
I'm really sick (as some of you heard before we left,) and I'm so glad we did this because when I started warming up outside, I realized... I couldn't really sing. ! It's ok, I got my voice loosened up a bit, (what's left of it,) and tuned my guitar. I was really nervous because I was by myself and my guitar sounded weird because it was plugged straight in, no distortion, no tuner, but everyone was so nice and so supportive.
John came up and played Guiltless with me. He was jumping around (as per usual,) and the guitar came unplugged halfway through the song. I started clapping the drum beat and everybody joined in until he was able to get it working again. It was beautiful.
I love Pittsburgh.
It was a gorgeous night all around, the perfect start to a great tour.
Remember, tell your friends, tell your family, we're hitting up the following cities in the next few days: Columbus, Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia. We're poor and can't do this very often so come get your Stewart fix while you still can!
Set List:
-Not That Bad
-Six Degrees
-Leave Me Here
-Guiltless
He was all for it, went around to a bunch of local clubs asking if we could play, (the response to which was an overwhelming no,) but lost steam after one particular rejection that kind-of killed it for him.
So be it.
We got in at 9:15 or so, had some delicious chili and I decided it would be a good idea to do a solo show. Just because. "I'm playing Pittsburgh dammit!" We found a spot that was open and not too far, I called to make sure it was still going on,
"Yes, but it's 21 and over."
"Oh, that's no problem. Can I still sign up?"
"Uh... you sound underage."
Awesome. I love that even on the phone I can't sound like a grown up. :)
We loaded up the car, guitar, pedals, CDs, and made it over to the club. Pittsburgh is BEAUTIFUL. We got a little lost and drove around some hills, surrounded by trees, overlooking the river, and the bridges, and downtown. Seriously. Good stuff.
When we finally made it we couldn't have asked for a cooler crowd. Everyone was really drunk and happy and into everything. There was a four piece blue grass band on before us that was AWESOME! Mandelin, violin, banjo and guitar, with their friend Josephine dancing her heart out on stage. It was so fun and such good music- ending with a Brett Michaels tribute! Hilarious!
I'm really sick (as some of you heard before we left,) and I'm so glad we did this because when I started warming up outside, I realized... I couldn't really sing. ! It's ok, I got my voice loosened up a bit, (what's left of it,) and tuned my guitar. I was really nervous because I was by myself and my guitar sounded weird because it was plugged straight in, no distortion, no tuner, but everyone was so nice and so supportive.
John came up and played Guiltless with me. He was jumping around (as per usual,) and the guitar came unplugged halfway through the song. I started clapping the drum beat and everybody joined in until he was able to get it working again. It was beautiful.
I love Pittsburgh.
It was a gorgeous night all around, the perfect start to a great tour.
Remember, tell your friends, tell your family, we're hitting up the following cities in the next few days: Columbus, Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia. We're poor and can't do this very often so come get your Stewart fix while you still can!
Set List:
-Not That Bad
-Six Degrees
-Leave Me Here
-Guiltless
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