A little back story...I was approached some time ago by Renato, a local promoter, to have my other band Severed play a show with Johnny Vomit and Eyegouger. Why not Cardiac? Well, most people who know us know that we will not play shows in the Winter time...Usually from November through March, we are rehearsing for the studio, in the studio, then writing and making plans for the next year...Of course there are always exceptions, but par for the course is to simply not play. Why you ask? To be honest, it is a fucking pain in the ass! Snow and cold simply just suck and we are not a Black Metal band who seem to thrive on the stuff...no thanks! So I agreed to have Severed play this show...
There is a problem though...Severed has not played together since March...And we could not schedule any time to get a practice in or two to be ready. There is also some other drama going on that I'm not going to bother getting into...long story short...Severed was unable to play...
Not wanting to be a tool like many "scene" people are, I did not want to leave Renato hanging...So a few weeks before the show, I asked the Cardiac dudes if they wanted to do the show...we discussed the pros and cons and we decided to go for it if Renato would have us...
It was at The Empty Bottle, a great divey place here in Chicago...I have seen several shows there in the past and there was always a great turnout and sounded great in there...And beer prices were cheap! Besides, we were going to be playing with Johnny Vomit, who have been friends of mine for years and we have never shared the stage with them. And Eyegouger was an added bonus. They are doing their Pornus Grindus thing again which is very welcomed by me. See, these guys were doing the porn grind thing well before kids with drum machines...They are very punked out, crude death metal...Look them up...I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised...
Here is the flyer...
So, it was going to be a long day...It was an early show, which required being at the venue early...3pm early...The bands had to soundcheck and get organized...Everyone was there right around the scheduled check in...hows that for pro??? Eyegouger would soundcheck first and of course, we all stood around and listened...Great hearing them again!! We were next, but we skipped...It made little sense for us to set everything up and tear down again, then reset up...We would just use Johnny Vomit's sound as the template and the soundguy could make adjustments during our first song...
Went to eat next door and then it was time to drink...Half off for the bands!! Sweet! Watched Johnny Vomit and talked to friends, old and new. The place was filling up nicely and it looked like we were going to have a great crowd...
And indeed we did...We played all new songs off of our upcoming album and they got a great response...This is tricky because people familiar with us are unfamiliar with the new material...So you never know how it is going to go over...
We played for about 35 minutes and had a great "million dollar" ending...Just a wall of noise and feedback that the club let go on for over 5 minutes...most kill the mics as soon as the set is over, so this was extra cool. And Adam got carried off the stage by the crowd which was just surreal and a first for Cardiac...Hopefully there is video of it around...
Eyegouger was up next and they were great. As said during soundcheck, it was great hearing these guys again. I missed out on ever seeing them live back in the day, so it was great to finally see them, let alone play with them.
Overall a great night and a great show...I guess I have to give slack to Chicago now because since March, we have done a total of 5 shows here and each one of them were excellent. We got treated right and the crowds were all great...But, I'm sure something else will happen in the scene here to screw that up...
Thanks to Johnny Vomit, Eyegouger, Renato, the staff at the Empty Bottle, and all who came out to make this such a great show!!
Well, now it is rant time...
Ok promoters...this one is for you...
Imagine this...an early 7pm-10pm show on a Sunday night with 3 bands...There were 163 people paid...Not bad, eh? Which again, makes me stress...STOP TURNING EVERY LOCAL SHOW INTO A FEST!!!! Four bands tops...3 bands preferred...Each band got paid well, got half price drinks, and were treated like we were supposed to be treated. Do not act like it is you doing us the favor...There is a lot of work for bands to do shows, so please understand that going forward...I'm sure you won't though...it is all about your greed until you move on to the next thing...And if you ever want us to sell tickets, I will tell you to shove them up your ass as well...Other bands need to do the same thing...but of course, they won't either...Of course, this is not every promoter, so don't get your panties in a bunch if you read this and think I am referring to the true promoters...If I know you and work with you, you are cool...
Other than that, not much to complain about...I would have liked to have seen certain friends and peers at this show, but oh well...Just like I said on Facebook, you have to give support in order to get support...This was an early, $3.00 show on a Sunday, so excuses don't cut it...Whatever...As much beer as I drink, I still have an excellent memory...
Anyway, a great way to start the year...We will be wrapping up recording of our 4th Full length (the 2nd on Ibex Moon), getting some new merch, and planning some shows...I do know we are playing the Evansville Deathfest in June and there is talk of a Milwaukee date in June as well...Hopefully we can get on an established tour as well...Ve Vill See...
1 comment:
right on Tom!
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