Ergs!, Hunchback @ 924 Gilman

So, waking up saturday, i got shamus riled out of bed (still drunk). got an oil change, and got shamus and we left for the famed 924 gilman st. venue in oakland, for a show i could have seen in new brunswick for the past 6 years but for some reason (i'm stupid), never did. drove through the san joaquin valley with no A/C, and it sucked. burned my arm even after looking at and almost taking the sunblock with me, saying "no, i woudlnt need that". got to 924 around 7 (left at 11).

ran into jay insult at some point, who was already in his "OHMNYGOD IM AT 924 GILMAN" stateofmind. he had some choice photo ops, especially my favorite, which was "Sweet children" written on a rafter.

Hunchback went on, again, were good. not as theatrical until the end what with rolling on the stage/floor, and balancing on a walker. The Ergs! were up next. they went on, a few kids were dancing, having a grand old time, kids were singing, also having a grand old time. seemed to play the same set. looked like they were having ablast. joe ranted about how he didnt want to tell everyone about 924 gilman and how cool it was to play there as all those people already knew, about as much as we wouldnt want to hear someone go to cbgb's and talk about how cool it was to play there. closed with hey jealousy, a request on my part, and everyone got excited. excellent set.

the next day, decided not to drive through the valley again with no A/C, but to take the mostly more coastal route, stopped at sound and fury for about 5 seconds, and then just kept going. i didnt take into account santa barbara traffic on a sunday night, and it sucked. later, we hopped on the pacific coast highway and ended up caught in more sunday beach traffic, but would have been nothing compared to taking the 101 into LA. got down into santa monica and took the dreaded i-10/405 combo all the way to the 5, and it was glorious, no traffic whatsoever on the 405 (STILL CANT BELIEVE IT) until the last 3 miles, and that was because of a john meier concert. fuck that guy.

Things learned:

I need A/C
I need brakes
Don't take the PCH on a sunday.

ergs!, hunchback, tiltwheel at the tower bar

vena cava, hunchback, tiltwheel, rich white males, the bugs, the ergs

So we went to the tower bar "late" we thought, actually well before the show was to start, so we came back at a better time. anyway, lots of people, lots of drunk, happy people. The Rich White Males were on, dressed as rabbits and possibly other furry animals. I didn't stick around, as the place is way too small to watch a band I only like a bit, but I'll still watch them at a bigger place. Vena cava played, then tiltwheel was supposed to go on, but we saw some people run to their car and come out with guitars and The Bugs jumped on the show. it was ok, but i was waiting for the other bands really.

So tiltwheel got on, played a pretty short set, but real fun. shamus kept patting davey on the head, it was a good time. Later, Hunchback set up, i'd never seen them before actually, so i was surprised at the theatrical show they put on, the keyboard/antenna man attacked the crowd, who then attacked him back....i thought it was all joking, but apparently not. still awesome though. Would watch again.

The Ergs! went on next. My first time seeing them actually knowing their songs (stupid, i know). Ripped through the set, playing almost every song i wanted to hear, actually. A mix of upstairs/downstairs and dorkrockcorkrod (probably what they always play). Everyone in the bar was having an absolute blast, singing, dancing, etc. Before they could play their last 2-3 songs, for some reason, the bar decided to kick everyone out (only 1:40am at this point).

Outside, the incredibly drunk Shamus was playing in the middle of the road, etc, and talked me into going to the show the next day. It went something like this:

s: doug, we should probably go to the show tomorrow at 924 gilman
d: hmmm....okay.
s: doug, we should go to the show otmorrow, i'll pay for gas.
d: ok
s: doug, we can we go to the show tomorrow?
d: ....Yes!

etc.

none more black and the ergs at the barbery, reviewed

bearface, the first band: i think they said it was their first show. music wasnt bad, but between every song they just talked to each other, the last song and the instrumental were real good though. seemed to drag a little

the ergs - played well, a bunch of kids into it, i enjoyed it.

none more black - opened with we dance on the ruins of this stupid stage.
closed with drop the pop.

also played :

nothing to do when you're locked in a vacancy
under my feet
my wallpaper looks like paint
zing pong
opinions and assholes
i see london
who crosses statelines without a shirt?
d is for doorman
10 ton jigawatts
you suck but your peanut butter is ok
majestic
oh theres legwork
peace on mars
genuine malaise and misery
i'll buy you the fucking single
everyday balloons
dinners for suckers
banned from teen arts


played pretty well i thought. colin almost forcing them into getting 30 more minutes was crucial. a bunch of kids were there, it was really really crushed at the front, i couldnt handle it. shirtless moshers arent that cool, but at least they knew the words. i thought they should open with oh theres legwork but when they played it, the intro isnt really as distinctive, so i guess it made sense not to.


awesome show. talked to a cute girl about face to face playing in california and she said she recognized me from the cb's none more black show hanging off the speaker because she was right behind me. unfortunately im stupid and didnt talk to her more.