I'm definitely one for nostalgia, and trips down memory lane. Throughout March and April, and into May, as the snow finally disappears, temps start to elevate, and ladies break out those ridiculous scanty summer clothes, I'm always reminded of past spring forays of traveling across the country to chase those silly bands I enjoy listening to.
After you eat, drink, and breathe a band's music for 13 years, dates of popular shows stick to you. These dates don't necessarily mean jack shit to anyone else. 9/18/99. 8/24/02. 8/11/03. 12/29/02. 7/11/07. But even without the year, when the calendar hits those dates, I instinctually pull out the iPod and reminisce (Tanqueray not necessary) about what went down in my life 5, 8, or 12 years ago.
March, April, and May were perennial busy periods in college. Second semesters began winding down, final exams approached at all-too-fast speeds, and it signified the start of worrying about working a summer job and making minimum wage to pay the rent and bills. Somehow, I squeezed more concerts into the months of March, April, and May than any other time of the year, all while juggling the aforementioned "real life" concerns.
The following are my top experiences (in no particular order) of absolutely epic springtime concert experiences.
1. the Disco Biscuits, The Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ. 3/24/05, 3/25/05, 3/26/05
This was a three-night run at a legendary North-Jersey Ballroom, formerly called "The Hunka Bunka." I mean, like a party would ever suffer at a place with an old name like that. This was my third and final trip to the overly-ambitiously secured nightclub, and for good reason. It was always too packed, the security, as alluded to, was freaking relentlessly unmerciful. Not that I ever got myself into any trouble...but inspections on the way in were, as I'd imagine, akin to entering jail for a life sentence. While I wasn't driving the rental car, I was still nervous that we'd be pulled over and searched on the side of the dark road, despite the fact that I possessed nothing illegal on me at the time. It was just an intense place to be. But, despite the ridiculous security, the Starland Ballroom was always a fun, albeit uncomfortable, place to see a show. A three-night stint with the Biscuits always meant a few things: 1) You'd get a really great show, a really terrible show, and a really mediocre show. 2) Fans would always get too intoxicated and comfortable as the days progressed. By the time the third show ended, I'm surprised some of the people I knew were simply still alive. And 3) You were just zonked by night 3, mentally and physically.
We flew into BWI in Baltimore instead of NYC; it was much cheaper. Or was it Philly? No matter, but a small commute to our hotel ensued on the morning of the first show. By this point, we were common tourists in Sayreville; we knew the places to go, where not to go...shit, we even had a "home hotel." Unlike the other memorable runs I'd experienced up to this point, though, this run occurred after my collegiate career ended, and I had to deal with getting time off from work as opposed to just ditching classes for a few days. It felt different.
Contrary to the aforementioned rules, the Biscuits never really broke through mediocrity during this run; it was an isolated "money maker" set of shows played during a time when the band was unfocused and not practicing. I have more memories of ancillary happenings on this trip, like a friend's near-death experience during a Munchkin Invasion. After chain-smoking cigarettes the entire night, he looked at me with completely dead eyes during the second set Munchkin, which prompted me to nearly carry him to the back bar for water. After one glass, he not only regained his popular swagger, but stole some dude's Yuengling off the bar when he wasn't looking as we proceeded back to the soundboard area for a ripping Bernstein and Chasnoff. There were post show hotel shenanigans, where I found more people laying on their stomachs on the floor than standing and conversing, and late-night elevator rides with people looking for nitrous. Oh, and let us not forget Steel Reserve OE High Gravity tall-boys, and seeing how many uses we could derive from the empty cans. Only in the Dirty Jerz.
2. the Disco Biscuits, House of Blues, Chicago, IL. 3/29/02-3/30/02, and The Barrymore Theater, 4/20/02, Union Bar, Iowa City, IA 4/22/02, Canopy Club, Urbana, IL, 4/23/02.
This run went down in the midst of a disgustingly messy breakup. The first two shows led to the breakup, and the last three were a celebration of flaunting my singlehood. The House of Blues shows ("where everything is coated in gold, including the music") were really the start to what I'd call my "professional" Biscuits career. I'd consider the 5 shows I saw prior to this in 1999 and 2001 as my "learning period" shows. But, now I was prepared. I knew all the tunes, all the changes, all the segues. The HOB shows featured some sick moments, and glorious house DJs opening the show and spinning at setbreak, and came in the middle of my spring break. They were pure fun, as witnessed from the floor of the illustriously overpriced Chicago landmark. A split Ladies > Spacebird > Shem-Rah Boo > Ladies highlighted the first night, along with a completely hot and completely botched Shimmy, and a monstrous night two featured a marathon setlist of Kamaole Sands (my first) > Mindless Dribble > Crickets > Mindless Dribble > I-Man > Svenghali > I-Man > Kamaole Sands to complete the first two shows of their massive spring tour. Hotness.
But I'd have to say the second midwest leg really sealed the deal for me on this run. The celebrated 4/20 show in Madison picked up where the 3/30 marathon ran out, featuring a split, and apropos, Nughuffer, which was littered throughout the second set along with other heavy-hitters like an inverted Crickets, Shem-Rah Boo, House Dog Party Favor, and an insane Mindless Dribble. In fact, they even jammed straight into Nughuffer out of the DJ's (Environmental Sound Therapist's Gabriel Polomo, don't ask how I even remember that) setbreak set. From the 4/20 show, I returned to Stevens Point directly after the show so I could get to class on 4/21 and 4/22.
On the afternoon of 4/22, I split for Iowa City by my lonesome, knowing that I'd meet other people at the show. After a 6 hour drive, I rolled into Iowa City for the first time ever, found my hotel, then pre-gamed solo in the parking garage prior to entering the psuedo-dive bar. The "concert area" was in a separate area from the main bar, and the stage was raised about 4 feet above the concert floor. There were 38 people in attendance. I counted. The band came out and opened with the theme from Superman, an extreme rarity, which immediately morphed into Radiator, a song that the band rarely played in the 21st century, and one of two that I ever got to see them play out of 74 shows. This show featured my favorite rendition EVER of Bernstein and Chasnoff; a blistering 13-minute version of the song with a rip-roaring guitar theme from Barber that still haunts my dreams to this day. Shit was fire. Pure fire. The second set was a little more forgettable, save a 40-minute, set-ending Basis For a Day > King of the World > Basis For a Day, which was pretty much the dance party shit that lured me to Iowa.
After a good night's sleep in a clean hotel bed and a glorious shower, I hit the road for a four-hour trek to Urbana and my first stint at the Canopy Club. This was the forgettable show of the run; rather uninspired playing from the band paired with a setlist that just didn't really do it for me. However, I do recall literally walking right up to the lip of the stage at the beginning of set II for Mr. Don, as the band was draped in thick blue lights, and thick skunky smoke. I made the mistake of trying to drive back to Stevens Point directly after the show -- I believe it was a Sunday night, and, you know, I had classes on Monday. I only made it as far as Rockford, where I was forced to pull over for a snooze at a rest stop (Yikes!) before completing the journey back home. Yeah, it was totally worth it.
3. "The Graduation Tour." the Disco Biscuits, The Hook, Brooklyn, NY, 5/6/04. The Palace Theater, Albany, NY, 5/7/04. The Palladium (a.k.a. "The Getlaidium), Wooster, MA, 5/8/04. Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, 5/9/04.
This run started in March with a phone call from fellow Biscuiteer, Kevin the Dentist. There was a private party in Brooklyn, and he wanted to know if I wanted to go. He didn't necessarily know the guy personally, but through his association with the band, he received an invite +1 for a private birthday show in Brooklyn with the Disco Biscuits and Chicago DJ's Orchard Lounge serving as the house music for the evening. Rumors were abound about what the Biscuits would do for the occasion. I immediately accepted, disregarding the fact that this run would occupy the four days leading up to my last final exams of college ever, and would actually spill over into the first two days of exams. Who needs exams? I had a graduation tour to rage.
We flew out of Midway in Chicago to BWI in Baltimore, promptly rented a car (which was a sporty ride, as I remember) and hit the road for BKNY. Although Kevin realized he forgot all of his tickets in the car at Midway, he called Ticketmaster and amazingly, they replaced all of them! I had been to NYC before...for all of 16 hours last New Year's. But now Brooklyn. Brooklyn just felt more...authentic. NYC was all glitz and glam, and fake appearances and corporate advertising. Brooklyn was no-frill, balls out, serious stuff. We pulled up to "The Hook," a non-descript brick building in the middle of an industrial area of Brooklyn. We were 5 hours early, but we were driving straight to Albany after the show and had no place to hide. We found the venue, then briefly explored before killing a solid hour at a tiny Italian restaurant. We went back to hang out outside the venue after that, and talked to the various other fans gathering outside for the party. We were treated to an e-drum laden soundcheck of Helicopters, which, unfortunately, might have very well been the highlight of the night. Everything was flowing at the show, though, and I even got a little tipsy. After all, it was a birthday party. We bolted directly after the show and I have hazy memories of driving through New York City, Queens, and the Bronx at about 3:30 in the morning. I'm pretty sure we got to our hotel in Albany at around 6 or 7 a.m., and proceeded to sleep all day long.
The next night was a good technical show, but didn't take off to the stratosphere like they were capable of. Set I featured a lot of loose, standard Set I songs, and included a nice Jigsaw Earth. Set II, however, was truly a memorable set, precluded by some witty stage banter of Barber proclaiming this set "the no-bullshit set." No bullshit indeed, and the band proceeded to knock down what is hailed as perhaps the best Save the Robots ever played. No bullshit Robots. They came out and encored with Nughuffer and a story about vaporizers -- wave of the future, dude. The Palace Theater was nice, and I remember lurking around, running into all (and I mean ALL) of my Biscuits compadres, catching up and reminiscing. Of all the venues I've seen tDB, I think the Palace definitely ranks in the top 5.
The next day was my first trip to Massachusetts. Nice state. We stayed at some out-of-the-way and oddly-arranged hotel, but it was clean, so it got the job done. Scott and I found an area disc golf course and played during the day, and we got to Worcester plenty early before the show to discover that the band was officially filming the show for a DVD release. I'd be on a DVD! The Palladium was very similar to the Vic Theater in Chicago -- very open, and multi-tiered for optimal viewing pleasure. I camped out on the first tier above the main floor, with a perfect view and close proximity to the stage. The show was sloppy, but featured an opening Run Like Hell with thumping bass kick drums; a nice Above the Waves, and a frenetic Munchkin Invasion. It's during the Munchkin that you can actually see me on the DVD, for all of 1/2 a second. I liked Massachusetts, and Wooster, but really don't remember much else about it beyond that. MORE JUNGLE! Brownstein ended the show by reminding us to call our moms, because tomorrow, Sunday, was Mother's Day. I did call her, as we were driving the next day. We were driving through Connecticut.
The following day, and final show, was to go down at Starland Ballroom; my first trip there. As rookies, we didn't really know what to expect, and left feeling a bit violated by security. However, this was the strongest show of the run. Crickets. Robots. Basis. All solid. But, I couldn't help but feel that, after four days of raging face on the east coast, I was starting to wear down. After all, four days straight with The Disco Biscuits on the Durty Durty Easside ain't no child's play.
After the Sayreville show, we drove back to Baltimore, but our flight wasn't heading back to Midway until Tuesday morning. By now, the reality sunk in that it was Monday, May 10, and I had 4 final exams starting in less than 48 hours. And I was in Baltimore. Kevin and I talked and dined and toured the sights in Baltimore all day on Monday. We slept in (nuttin', chillin' at the Holiday Inn...), had breakfast with mimosas at the hotel, saw Camden Yards, and toured the Harbor. We had lunch (crab and pints of ale) right on the harbor boardwalk -- Kevin and I talked about the need to get away, and I'll always remember drinking that beer, looking out into the Atlantic Ocean, and realizing how fucking insignificant the daily droll of life really is. We checked out a record store that Kevin loved to visit in Baltimore, hit a library for some internet access (mind you, this was pre-Smartphones) and walked all the way around the harbor and, as day turned to night, we got an unnecessarily extravagant meal at the Hard Rock Cafe right on the water. It was the absolute perfect way to end a perfect graduation tour. Getaways like that always reinvigorated everything upon return to my normal surroundings.
4. Brothers Past. People's Bar and Grill, Ames, IA, 3/24/04. Thai Joe's, Milwaukee, WI, 3/25/04. Liquid Lyrics Lounge, Madison, WI, 3/26/04. Martyr's, Chicago, IL, 3/27/04.
Prior to the grad tour, there was the final spring break tour. Brothers Past provided the background music to an otherwise "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" type trip for myself and my compadres. I'll have to spare most of the finer details, unfortunately.
Adam, Peter and I drove to Iowa for the first show, and we checked into a decent hotel and grabbed dinner and drinks from the local gas station. Freezer burritos and cases of beer -- we were on a freaking mission. Over the course of the night we each proceeded to get absolutely destroyed. So much that, despite my claim that I went to get a sandwich at setbreak, Adam (STILL) is insistent on the fact that I stepped out back to buy food from a bum in the alley. We were 3 of 9 people there for the show, and other than them covering National Anthem, the only things I remember from this show are "Philly" and "Spilly" -- two guys, one wearing 76ers gear and another guy, later to be known as Jeff Hill, who was spilling his beer everywhere. This was the origin of Adam going to "Sour Dieseldorf" with keyboardist Tom McKee, and myself pleasing my tourmates by pulling shotguns in the hotel before the show while watching Chappelle's Show. Our cab drive was also the creepiest thing, ever, but I no longer remember why.
The next night in Milwaukee trumped Iowa on all accounts. We had to pass through a drug checkpoint on the way there, which was tense enough in itself, but for as bombed as we got in Iowa, we upped the ante four-fold in Milwaukee. Good friend Josh joined us for the last BP show at Thai Joe's, and we made sure they went out with a band. And a "YEAHHHH!" As mentioned, this was the time when everyone was quoting Chappelle's show for no good reason other than it was the funniest shit around...after pre-gaming at my future Riverwest residence, we got dropped off at Thai Joe's and continued drinking. And drinking. And drinking. One of our crew almost got kicked out, BEFORE THE SHOW STARTED. They stopped serving him. The bartenders gave me water to give to him, which he proceeded to drink (only because we assured him it was straight vodka), but he continued to spit it on the floor after every sip. One of our crew bought a pack of cigarettes, and upon finding out that they were menthol, he threw them on the floor. Various people asked him for smokes throughout the night, and he'd just casually point to the floor. I don't remember if anyone actually picked up our "floor smokes." During setbreak, the same guy who almost got kicked out before the show began went outside for a smoke, but didn't have the necessary credentials to get back in...having no more cash, I saw him furiously pounding away at the ATM inside the lobby. I went out to ask him what the deal was. "I need cash," he replied. "OK," I said. "What's your PIN?" He looked at me with a deadpan glazed look that I'll never forget, and said, "I don't know." "You don't fucking know?" I asked. "Nope." I had to give the a-hole $10 so he could get back in. The show was hot, but fizzled out at the end, but I think we were all wayyyyyy too intoxicated to care by that point. You can hear us all over the recordings of the show, which still makes me bust a gut everytime I hear it. "WHAT? OhhhhKAYYYYY!" Poor judgement ensued on the way home, as we bummed a ride with someone half as drunk as we were, which was still probably three times over the legal limit. All I remember was four big guys cramming into another guy's Camaro, zooming down Prospect Ave. at about 55 m.p.h. with our heads rattling from OutKasts' "Speakerboxxx." Of all the hairy situations I've ever included myself in, this is probably the stupidest one. Other than that, wow, what an epic evening.
The next night, as you could probably imagine, was a total hangover night and show. I took it easy that night, which was a good idea. The band only did one set, and it was forgettable at best.
We upped the ante again for Chicago to close our tour. After standing on the Belmont St. Red Line stop and pretty much losing my shit, and continuing to do so in the train and at Martyr's until the band came on, the band tore it up with perhaps the best Brothers Past show I'd ever seen. Again, details are sketchy and unmentionable, but things that I'll somehow remember forever. Or, at least, that wait for the train on the Belmont Red Line stop.
5. the Disco Biscuits, The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, MI, 4/16/03. The Vogue Theater, Indianapolis, IN, 4/17/03. The Vic Theater, Chicago, IL, 4/18/03. The Barrymore Theater, Madison, WI, 4/19/03.
6. TRACTORBEAM @ Ontourage, Chicago, IL, 4/20/07. the Disco Biscuits, Lincoln Park Zoo and The Vic Theater, 4/22/07.
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Here's to epic springtime memories.
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