Monday, April 19, 2010

Sweatstock and Record Store Day


Took me an entire 24 hours just to recover from Sweatstock and Record Store Day. I'll line out my entire day and include a link to see pictures of the event.

We get to Sweat Records an hour after it opens to get the first picks on the exclusive records. Sweat had a problem with their distributors and were short-stocked on all the releases. Nothing really caught my eye...I saw a Thee Silver Mt. Zion release that, as far as I know, was not a RSD exclusive. Mountain Goats release looked pretty good, but that's about it. I was really looking forward to the Black Tambourine re-release, however, they didn't have it in stock. Everyone was clamoring over the extremely over-hyped and mediocre Surfers Blood split 7". I can't even say their name without spitting. YUCK! After that, we decided to kill some time until the bands played, so we went down the street to acquire food products for sustenance. Got back and the scene was complete chaos...middle-aged hipsters wandering around the freebie table holding at least two Malfi's (the friendswithyou toy giveaway) and a bunch of posters of bands they don't like (Tokio Hotel).

Outside the bands had begun to set up. To me, the bands were filler until the Jacuzzi Boys and No Age, however I was pleasantly surprised by Animal Tropical and Otto van Schirach. The singer from a musical act I already hated (Raffa and Rainer) pissed me off though, leading me to hate her music with an even more fiery passion and indignation... You know when you see someone and you just instantly hate them, and everything they do pisses you off? Well, that's what happened with her. I mean, seriously, who the fuck wears a yellow dress and turquoise boots? And that whole "cute" folk bullshit is so overplayed. Fuck Raffa and Rainer!

Anyway, the Jacuzzi Boys were a great show but being that it was so bright out, the music didn't go well with the mood. Otto Van Schirach blew my fucking mind with their stage antics. Costumes, magic staffs, and a giant phallic trash bag filled with air, bopping over the crowd is was everyone that caught their set were greeted with. Afterward I caught half the No Age show and then headed inside see my friend MC Jumanji perform with Juan Basshead (did I get that right?). They were great - they basically got half the people from outside to come in and filled Sweat Records to the brim with people. By now it was 11 and the show shifted from Sweat Records (who were getting ready to close) to Churchills! Didn't really get to enjoy much of Sweatstock Part 2 at Churchills because I was planning on going to the So Raw after party. However, I did catch this one band (whose name I did not catch) that sounded like the Yeah Yeah Yeah's (in a good way).

At So Raw I was greeted with, after paying the 5 dollar cover fee, free beer and jello shots! Yum. So Raw was exactly the kind of place I was looking for. They were playing fuzzy garage rock all night, the mood was just right. Then, to my surprise, the Jacuzzi Boys started setting up (bonus Jacuzzi Boys show!). The reason it was a surprise was because the only bands on the bill were Teenagers and Lil Daggers, none of which, to my knowledge, played. I later found out it was due to a family emergency. Here's hoping everything is fine. Anyway, they setup and TeePee get's up and plays first (another awesome surprise). Now, here's where the night get's a little weird...half a song into the Jacuzzi Boys set a fight breaks out...the band slowly stops playing and lead singer wields his guitar like a battle axe. Then another brawl broke out and it was lead outside at which point they closed the barb-wire gate and continued with the show leaving the brawlers locked outside. I left after this, I believe it was around 1am or 2am, and I figured Lil Daggers weren't going to play.

So, there you have it, I hope everyone had a good time on RSD and for the locals; I hope you enjoyed Sweatstock!

For anyone curious as to what I bought, I got the Solace Media Corporation Comp CD. I had no clue what I was buying. The packaging was really great, everything was DIY. It was limited to 111 copies. Turns out it was a noise/drone/sound collage compilation. Not what I was hoping for, but not disappointed either. I'd upload for you guys, but it turns out their website allows you to grab it for free, so I'll post a link at the bottom for those interested.

Links;
Sweatstock pictures
So Raw Fest
Sweat Records
Solace Media Corp

4 comments:

  1. Lil Daggers had a last minute family emergency and Teenanger's van broke down around Orlando around 11pm so we got Teepee, the Jacuzzi Boys, free beer/shots and DJs to take their place.

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  2. Ah, I see. Sorry to hear that about Lil Daggers. But a JB and TP show is always a good thing! I hope to hear about more events from So Raw. You guys are great!

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  3. We (Lil daggers) are really sorry for having to cancel last minute. We were litterally on our way to the venue, and had to turn back.

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  4. It's cool man. I just hope everyone is healthy and safe.

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