nashville + chicago

so friday began the big trip...got out of work early and met at Jacques and Amber's...they rode with me and Brad met us but carpooled separately...Josh and Molly ended up at the venue a couple hours after we arrived (we got there early)...the opening act was Growing and they were very good...just two dudes playing guitar through effects and making some awesome sounds...Mogwai was very good...i wasn't expecting it but once again they closed their encore with "My Father My King" and that was fucking PHENOMENAL once again! i hit the merch table and got:
Mogwai: Mr Beast (+dvd)
Growing: His Return
i got a Mogwai shirt (they were out of the really cool one in XL so i got a lesser cool one but it's still cool...)
i also got a Growing shirt...but it's in medium and it doesn't have anything to do with the band at all anyway...but it is a cool-looking shirt...maybe i'll wear it on the occasion i feel like flaunting my rolls of fat...
after the show everyone split up and Jacques, Amber, and i continued on our way to chicago...we stopped a little while outside of nashville and went with the rest of the trip in the morning...i'll add now that friday was amazingly beautiful but yesterday was rainy and crappy...a boring stretch of road...my first time within the city of indianapolis...quite the shit-hole...we made it to chicago in pretty good time...in spite of terrible traffic within the city we made it to the venue two hours before they'd let anyone in so we made an unplanned recordstore venture to Reckless down the street...i spent way too much money (a custom i guess):
Three Mile Pilot: Songs from an Old Town We Once Knew
Slowdive: Pygmalion
Throbbing Gristle: CD1
Merzbow: Sphere
Dead Machines: Futures
v/a: Não Wave
Albert Ayler: The Complete ESP-Disk' Recordings (containing Spiritual Unity, Bells, New York Eye and Ear Control, and Spirits Rejoice)
some of them were new and some were used with some amazing savings passed on to me!
then the show...it started off with two dudes (they were called The Family but it was only part of the band or something) playing noise/droneish electronics for like 10 minutes...they weren't included on the bill...but, uh, holy fuck...it was one of THE most awesome shows i've ever seen...second only to Merzbow on the level i could physically FEEL the music...it was such a weird thing, being so brief and great and from such an ill-defined band...next was uh, i forget their name...i think it started with 'L' and was one short word...they were pretty bad...when they weren't singing some of their stuff was actually pretty good, but their singing (it was just two guys who took turns) was all wacky and smarmy...Cheer Accident was even worse...fucking abysmal SHIT...there were three parts of different songs that were good, but everything was tedious and just really crappy...they also ventured off into wacky-land a bit...but the music itself was altogether bad...then finally after that spirit-crushing lull came Whitehouse...Jacques and i had been in the very front by the stage the whole time...i would have thought a band like Whitehouse, while noisy and agressive, wouldn't lend to much audience "dancing, etc" since they generally lack any sort of beat or rhythm...well...it turned out to be much akin to the mosh pit at a Nine Inch Nails or Ministry show or some shit...maybe not being in high school and not listening to "high school" music for so long i'm just out of the loop when it comes to such things...after a little bit Jacques went to the back, but i held my guns...i wasn't gonna let a bunch of cunts dictate where i stood when i was already standing in the front...my knee did get a little hurt getting bumped against the stage...i was expecting massive swelling and immobility but it's only a little sore and i mostly don't notice it unless bending it, etc...anwyay, there was a group of dudes that took their shirts off and were moshing and flipping off whitehouse and acting like they were buttfucking each other and screaming the whole set...very industrial...Whitehouse themselves were very good...and very funny...okay: two really skinny old dudes looking like Depeche Mode clencing their firsts all "powerfully"...William Bennet kept sticking his tongue out...slowly throughout the set their shirts made their way off...the noise was good...their screaming was good...their posturing was hilarious...a couple of times they even did a half-assed acting like they were buttfucking each other...but it was a good show in spite of itself...that great balance certain bands (Misfits, The Shaggs, etc) have between good and funny...i laughed a lot, but all the jackasses were getting into it which was ridiculous...

anyway...the drive back was a lot faster than i would have thought...i was fucking tired from all the less-than-optimal sleep that'd been building up but we didn't crash or nothing...now i'm back home and Zombi is tonight! oh yeah, and i almost forgot...Brad gave me $20 for the Mogwai ticket before we left and i fucking lost it...that bugs the fuck out of me...just fucking losing a $20 bill...how fucking stupid...uh, very i guess...