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The
Chameleon is a hole in the wall. Super narrow, no barricade
between the stage and the crowd. In theory this is all
very good. I like the Chameleon quite a bit in theory.
But their security sucks, rough and angry, so it doesn't
really work out. And they charge you for water! Maybe
I'm spoiled by the 9:30,
but I thought that a club was supposed to be concerned
about both your safety and your enjoyment. I got the feeling
the Chameleon didn't give a crap about me so long as I
paid my ten dollars.
But that didn't stop me from enjoying the best show I'd
ever been to. Ever.
First up was Christiansen. They sucked it hard. But I
have to give them props for having the balls to whip out
a tambourine in front of a crowd like that one.
'Twas a rough crowd who, on the whole, had little appreciation
for a man wailing on his tambourine.
Next was Haste. We were wary. Long eighties hair, two
lead singers. But within thirty seconds our fears were
alleviated as one of the lead singers fell into the crowd.
He had been standing over us, looking down with a smile,
and I noticed his face was getting closer and closer to
mine. And the next thing I knew he was on top of us, kids
scrambling to get him back up, get him back up before
we swallowed him. They were really good. An insane amount
of energy, and you could tell they were having just as
much fun as the crowd. They kept smiling and laughing,
and it was just a really great atmosphere. I bought their
CD and it kind of sucks, they're definitely a live band,
but I'm still spreading the Haste love.
Then, my boys. The G. They opened with "Stuck Pig"
and the place exploded. If I had thought I was
a little too close to my neighbor before, there was now
no telling me apart from the person next to me, we were
so tightly packed. Daryl stage dove twice during the first
song. His body was ice to my touch, but I think that was
more from me being overheated than him being cold. And
I cupped his balls because I have no shame.
I managed five or six songs before I started seeing spots
as the world went fuzzy. So I worked my way through the
crowd and ducked out for "Cosmopolitan Bloodloss",
sat down and had some water, then went right back in.
Hung out by the pit because those boys had some moves.
I love when a pit is about dancing and not about
beating the crap out of each other. Reminded me of the
No Use days in a big way.
Around the second or last song I pushed my way back up
front to find my concert companion, Ashley. They closed
with "Two Tabs of Mescaline", which I think
is my favorite song to hear live. When they play it, at
the end they all kind of move as one unit, their breaths
one. It's gorgeous.
Observations: Beck has got the mad moves. Daryl making
kissy faces at Beck. Todd is still lickable and still
plays like a girl. Daryl likes to sing into Dave's back
and butt, so I'm hoping he at least knows his name now.
Larry never plays with his shirt on, ever.
And GlassJAw owns you.
I spotted Ashley as the crowd started to thin (I'm convinced
that half the crowd was only there to see the G.) and
led her out. She was pretty worse for wear. She had wanted
to get out earlier but it was too cramped for her to even
turn around. So we grabbed some water that some kid was
handing out from behind the counter and headed into the
stairwell so we could catch our breath. Ran into Kelly
from Haste. I guess we were looking pretty salty, because
he seemed very concerned about our well being. He posed
for a picture and then directed us towards the outdoor
balcony so we could get some fresh air.
We stayed outside until we heard the opening chords of
Boy Sets Fire. Hobbled inside to watch from the balcony.
They were still tuning up, Ashley shouted down to them
and they smiled up at us while she took a couple pictures.
We hung out for a few songs, were amazed and alarmed that
we had just been in a pit that rough, and then headed
down to merch.
It sucks being a medium. If you don't get your stuff right
away, chances are your selection is going to be a lot
slimmer. I got the spray paint tee because it was the
only one in my size that I didn't have, and some buttons.
Moved over to Haste's table, who should be there but our
boy Kelly. He asked us if we were feeling better and chatted
with us a bit. Apparently they just played some Italian
restaurant in Frederick last month. We were all kinds
of psyched. We both bought a tee and I bought a CD, and
he thanked us profusely for buying his dinner that night.
Went back up on the balcony, the guys we were standing
next to had been nice enough to save our spots. I went
to the bathroom and guess who was in my spot when I returned.
Justin Beck. Standing right next to Ashley, almost touching
her because we were at the very end against the wall and
it was a little cramped. I just kind of stood there for
a minute or two, thinking, "Can I ask really Justin
Beck to get out of my spot?" Then I tapped Ashley
on the back and let her know just who it was standing
next to her. She went, "Aren't you...?" And
he nodded and waved to the both of us and went back to
watching the concert. Ashley kept looking from him to
me with this goofy smile on her face. I told her to watch
the concert and leave him alone, we'd see him again later.
He left after one song, and after we were sure he was
out of sight we had our stupid fangirl moment, consisting
of squealing and slapping each other's arms.
We watched most of the rest of the Boy Sets Fire set (They
rock, by the way.), and headed out during their last song.
Saw Kelly on the way out and he waved to us. He's a sweetheart.
Walked around to the back of the building, some girl told
us that we should hurry because GlassJAw was hanging out
by the buses. We thanked her and I had to keep Ashley
from actually quickening her pace. As we neared I could
see Beck and Dave. They were talking to some friends so
we stood a few feet away, because I wasn't about to interrupt
their conversation. "Hey boys... ::wriggles eyebrows::"
No. I wasn't about to do that. But then Dave went, "Hey,
do you girls like GlassJAw?" Presumably because of
our shirts (They were homemade, because we're so very
punk. Or, you know, not.). Beck turned around to look
at us and pointed when he saw us, I guess he remembered
us from the balcony. They made a hole in their little
circle and that was a mistake on their part, because as
far as we were concerned we were now "in." Anyway,
the guy they were with was commenting on our shirts and
was telling Beck that he should make some like that for
MerchDirect.
They talked to us for a minute or two, asking us if we
had a good time and the whatnot, then posed for a picture,
signed our stuff, and bid us a good evening because they
needed some coffee. Or, more accurately, Beck needed some
coffee. Dave was talking to us rather than signing our
things, and Beck was going, "Dave! Sign and then
coffee. Sign and then coffee."
And that was the best day of my life. Thank you very much.
Sigafoos
2002
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