Not only did the night run smoothly (no fights, egos, or arrests), but the huge, rowdy crowd was treated to what I feel was the best bill of bands playing anywhere for any amount of money that night. The All-American Playboys woke 'em up early and won over a bunch of new fans. The comment I heard the most about them was "Why haven't I heard of these guys? They kick ass!" DragStrip Riot followed, showing off their new bassist, Nils. The old guy was OK, but Nils is definitely an upgrade. Knuck and the boys flew through a manic set of southern fried psychosis that upped the adrenaline.
Next up was Murdock. I'd never seen them before, but I'm sure I'll see them again. Any band that closes their set with a cover of "Kickstart My Heart" deserves another listen. Plus, their unabashed enthusiasm for their music is refreshing in a city of shoegazers.
Did I mention the dancers? Heather Hexxx and Loretta Sin rocked Catwalk's dance cages all night long, stopping only to pass out Taboo Video goody bags loaded with condoms, lube, and swag to the drunken, increasingly horny masses.
There was supposed to be comedy throughout the night, but the comedian went AWOL before the show began. He returned briefly before we went on, made a few announcements, then vanished again. I'm sure there's more to the story, but it's probably not worth hearing. It's OK - nobody missed him. There was more than enough entertainment onstage....and in the crowd.
Which brings us to our set. We hopped up right after midnight and blasted the audience with both barrels. At that point, we were probably the only sober people in the house. Plus, we'd all had our share of caffeine by then. I pounded two Red Bulls in the half hour leading to the set. Once we hit the stage it was like "ONETWOTHREEFOUR......ZZZZOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!" Dan even went ass over teakettle during "Psychotherapy" while attempting some hairy stage move. At one point I held the microphone out to the crowd, and thought I might not get it back. Apparently everyone wanted to sniff some glue at once. At another point, two screaming punk rock hotties jumped on stage and proceeded to bump, grind, French, and all but give me a "happy ending. "
We broke in a bunch of new tunes during the set, and even more in the encore, which seems to be a regular occurence these days. We now pack something like 25 songs into an hour. Five more and our set will be about as expansive as The Ramones' set was in their final days.
It all boils down to this - Four killer bands, hot dancing girls, lots of alcohol, and plenty of condoms and lube - how can you go wrong? I feel sorry for those of you that couldn't make it for one reason or another. You missed out on a night that the people who were there will be talking about for years.
Thanks to all who helped make this night possible, but especially Knuck, Marcus, and Ben for helping coordinate details. Thanks Marci for working the merch table. I'd also like to thank Phil from the Playboys for helping us out with the siren, and Johnny Rockin for hoisting the Gabba sign (though a tad early). Thanks also to everyone who came to see us instead of the scads of other rock and punk shows around town. See you soon....