Thursday, July 19th, 2001- Masquerade: Atlanta, GA
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| Minus, Swift, Spiritfall, and Not Waving But Drowning Thursday, July 19th, 2001- Masquerade: Atlanta, GA |
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| I was SO excited about going to this show because I LOVE [minus] shows. When Melina and I walked up to the Masquerade, we saw Rachel and Jfold standing outside, so we waved to them. They smiled and waved back. We got into the line to get inside. While we were standing there waiting to pay, Jordan came out. He talked to these kids in front of us for a few minutes. Then he gave over to us and we talked to him for a bit. I commented on how it must�ve been nice for him to be back home after being on the road for about 3 weeks encountering many obstacles along the way. On their way to one show up north, their van broke down. They had to come back to Atlanta to get Dusty�s dad�s truck. While they were on the road messing with the van, a 4 Wheeler swiped Dusty and fucked up his arm. Everyone was concerned with whether or not he�d be able to finish out the rest of the tour. But Dusty is a trooper so he was alright. Atlanta was their final stop on the tour and they were happen to end it at home. I told Jordan that I guess they were paying their dues as all bands must do when they�re starting out. He agreed with me. After chatting with us, he went over to talk to the Fold crew. Melina and I paid and went inside. We sat down on these steps waiting for the show to start. While we were just sitting there, I looked up to see Jeremy coming through the door. He was with Kendra and his cousin Chris. I was shocked to see him there because he wasn�t supposed to be back in town until Friday. He hugged Melina and I and I said, �What are you doing here?� And he then said, �Oh dude! I hung out with Corey from Slipknot yesterday for like 5 and a half hours!� Ha ha, that�s just like Jeremy to say that to us before saying hello. But that was pretty cool so I understood his excitement. He now works with this Atlanta based magazine called Leftfield, so he has the hook up basically whenever he wants it. He got to hang out with lots of bands at Ozzfest this year, here in Atlanta, and in North Carolina. After talking to us for a while, he went to socialize with some other people, which in Jeremy�s case is everyone since he seems to know way too many people. Josh and Rachel came over and talked to us some, which was cool. The [minus] guys were walking back and forth from the floor area to the backstage rooms. The first band to play was Not Waving But Drowning. They're a hardcore band. They were ok, but we were sitting down on the steps while they were playing, so we weren�t that into them really. Haste was supposed to play this show, and I think they were supposed to go on after NWBD. However, Haste�s van broke down so they couldn�t make it to the show. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to see them play, but happy, because that cut the bands down from 5 to 4. As much as I like going to shows, 5 bands in a show that starts at 8 is too many. The only time I experienced that was at the Kittie show, which, ironically, is the first time I saw and heard [minus]. But I digress. After NWBD was Spiritfall. We got up and went to the front to see them. Melina likes them a lot, but I hadn�t really listened to them. But their friends with shun so I figured they�d be pretty cool. They played a good set. Melina was really excited to hear the song My Reason, and the Spiritfall guys seemed impressed to see that she knew the words to some of their songs. It must�ve been a nice feeling for them to travel all the way from California, which is where they�re from, to Atlanta which is pretty much on the other side of the country, and have someone here singing along to their songs. They covered Wear It So Well by Far. Yes darling, all the cool kids listen to Far. The guitar player even had on a Far shirt, which I knew had to be old, since they broke up a while ago. But everyone was so excited to hear that song, because like I said, all the cool kids listen to Far and there were a lot of cool kids present. Swift was the next band to play. Now, our friend Janelle absolutely loves this band, she�s buddies with them. They�re from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Anyway, they were really good, and I love how the guitar player and the bassist move on stage when they�re playing. A few songs into their set, the singer, Gary, took off his shirt to reveal a [minus] shirt underneath it. Everyone applauded that of course. [minus] was the final band to play that night. They were just incredible, the best I had ever seen them and I�ve seen them about five times now. They played this new song called Balls, along with Enemy, Father�s Eyes, Half-Mile, Anti-vanity, At the Scene, Stranded, and of course Hesitant and Polite, my absolute favorite. It was funny, when Jordan introduced Balls he said, �Girls have a vagina, and boys have a penis. But boys also have�..� Then a few of us yelled, �BALLS!� But I digress. This show was so amazing because they had so much energy. There were a lot of people there watching them, and everyone was into them. Everyone was singing along and it just sounded beautiful. Hesitant and Polite was by far the best for me because it sounded really great with the crowd singing along. Dru of course got up onstage to do Jonah�s part with Gary from Swift. Matt�s parents were on our side singing near the bottom of the stage watching. They seem to come to every show which I think is really cool of them. They definitely support their son completely, which is great. All of the [minus] parents do. All the guys did a great job playing that night, I�ve never seen them so complete and together and having so much fun. Melina and I had a great time rocking out down in the front. Jordan got in her face with the mic and was singing with her on one song, and when he was done, he tapped her on the head. He likes to do that. They guys didn�t play Everything which I was surprised about, but I still immensely enjoyed their set. After they finished, Melina and I commented on what an amazing show it was. Then I went over to merch to get some stuff. I bought a Spiritfall CD, which Melina later burned. It was $7 and I gave them a $20. They couldn�t find another $1 to give me, so they gave me $12 and a sticker. I would�ve juts let them keep the dollar, but oh well. Then I bought a [minus] shirt, which I�m happy to finally have. Now I can advertise one of my favorite bands all around Atlanta. While walking away from the merch tabel, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see who it was, and it was Cole who plays bass for Fold.. He smiled and waved, and I said �Hey� to him. This was very strange to me because I hadn�t seen Cole since (Hed)pe. He�s very shy and rarely talks. In fact, I don�t know if he�s ever said more than a few words to me. I don�t even know if he knows my name. It was getting late, so Melina and I looked around for Jeremy to tell him bye. But we couldn�t find him. So, I asked Cole if he knew where Jeremy was. He said, �Jeremy�s right there.� I turned around and saw Jeremy walking up to us. Melina and I hugged him goodbye, and walked out of the building, passing �hell� (the first floor of the masquerade, shows are held on the third floor in �heaven�) where New Order was playing for 80s night. I left feeling satisfied to have seen [minus] at their best ever. | ||||||
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