Take One Punk Show and Call Me In The Morning

April 27, 2005 | 16 Comments

As many of you know I love music and I love live shows. Music is what keeps me going and seeing great music played live is probably my favorite thing in the world. I find that a great show leaves me energized, thinking positive and ready to take on anything. But it’s not always easy to remember that.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been feeling a bit run down. I’ve been really busy (I bit of a bit more than I can easily chew with my personal “projects”) and not feeling in the best of shape. My lower back has been acting up again and I’ve got the mother-of-all sinus infections (I’m probably surgery-bound, in case you’re wondering how bad it is). I’ve been trying to take care of myself, but just haven’t really had time to relax and take it easy.

Earlier this week I let Staci drag me, kicking and screaming, to a show. It was one I’d really wanted to see, but I just didn’t feel up to it. It was on a Monday and I was still tired and stressed from a long weekend in which I had to play a lead role in my buddies wedding.

(If you’re ever a Best Man or Maid of Honor, make sure and have lots of patience and a positive attitude on hand.)

I was just not in the mood for a show. I should have known better.

An Amazing Show

Once we got to the venue (El Corazon here in Seattle) and I’d had a bite to eat I was feeling more ready to take on the night I was lucky in that it turned out to be an amazing and momentous show. Let me tell you a bit about the show itself before I get to my final point.

First up was a band I’d seen before and really enjoyed. Eisley. They’re a mellowish pop band with very interesting and entertaining vocal style. They’ve got two female leads, who happen to be siblings along with the rest of the band, sans the bass player. In many ways they remind me of an off-kilter and toned-down Sleater-Kinney. They played a short, but very sweet set and kind of laid down a relaxing vibe.

Which was totally crushed by the highly entertaining and energetic Reggie and The Full Effect, a band I’d never even heard of, but whom I’m interested in checking into. They came on to the stage, dropping f-bombs, dressed like preppy high-schoolers in polo shirts with the colors up and white trucker hats. Once they started playing it made for a pretty amusing juxtaposition.

They’re a bit hard to define, but they began with a death metal tune and then proceeded to go all over the place. Lots of power-pop-punk, a synth-pop ballad and even a Slayer cover. The crowed was pretty pumped after it was all said and done.

After a short break, the headliners, New Found Glory took the stage. It was like a tornado had broken loose. They brought an unbelievable amount of energy to the stage and it washed over the smallish (I’d say about 500 people max) crowed like a tidal wave. People went nuts.

Now, I’m a big New Found Glory fan, and Staci just loves them, but I didn’t expect to see what I saw. They were much harder than I’d imagined and they just left all pretense behind and let us have it. It was also a special show for them. They’d just played to a packed house a few nights before and wanted to do something different. I doubt they play to crowds as small as this one, especially in such and intimate setting. They’re more of a big venue, festival band. So, anyway, they ditched the set list and played requests. They ended up playing 32 songs—including some great covers like “Minor Threat”, “Goonies are Good Enough” and “Glory of Love”—more than they’ve ever played in one night.

You could tell they were beat by the end, and the crowd wasn’t much better off.

The venue, to their credit, let the kids go ape-shit. I’ve not seen this much mayhem in probably over 10 years. Luckily no one got hurt, at least not that I could tell, but it was an amazing site to see and I’ll remember New Found Glory as one of the best punk shows I’ve been to, and I’ve seen some great ones. Even if you’re not into them, I recommend them live, it was great fun.

So anyway, we were luck to be treated to a great show, but for me, it was a bit more than that.

The Power Of Music

Because of my back, and the fact that I was with Staci, I just hung in the back and soaked it all up. I left that show refreshed and feeling totally energized. I also left that show with zero pain in my back, which had been bugging me for over a week. I got the best nights sleep I’ve had in over a month to top it off.

It could have been the vibrations from the wall I was leaning on. It could have been the fact that I let my mind loose and forgot all my stresses. It could have been all the positive energy flying around the room. I don’t know, all I know is it was good. Really good.

I’m a strong believer in positive energy and positive thinking. One of the reasons why I love live music is that you’re usually in a room with a bunch of people who are on the same page as you and who are all pushing positive “vibes” out toward the artists on stage and the people around them. If the band is having fun, their pushing that energy back to everyone and it creates a feeling that, if you want to tap it and join in, you can ride for days afterwards.

Part of life is stress. Stress can be good, but we all need something that helps us let lose and frees our minds up from time to time. For me it’s music and shows. It might be something else for you. Either way, it’s good to indulge and sometimes we just need a little push, or in this case a little pull to get you where you need to be.

Filed under: Music
Keyword Tags: music live+shows New+Found+Glory Eisley Reggie+Full+Effect stress positive+energy

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