Roadrunner Records and CKY (Camp Kill Yourself) are bringing their fans an early sneak peek of their new album, Carver City, with a FREE mp3 download of “Hellions On Parade” starting on 4/15. The digital single goes up for sale on 4/21 but you can hear it first at ckyalliance.com and roadrunnrerrecords.com! Just visit the page and supply your email address and you will get the download in return…
I’ve have been a longtime fan of CKY and I have Bam Margera‘s CKY skate videos to thank for that. Back in 2000 a kid I worked with at Borders found out I liked skateboarding and made me a VHS tape that had Landspeed : CKY & CKY2K on it. I remember taking that tape home and watching it twice. Once for the shock factor and hilarity and the second time to find out more about some of the music that was chosen for the soundtrack.
One band in particular on the videos was CKY. For those of you who may not know, CKY is a band that Bam Margera’s older brother Jess drums for. The band caught my ear in a good way and before I knew it I was doing everything I could to find their CD.
It’s been 4 years since the band last released new material so needless to say I am really looking forward to their new material.
While I am on the subject I might as well tell you all a little story about stupid ol’ me…
I think it was October 2002, in fact I am pretty sure it was then. CKY came to Cleveland and I was overexcited to finally see them live. They played Peabody‘s in Cleveland with Atreyu and other bands on a week night and I made sure I bought 2 tickets seeing how I missed them the previous time they played at Blossom Music Center opening for some band that does not come to mind. For all I know they played Cleveland even before then but I missed it… The point being, I finally got to see this band that I quickly became a huge fan of.
It turned out that CKY brought along their friends Ryan Dunn and Rake Yohn from Jackass fame and being the generous guy I was I bought them drinks. A lot of drinks. I also drank a lot and I mean A LOT. Drinking with people on shows I adore is fun. Forgetting how much I actually drank before I left was not fun; more on that in a second.
I befriended former CKY touring bassist Vernon Zaborowski that night who kindly introduced me to the band before their show (more on him at the very end of this blog). We chatted and drank and drank some more. I felt like I was a rock star that night…woo.
Let me stop here. I am pretty sure the following clip is an exact portrayal of how I was…
I’ve learned that when you drink a lot you do not act how you think you do… For all I know I could have been annoying the hell out of the band. I know drunk people annoy me these days and I don’t even drink anymore! Point being, I am pretty sure I was making an ass of myself that night.
Throughout the night I hung around the bar with Ryan Dunn, Rake Yohn, and the lead singer of Atreyu even, who by the way was really nice as well. I don’t even think I left the bar stool while CKY played. I was too busy talking and sharing drinks with Ryan Dunn and Rake Yohn. I watched the band from afar and kept to my debauchery.
I do remember CKY owning the night. They sounded amazing live and had more energy on stage than I had seen in any band for years. The fans, or CKY Alliance, were full forced as well surrounding the stage and singing along with fists in the air. It was indeed a rock show that night.
After the impressive show my friend and I were invited upstairs to hang with CKY some more. One of the members, I think it was Chad Ginsburg, later asked me if I was ok to drive home when we were saying goodbye. I thought I was, my friend who went with me thought I was too…
I should have listened to Chad Ginsburg because apparently I was not.
That night I got my first, only, and last DUI. I honestly thought I was ok to drive or else I never would have gotten behind the wheel. I was not too far from home when I was pulled over. When I got out of the car I suddenly felt real drunk. Being the honest guy I am, I admitted drinking and when I felt myself stumbling I just gave up and was arrested.
I regret my poor decision in life and paid my fines, did my time, and moved on with life being a little smarter with how I do things.
A couple years later CKY returned to Peabody’s and the band remembered me. Chad Ginsburg asked me if I ever made it home that night. When I told him no he, rightfully so, laughed and took me back to tell the rest of the band. We had a good laugh at my expense.
True story. I am an idiot, got hammered with CKY, and got a DUI as a result. Let this be a lesson to you kids. If you want to get hammered with a band, go ahead, but make sure you have a sober friend who will drive your drunk ass home. It is a lot cheaper.
Speaking of cheap. How about free videos?
I was wondering what ever happened to Vern and found out he is currently in a band called Eastern Conference Champions. Check them out on their MySpace page.
Just found an interesting little article on the Baltimore Sun website about the Virgin Mobile Festival announcing that they will return, but to where is still to be decided.
I guess it is safe to assume that they may not return to the Pimlico Race Coarse if the owners file for bankruptcy.
Honestly I am bummed to hear about that. I have been at the festival for the last three years, or should I say, every year since it first took place. I have had a great time each time I was the and saw some amazing acts not to mention enjoyed myself with my good friends.
I’ve seen amazing line ups for the last 3 years including NIN, Flaming Lips, RJD2, Bad Brains, Iggy & The Stooges, The Black Keys, Foo Fighters, Wu Tang Clan, The Who, The Police, Beastie Boys…the list goes on. It was always a good time too. I never had a bad thing to saw about that festival…only the motel that we stayed at in 2007…
That to me is not a good move by any means. Chopping the capacity from 60,000 to 20,000 (27,500 if they transform their parking lot into festival grounds) people means less of everything including potential acts…
The race track to me is the perfect grounds for a 2 day festival and I really do not know if I will attend for a 4th time if it is moved. There was something about parking my car and hanging out for 10+ hours in the middle of Baltimore.
It’s getting late in the year for a festival to be announced. I should not speak too soon though because the 2006 Virgin Mobile Festival really was not announced until after I got back from Bonnaroo that year, granted it was in late September…
For the first time ever the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was opened to the public. The second I had found out about this amazing opportunity I just had to go. Thanks to Matt at Addicted To Vinyl, he helped make that happen. Last night was amazing to say the least.
Before heading to the event, Matt and I met up with Clevelandrockandroll.com‘s Bear and his son. We met up at the Great Lakes Brewing Company for some eats, drinks, and great conversation. Bear is a great guy and had plenty of awesome concert stories from the past to share at the table. It was really cool meeting him and I will be checking his site out frequently for sure.
Towards the seven o’clock hour we all headed to the famed Public Hall for the event. The traffic was lighter than expected and as we rounded the corner on to St. Clair it was obvious that something big was going on. Media vans, limos, mobile satellites…and this was at the rear of the venue.
As luck would have it Bear and his son followed us to the event so we all took a small hike around the building that once hosted memorable concerts such as the Beatles and Janis Joplin and made our way into the sardine cramped hallways of the Public Hall once we bypassed the red carpet. This was the first time the induction ceremony had been in Cleveland since 1997 and this was the first time that people like me could attend without spending outrageous amounts of money.
None of us dressed formally. We dressed rock causal. After all we were going to a concert right?. I sported jeans, my Adidas (Run-DMC love), a CBGB’s shirt, and a Sage Francis hoodie because that is how I roll. You would not believe how many tuxedo wearing people complimented me on that shirt. I was asked if I had even been then and regretfully I said I had not. Luckily others in attendance wore equal amounts of street clothes so that we did not stick out too much.
Now I’m going to break this post down into a couple of sections just for the heck of it. First I will talk about all the positive aspects of the night, mostly the performances, followed by a few things that really made the night not so enjoyable. Nothing can ever be perfect can it? Well the good news is that the bad things that did happen did not ruin my fun too much and all in all I would say this was one of the coolest things I have ever been to in my life.
Matt and I sat in section 19 row H which is on the left side of the hall to the back rear. We sat in the row that butted up against the rails and walkway so the plus was that there were no people behind us. Of course the rest of our night would be spent shifting our bodies to ease the aches on our necks from looking left, but it was a small price to pay for a great evening.
The place seemed to fill up slowly in regards to public seating. The high rollers who spent one of my car payments for a table seat in the VIP area were engaged in dinner already and were finishing up. Looking around I could see cameras and all sorts of lighting and of course the giant crane like camera in the center that towered over the VIPs.
Mayor Frank Jackson, I’m sorry… Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, had some nice words to say about the ceremony returning to town. I joked with Matt and Said “Cleveland has a mayor?” and got some laughs by the others seated around us. He spoke about the excitement for the induction ceremony as well as hopes to see it return every three years. Next up were some Rock Hall higher ups who had more positive things to say about the night’s event, but seriously I was not there to see high paid people with dream jobs speak, I wanted some music.
At about this time the music was about to begin I took a quick photo (seen right) with my handy iPhone just so I could share it here on the site. Soon the night’s first inductees took the stage, Anthony & The Imperials. The Brooklyn doo-wop turned soul revivalists blew me away with their three song performance including “Tears On My Pillow” and “Shout”. Smokey Robinson soon inducted the act into the Rock Hall once they completed their performance.
I laughed when Little Anthony told the crowd that Little Anthony & The Imperials had never won a Grammy but announced the band did have a new release and hoped that would change.
After a fun collection of Wanda Jackson footage appeared on screen Rosanne Cash took the podium to induct once of the first females to play rock and roll. Rosanne Cash spoke about her father, Johnny Cash, and Elvis and of course the lady in the spotlight Wanda Jackson who soon came out and gave some words of her own. She then waltzed to the main stage grabbed her guitar and proved that age is nothing but a number while playing “Mean Mean Man” and “Let’s Have A Party”.
Paul Schaffer introduced Spooner Oldham and some classic tunes were played like “When A Man Loves A Woman” and “Natural Women”. Sadly the crowd did not seem to be in to this fun little performance.
Classic footage of Bobby Womack from Soul Train appeared on the big screen with some really awesome footage. Once completed The Rolling Stones’ Ron Wood inducted Cleveland’s Bobby Womack (who actually wrote “It’s All Over Now” for the Stones). Ron Wood had a nice touching speech and actually looked like he had some tears in his eyes while introducing Bobby Womack to the stage. It was nice to see a hometown musician make his worthy way into the Rock Hall. Never in my life did I ever think I would see a Bobby Womack performance live but that all changed as he began his set with acoustic guitar in had seated on a stool for everyone to hear. He jammed to “Wait Until Tonight” and then with a full horn section “It’s All Over Now” took down the house with Ron Wood ripping up a guitar solo. Amazing.
Detroit hip hop artist Eminem had the privilege and honor of inducting RUN-DMC into the Rock Hall. His introduction speech was very personal talking about the act that “turned Marchal Mathers into Eminem”. Controversial concerns earlier were omitted as everyone in the house cheered for RUN-DMC as they were accepted into the Rock Hall. They were the first rap band to appear on MTV, to go platinum, to tour the world, to infuse rock into their rap, and now are the first to be inducted.
Each member gave their acceptance speech and Jam Master Jay’s mother spoke on behalf of the fallen DJ. I laughed when she stated that Jam Master Jay broke every turntable of hers. She also stated that she never hesitiated buying a new turntable though. Hearing Rev Run and DMC speak of how they got their start was really interesting. I did find it a little annoying however to see the entire group with multiple family members on stage together. It was a little too MTV Music Awards for me. Sadly the act did not perform at the awards. I was not aware that they were not and was actually kind of bummed. I know it would have been amazing to see them play out live but they chose not to.
Here is Eminem’s speech:
Bass guitarist of the E Street Band Gary Tallent as well as celebrity drummer Max Weinberg collectively inducted drummer D.J. Fontana and the late bassist Bill Black both of who played with Elvis Presley. I am curious to see the FUSE version of the awards as Max Weinberg had a very long speech eventually thanking D.J. Fontana who joined them at the podium.
Legendary Jimmy Page inducted his friend Jeff Beck into the Rock Hall. After some kind words the former Yardbird hit the podium with some choice words and first middle finger of the evening. The two then took the stage and did this:
Seriously that was once of the cooler things I have seen in my time.
It was pretty apparent that most of the public came to see heavy metal rockers Metallica. The rock casual attire seen worn by everyone included a lot of Metallica t-shirts, some brand new, and some from years ago when I feel the band was at their strongest. Some chose to wear sport jackets over the shirts making for an interesting choice in attire.
It was no surprise to hear the loudest cheers of the evening when Metallica’s name appeared on the big screen followed by a brief film of the band. By this time many of the people in the public sections were heavily sauced. I’ll get into that more later.
Who better than to induct Metallica than the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s bassist Flea. Sporting a blue hairdo, Flea gave one of the best speeches of the night. He spoke, and swore, about how much the band influenced him as a troubled youth and how they helped him get to where he is today.
Flea said it best when he stated:
“This music comes on the radio, and I couldn’t believe that it fucking existed. It was like I had been living in this normal world, where I knew what everything was that came on the radio, and all of a sudden my mind was being blown by this beautiful, violent thing that was unlike anything I had ever heard before in my life.”
Metallica, including Jason Newsted and Cliff Burton’s father who rightfully so gave the first acceptance speech, all took a few moments each to speak. As a long time fan of Metallica, especially in my youth, I listened to every word each of them had to say about how it came about that a heavy metal band got where they are today. Cliff Burton’s dad I could tell was so proud of his son’s accomplishments of the late musician and as a fan it meant a lot to me to see someone from his family to be there.
Robert Trujillo, who spoke after Jason Newsted, rightfully gave thanks to Mike Muir of Suicidal Tendencies and the second he did I had a big ol’ smile on my face.
Lars Ulrich did not have a speech written up at all. He huddle over the microphone and gave thanks to family, friends, and fans. While pompous sometimes he actually said something I wanted share:
“I think rock and roll is about possibilities and about dreams. The fact that the six of us can be up on the stage tonight, snot-nosed kids, outcasts, loners who grew up in very different parts of the world, in very different situations and make it here tonight, to this wonderful night in front of all these people down here … Rock and roll truly is about possibilities. Look at us. Metallica’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!”
It was true, the band has been through a lot and seeing them all on stage really proved they fought their battles and proved their way into the Rock Hall. At this moment I really was happy to be a part of that night witnessing only the second metal band to ever be inducted into the Rock Hall.
Seeing Metallica get inducted really got me thinking about future inductees. Will bands like Iron Maiden, Motorhead, or even Social Distortion ever have their day? Only time will tell I guess.
I was not sure what was going to happen next as the band exited the stage. I was hoping for Jason Newsted to at least play one song with them and much to my surprise Metallica and Jason Newsted took the stage and pumped out “Master Of Puppets” with two bassists. Yes…two bassists. It was incredible.
They may have formed in 1981 and show signs of aging but good lord these guys sounded just as awesome as every time I have ever seen them live. I do want to add that the above video does not include the entire public singing along and cheering their hearts out and the sound live was much better than what is heard. The video also omitted the VIP section sitting there motionlessly and looking scared. The band also played the commercially overplayed “Enter Sandman” and even though I really do not care for that track anymore it still caught my ear and I sang along…
I really hope that their performance at the ceremony leads Jason Newsted back to the band some how. Metallica with two bassists would be pretty sick. I know they had their disagreements and fights amongst one another but Jason Newsted looked so happy to be on stage with his former crew. Maybe it was just because of an awesome weekend they all had reconnecting, or maybe it is more. We shall see.
Once Metallica finished up many folk started leaving and that was a huge mistake as they missed out on the two finales.
First up Anthony & The Imperials, Wanda Jackson, D.J. Fontana (who was inducted earlier in the evening), Jeff Beck, Bobby Womank, and Rosanne Cash all took the stage and performed “Jail House Rock”. It was a pretty insane cover of a track that helped pave rock and roll to where it stands now.
After their performance I only knew it was going to get better, and it did. Metallica, Jason Newsted, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Flea and Joe Perry all took stage and played the Yardbird’s “Train Kept A Rolling”. Talk about guitar overload! There was so much going on at once I did not know who to look at.
My night was complete after that.
And so ended the 2009 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony…and I was a part of it. How sweet is that? Hoping to be invited to an after party or notified of a secret show, which did not happen, Matt and I squeezed out way out of Public Hall and called it a night.
That was the good, now time to me to bring up some of the events that really had me wanting to swing my fists…
First off I have a top 10 of drunks I would like to punch in the throat that were seated around us. Yes it is a concert, and yes it was being filmed for television, but seriously did you really need to drink to the point where you are most likely going to forget the entire evening? There were people around me that had no idea what was going on and would try and leave to take a piss every ten minutes.
With that said during some segments of the night the sweet ushers (more on that in a second) would shut the doors not to allow anyone back to their seats until a commercial break. This made the drunks unhappy and loud. Luckily Matt and I were seated directly in front of a door way into the concession area so all of the jackasses who went to get drinks had to finish them in the halls and created a ton of noise. So much I might add that I was not even able to hear DJ Fontana’s acceptance speech. That was about the time I turned around and screamed “Shut the eff up!”
People were yelling at the ushers when they were denied to be seated such as one princess saying “Do you know how much money I spent to get here?” – Yes lady I do know how much because it is the exact amount I spent to go there too and I sure as hell did not spend that money to hear your tramp ass complain.
Another finely dressed douche bag had no idea where he left his seat due to one too many and when the ushers told him he was a row off he yelled at them for wasting his time. Idiot. Drunk idiot.
Oh I almost forgot about the dad who asked me if “Evil Knievel jumped over the Public Hall in the 60’s”. Do I look that old? He almost ate it a few times down the steps too and I was secretly hoping he would have…
Honestly I could not believe the number of people that were just out of control wasted. If it were a Metallica concert I could understand but this was a serious ceremony of sorts that meant a lot to the artists involved.
Then there was the lady five rows in front of us screaming and wooing while failing to throw the devil horns. Seriously, I am not kidding. This drunk bimbo looked like she was having seizures at times because she was so blasted. She would throw her hand out, make a peace sign followed by what looked like the “shocker” and once even the “Live Long and Prosper” Spock Star Trek sign. She eventually used her other overly tan hand to mold her fingers into the most pathetic devil horns I have ever seen. If I did not love my iPhone so much I would have surly chucked it at her head.
Oh yea, my iPhone. I was trying to take a picture of the Jimmy Page / Jeff Beck performance and a security tapped me on the back of the head and yelled I am not allowed to take video making for a blurring picture. I told him I was taking a picture with my phone and he said it was taking me too long as I was holding the phone like a video player. I pointed to the crane sized camera and told him I was waiting for it to move. Ass.
Are you tired of my ramblings yet?
I have a couple more.
The ushers when we got there were friendly and showed us to our seats but as soon as the ceremony started they started talking behind us and their walkie talkies were going off.
I understand having contol at a show and hiring outside help to maintain, but the guys behind us did not respect the paying crowd and kept laighing and talking. I was getting so frustrated and I know I was not the only one.
One usher in particular had that face and smile that just read “punch me” and he pretty much annoyed me all night. During the Jeff Beck performance he danced like a fool mocking the legend. I know he had no idea what was going on and was only there to make his $7 an hour.
The same usher made the comment “Enter Sandman” made Metallica. Instantly I envisioned myself jumping over the rail behind me, grabbing the kid by the head, and knocking him out. It is one thing to be dumb but another thing to be musically dumb.
Finally there were the fans that just had to yell things out during the speeches in hopes that their voices would be heard on national television. A shout out or two can be humorous but some of these people were tying to out shout one another. Someone would scream “I love Metallica” and a moment later “I love Metallica more” could be heard. It was sad really. Any respectful fan would have allowed any of the inductees give their acceptance speech without drunk interuption and saved the shout outs for the live shows.
I am happy to say I kept my cool and did not get myself thrown out of the event. I wanted to so badly, but did not. There is a chance I upset the father sitting next to me when I dropped the F-bomb but I was pissed and it just came out. I think if I would have flipped out and punched people in their throats it would have made for a better read here but I did not want to miss a thing that night.
So there. There were some of my complaints. I am sure Matt could add a few more. Other than the drunks and the ushers it was a swell time for sure.
I really hope that in three years the ceremony comes back to Cleveland and if it does I will be there. There is something about being a part of rock history that is all so appealing. Sure I am not a rock star nor did I walk down the red carpet to the VIP area and eat cake but I did get to witness the same thing high rollers have been doing for years and that felt pretty damn awesome.
It was an entertaining evening Thursday night fueled by heavy doses of country twang and serious rock n roll thanks to the bands that performed at one of Cleveland’s best little venues, the Beachland Ballroom. The line-up was enough to call for that simple dreadful sign stating that tickets were sold out. All who were lucky enough to obtain admittance to last night’s performance certainly are still talking about the show that Those Darlins, Hacienda, and Dan Auerbach who is known as the lead signer of The Black Keys all put on.
Having heard about the show last week I decided that it was a show not to be missed and make plans to attend. Accompanied with a couple of friends who have love for the country and the rock I was sure they would have a great time checking out all the bands. We arrived to the Waterloo Rd. venue a little early as I was not certain how long it would take to make the trek there. The Beachland Ballroom is not located exactly downtown Cleveland but just a short drive away on a sketchy yet hip part of town. We arrived with no problems and finally made way into the ballroom. One of the things I like about the Beachland Ballroom is how quaint it is. It reminds me of a gymnasium from a middle school of my past with a stage and no real distractions in the main gathering area itself.
Once we finally got in we made a pit stop at the merch tables and I dropped five dollars on Those Darlin’s Wild One EP. For three songs the five bucks was totally worth it. The main reason I even planned on attending the concert was because of the trio of ladies otherwise known as Those Darlins. I just had received a taste of their sound last week and promptly posted a blog about it. What I heard not only made my day but also made me what to see them perform live.
Normally people get excited for the main act at a concert and the openers are almost like icebreakers for the evening. For the first time in a long time this was not the case for me. I dig the Black Keys and I have seen them live before. I actually had not heard the solo release yet on Dan Auerbach yet and to be honest I was more interested in seeing the opener over the other two bands.
Nashville’s neighboring sweethearts Those Darlins took the stage to a decent sized crowd and opened with “Wild One“. I think it is safe to say that they impressed the crowd right away physically and musically with their mix of country, folk, bluegrass, and sass. Dressed to impress, the three fine-looking girls and their mustache clad drummer had an amazing stage presence and were all smiles through their set. Sipping on strong drinks in between songs the girls shared singing duties and entertained all. “I love you” was shouted more than one time, and although I admit a major crush on the three darlings, I assure you it was not me.
They played the two other tracks on their Wild One EP including the humorous “Whole Damn Thing” as well as a healthy bout of tunes to be hopefully released on their debut CD in June. At times they sounded like The Carter Family and other times reminded me of a female version of Hank Williams III but much better looking. Seeing them live on stage having such a good time really added to the attraction. I was not ready for them to finish when they did and really could have listened to them play all night with their unique sound. I can only hope for a return by the sassy ladies once their debut CD is released.
Many people were excited to see the San Antonio rock jam band Hacienda take stage. I wish I could say I was too, but honestly the only thing I knew about this band is that they were backing up Dan Auerbach during his set and that their latest album, Loud Is The Night, was recorded at Dan Auerbach’s Akron Analog . I checked out some of the set and at times was shaking my head along to the beat. It was good music, but just not what I was looking to hear at the time.
Dan Auerbach with Hacienda and friends took stage after a short break. It was at this moment that I realized how sold out the show really was as I could barely move through the crowd to find a good place to watch the headliner. With only hearing a track or two off of Dan Auerbach’s Keep It Hid I knew it was not anything Black Keys but still was not completely sure what was going to happen.
The sounds Dan Auerbach and crew put forth reminded me of early rock at it’s finest with a jam feel at times. Each member on the stage had their own specialty to make the live performance even more interesting. Guitar solos, dual vocals, and smiles ear to ear by the performers just added to the good time being had by all. I got a huge kick out of the duel drumming and especially seeing Patrick Hallahan from My Morning Jacket do his thing moving from drum set to congo and maraca and even beating upon a giant triangle. Rocking out until after midnight the band continued to electrify. I can not tell you what songs they played as I still have yet to pick up the CD but I can tell you Keep It Hid is on my “to buy” list.
It was an excellent night for new music to hit my ears thanks to all three acts playing on stage. I became a bigger fan of Those Darlins as well as gotten a good taste of what Dan Auerbach’s solo material sounds like backed with a full band. Spite the sold out crowd it was a great evening and I know I was not the only one who enjoyed it. If these three acts happen to come your way and you are looking for a night of fun and music do yourself a favor and grab a ticket before it sells out.
The tour continues for just a few more dates. Catch them if you can!
March 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
March 6 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
March 7 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
March 10 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
March 11 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
March 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s
March 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
For almost 20 minutes this evening I flashed back to one of my favorite concerts ever 12 years ago. I remember the line up vividly. It was The Gray Race Tour featuring Bad Religion with special guests Unwritten Law and Dance Hall Crashers at the infamous Cleveland Agora.
I was fresh out of high school, reckless, and an avid punk rocker. I went to the show with a big group of friends….we took our friend’s mom’s van that had the worst suspension ever. In fact we had to turn around on route 422 and swap the van out with another friend’s mom’s van.
One thing I recall about that show was there there were cameras all over the place, professional cameras. The cameras were on the balconies of the Agora as well as on the shoulders of cameramen. My friends and I got excited because we were going to be filmed during the performance. We hoped it would be released on VHS (that’s right kids, DVDs did not exist back then).
I owe that tour for introducing SoCal Surf/Skate punk rockers Unwritten Law to me. I am still a fan of them today. During their performance I noticed the cameras were not rolling so we all agreed that the camera were there only for Bad Religion.
When Bad Religion took stage we all went insane. I remember moshing and dancing and just acting like a complete fool. At times I was just falling on people and letting them push me around as I sang at the top of my lungs. I was being a carefree 19 year old and was loving every moment of it. For the record, I was sober too…I got carded when I tried to buy beers….haha.
As the years passed I slowly forgot about that show. Since none of us could ever hunt down that footage of the show we all figured it was lost. A few weeks ago one of my buddies who went to that show with me called me telling me he saw some footage of the show on YouTube. I was in disbelief yet thrilled that it surfaced. Well thanks to my busy like I completely forgot about that phone conversation until today when I logged onto YouTube and looked it up.
Sure enough, it’s Bad Religion at the Cleveland Agora 1996. It was a sold out show. My friends and I were front row slightly to the right of center stage. I laughed when I saw the pit because I know I was a part of it. I remember it so clearly and now you can see what I experienced…