Killion and I rolled up at about 7:15, and there was a band already playing. I didn’t get a chance to hear all that much of them because I realized my batteries hand’t charged like they were supposed to. I was really fucking pissed about that. So I left in a rush, jetted down to CVS and came back as quick as I could. When I did, that band had *just* finished and the next group was setting up.

~8pm – during setup

Killion and I were sitting around talking to some of his friends, just chilling. Some of the scenesters were standing around, jumping, kicking, cartwheeling, etc. At one point they were standing in a circle and stretching. I had to get a pic of it, it was hilarious. I was pretty pissed that I missed the first band entirely — but at least I had working batteries. Now all they have to do is make it through the night… I was ready.

8:30ish – Bandname unknown (Ohio)

These guys were from Ohio. I apologize for not getting their name. They took a while setting up, and while they were soundchecking their guitarist was playing a few riffs Killion and I recognized (Including GnR’s “Sweet Child o Mine” and Pink Floyd’s “Money”). I don’t know if anyone else caught them… It’s moments like that where I really feel my age since Guns’n'Roses were a new band when I was growing up.

But anyways. This band had a keg-player. Their first track had some really cool breakdowns and riffs. They were kind of an edgy metal group — screaming lyrics and all. Reminded me a bit of Opeth or Katatonia. I think overall they were a pretty talented band. The crowd’s response kind of reminded me of an old Jr. High School dance: the “boys” (band) on one side of the room, and the “girls” (crowd) on the other, with this huge fucking divide between them. It wasn’t that the band wasn’t talented, because they were, I’m just not sure the people that were there were into metal. Oh well :/

Nevertheless, they played their set well, broke their stuff down, and Ishia started getting set up.

I hit the bathroom in between sets. The guitarist from Ishia was in there. He was wearing an olive green hat, and had his septum pierced with a bright green ring. He had fiery red shaggy hair and looked very Irish. Rock on. We had a brief conversation in the bathroom and I asked about his band and all. He was really cool. Real funny too.

9pm’ish – Ishia (Indianapolis, IN)

These guys were really good. They had a great stage presence, and got right up in people’s grills. Richmond’s crowd can be somewhat shy, especially with bands they don’t know — but this band forced some interaction and I think it served them well. I didn’t see much dancing, but the crowd looked like they were getting into it anyways. The guitarist (red-head I met in the bathroom) was fucking awesome, he was cracking me the fuck up. While he was playing he’d run up and push people — he put his guitar up on someone’s chest while he played it, and was just generally real crazy. Good stuff.

The funniest (in a sad way) thing happened — during the…second… song, the bassist was doin a bass toss, and he must’ve misjudged his throw because the bass crashed to the floor on the neckside. The top of the bass’s neck totally shattered on the floor, little pieces of it skidding across towards me. I was so pissed I missed that photo opportunity, but I got a shot after they played. The bassist from Richwoman, Nick, lent Ishia’s bassist his bass, which was pink. Ishia’s bassist got on the mic after that song and said “Don’t worry, it’s under warranty.” He had apparently just bought it a week or so ago. The coolest part about all of that is even though the bassist was COMPLETELY out of commission for nearly the ENTIRE fucking song, the band played on as if nothing happened. You couldn’t even tell, other than that there was no bass. That’s fucking hardcore. Awesomeness.

Their singer was crazy too — he made some wild ass facial expressions when he screamed, real mean lookin. I was determined to get a couple clear shots of it, and I think I did. He was a little shorter than myself (about 5’6″ I think?) and was barefoot. Real good tho — moved around a lot and had a really good stage presence.

10pm’ish – Rich Woman (Richmond, IN)

I felt so sorry for these guys. They got through their first song, and partway through their second and ALL OF THEIR PA’s DIED! :-O Fucken eh. That sucked. They were sounding really good too, especially the second song they played, “Rimshot Robots”. Apparently if you like Rimshots and/or Robots, you’ll be all up ons that. It was good stuff.

They didn’t have any way to correct the PA issue, so they broke down their stuff and cleared off for the next band. The drummer insisted on staying there and playing for a while, I assume out of frustration. He played around on his set, just fucking around for a bit. It was pretty entertaining. Killion said it sort of caused some drama back in the VIP area because the next band wanted to get their stuff set up.

10:30ish – idiedtrying (Dayton, OH)

idiedtrying was up next. They had a very interesting rig — I would describe their music as experimental metal. It kind of an aural assault of sound and noise, spattered with sound bytes and samples played off of the various samplers the drummer and guitarist/vocalist had. All three of them had mics, and they all sang/screamed. They had a crazy getup. Their drummer, very talented, not only had a very impressive drumset, but also some very impressive dreadlocks. Wicked good. They did some neat stuff with their instruments; I hadn’t heard anything like it before. I’m not sure the crowd really knew what to do though. Soz was gettin into it though, that’s for damn sure.

One really crazy thing was that while I was maneuvering around, looking for some good shots, I looked down and saw the guitarists guitar case. He had a pair of maracas and a fucking CHEF KNIFE in his case! :-O I was like “WHOA. These dudes don’t fuck around!” Killion and I both kind of joked that it was there for when the crowd wouldn’t dance: “You motherfuckers better dance, or i’ll cut you!” I asked the guitarist about it after their set, and he said it was for some of their freeform stuff — he apparently uses it on his guitar to produce some interesting noises. Cool enough. The guitarist also used his guitar’s switch as a cutoff to create a sampling-type effect in a manner I had only previously seen Tom Morello (formerly of Rage against the machine) use it.

As I said before — these guys were definitely talented musicians, but I’m just not sure that the local kids were prepared for the experience, or knew how to act.

11:15pm’ish – Coraline (Richmond, IN)

The one band that always puts the “rowdy” in “crowd”, our very own Coraline. These guys were abso-fucking-lutely awesome tonight. Two weeks ago, the first time I saw them, they were pretty good but I didn’t get into it quite as much. I don’t know if it was the sound quality being clearer, or the fact that I didn’t have a headcold tonight, or maybe just that I was slightly more acclimated to their music — but it was REALLY good. I was getting really into it. Their new drummer is ridiculously good, as are the rest of the band members. Everyone sounded really clear and was dead-on.

Chuckles prefaced the set with an admonishment to everyone about their behavior with the other bands. The crowd had kind of been disrespecting previous bands because a lot of them were out in the parking lot, there had also been a lot of fights too. He said that if those kinds of things kept happening, bands wouldn’t want to play in Richmond, and our scene would die out. As much as it sucks, he’s totally right.

After that, they rocked out. There were a couple spots where the one guitarist was soloing and 3 or 4 people simultaneously ran up to him and started doing the finger-waving-guitar-worship thing — the first time this happened this one guy was rubbing his ass in front of him; the second time he was on his knees. It was hilarious. What made it especially funny was his awesome outfit: he had a bright blue skirt on (yes “skirt” not “shirt”) a black jacket, and a penguin knit-cap over top his fedora hat. It was ridiculous, but fucking awesome. Rock on dude.

When they were done, Killion and I headed out and split the scene. Lookin forward to the next show at Charlie’s, on the 12th. See you guys there.

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