Iced Ink's first show with Barry at the Triple Rock went very well last night! Was a blast to finally play that stage, although I was a bit shot by the time we hit the stage - roughly 1AM. Ouch. One thing that didn't help much were the free drinks the club offered to the bands. One gets thirsty while waiting so long to get onstage, and unlimited free beer drinks over the course of 6 hours can be a recipe for disaster for even the most anti-alcoholic individuals. Thankfully I was able to moderate thruout the evening. Kind of.
We played a lot of Ink classics as well as a few newer ones, and the few people whose opinions I value (i.e.- people that will tell me the truth and not just kiss my ass) told me it sounded different, but just as good as Iced Ink 1.0 and that we definitely chose the right guy. I knew this would be the case, of course, but it was nice to get such positive reception and get that first gig out of the way. Another good sign is when someone walks up to me after our sets shaking their head and just saying "Dude..." That happened at least a good half dozen or so times last night.
That is the only word I need to hear. "Dude" sums up a good set rather nicely. If you ever want to approach the stage after we play and are at a lack of words, "Dude" will definitely suffice. "Dude" is a way better one word review than something like "sucky"... or "limp".. or "hashbrowns".
Back to going on at 1am. Me = not a big fan of the 2am bar closing time in the cities. Those of you who don't live here: 2am closing just started last year - before that it was 1am. Perhaps if they voted for 2am closing on the weekends only I'd understand, but honestly - 2am on a weeknight? Maybe it works well for the lameass dance clubs, but for live music, you're gonna be hard pressed to get anyone to stay out that late on a weeknight to support your band no matter how much they love you or how much you pay them. When you're a musician, 2am closing means 1 extra hour of standing around like a dope waiting to play. Personally, it's sort of like I'm re-living the "Fall Back" day of daylight savings time every show I play, and you know how much that can screw a person up.
We had to load in at 7:30 last night which means standing around for roughly 6 hours. I can't think of anything I want to do for 6 hours. Well.. maybe a few things. But yeah... 6 hours. That's like running a f$%kin' marathon, but remaining stationary and yelling over loud music to talk to people instead of running.
Regardless, it's part of being in a band. I really need to bring a paddleball game, some fingercuffs, Barbie Dolls... something to keep myself busy. Like Paul Stanley once said, "If you're lucky enough to get what you wanted, then shut the fuck up!" It was great to get out and let loose the monster that is Iced Ink 2.0 with all of the other great bands. And I was surprised to see a lot of people (more than I expected, at least) stick around till the bitter end. You still had the energy to hoop, holler, and applaud! Kudos to you outstanding individuals - if you're reading this you know who you are. You deserve a free frozen turkey for your dedication. Or a nice 10% coupon off your next dry cleaning bill. I'll see what I can do should we ever have to play so late again on a weeknight - you should not go without proper reward.
And for those of you who chose to stay home in lieu of standing at a bar for 4 hours and getting up for work the next morning, I don't blame you one bit. Hell if you'd catch this fella at a bar that late on a weeknight if my band wasn't playing!
Very good things to come for all future paths Iced Ink shall travel. Or perhaps I should just say this:
"Dude..."
