Feed Us A Live Insect

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Mini-tour: The Springwater X 2

We were a little concerned on Saturday when we got a message saying our show in Franklin had been cancelled. Luckily, the folks at the Springwater Supper Club in Nashville were nice enough to let us add on to their Saturday night.


So one thing to know about the Springwater is that it’s almost a carbon copy of our home venue of Mr. T’s Bowl. For every character that hangs at Ts there is his/her counter part at the Springwater. Needless to say, we felt quite at home and made for some good shows.


Saturdays at the Springwater are Rock-a-billy nights. At one point in our Monolator history, we were quite influenced by rock-a-billy so we enjoyed the night. We don’y fit in as well these days as we may have in the past but people were still receptive to our music even if it was a little different from the rest of the night. We saw a great band named Phil Hummer and the Tecumpseh Two. They put on a very dynamic performance. Harry was only playing one drum(snare) and man was he making the most of it. Since I’m a girl drummer, I am naturally interested in other women playing more “manly” instruments and Ray was really ripping it up on the stand-up bass. I thought I had muscles, damn!


So after a very fun Saturday we returned to the Springwater for a second night on Sunday where we played with an excellent band(that we picked out) called Bows and Arrows. Unfortuntely, they are all underage so we had to hang out a lot in the parking lot before the show. They are some very talented youngsters an I’d expect to be hearing more about them in the near future.

—-Mary

Mini-tour: Hot Hotlanta

Ok, so as I mentioned in the previous post, it was 99 degrees plus 100% humidity when we arrived in Nashville. When we went to Atlanta it was 102 plus the humidity. The lowest it got last night was 85 degrees. Needless to say, it was a little warm…so we played 14 Degrees and hoped that might help the heat.


We played at the Banana Hammock which is a house that has monthly shin-digs. If the show on Friday is any indication of the Atlanta scene, we were super impressed. All the bands were really great: The N.E.C., Johnny Buffalo,In Heaven(from Delaware), Ex Libris(also Delaware). I had heard about Atlanta house shows but wasn’t sure what to expect. Would it live up to the myth? Yes! The place was packed with awesome folks that loved music. Even though there was only smoking outside, almost everyone there would cram inside to watch ALL the bands.


So with all these bodies in the room, 100 degree heat and humidity, needless to say it was a bit warm. I’ve scene bands in some pretty toasty conditions but I have never seen bands sweat like I did last night. It was not a good night to be a drummer. Ok, let’s be honest it wasn’t good to do anything other than sit in a chair and sip a cold one. Reguardless of the heat, the bands gave it their all and played awesome sets.


We (heart) the Banana Hammock and we (heart) Atlanta. Bring on the heat!

Mini-tour: Grimey’s in Nashville

So far our tour to the Southeast has been amazing. Both shows we’ve played so far have been awesome! The venues, bands and folks that came out to see us have all been great to us. Hopefully, everyone that came out had as good a time as we’ve had.


We played our first show at Grimey’s Preloved Music about 3 hours after our plane touched down in Nashville. Luckily our equipment could be delivered to the store. Mark Thompson, who rented us our gear, almost had his business get burned down by a fire at the local P.F. Changs but he still managed to get us our stuff. What a pro! So everything ran smoothly despite fires and 99 degree heat with 100% humidity.


Everyone at Grimey’s was great. Grimey’s is an extremely deadly place for anyone into vinyl. They probably have one of the best selections that I’ve seen. They are also a great supporter of indie artists and have a lot of space devoted to them. It was very reminiscent of our beloved Seal Level(RIP). We met some really great folks that came down for the show including who conveinced his dad and sister to come along as well to see us. On top of all this, we were given a recording of our performance. I’ve uploaded the first three songs from the show. Even though you couldn’t fly the 2000 some miles ot be here at least you can get a bit of a taste.


Thanks Grimey’s! On to Atlanta!

Grimey's recording