so yeah, right off the bat we got lost driving arround to find the place of the show… damn… even after we had (what we thought were) good directions from the Midget Jon Favrau and later from a smokey gas station atendant name Gaysomethingorother, we’d've rather called her “Vie” but she had a nametag on… so we get there, and we’re allready too late to see Dan Potthast, oh well, it’s cool, there’s plenty more to see, and we can hear the Toast from outside the gate, and they aren’t bad… speaking of outside the gate we waited there for like FOURTY FIVE FREAKIN’ MINUTES!.. ah well… Alyson got a rad pic of Mr Jim, Spence and i… we get in, we mill arround, and i’m checkin’ out merch tables and seeing where shit is… and also lookin’ for scheduals for the stages… found em! YAY! now i know where to go when i want!.. ended up catching some of Dr Octopuss and Let’s Go Bowling, but admittedly i was in a ska-punk/ska-pop mood and this third wave stuff wasn’t fittin’ the bill just now as much as i wanted it to… hung arround a bit got to talk to Big D of Big D and the Kids Table fame about touring in Normal IL, and Mr Jim got a picture of us… then i went to see Starpool (ex-Save Ferris mostly) and they rocked my darling socks off! rock w/ horns, very Socko-ish, very fun, i’ll be watchin’ these guys… later i ran into Oliver and T-Bone Willy and talked at them, and once again Mr Jim was there to snap another quick pic (tho he took me completely by suprize by grabbing Alyson’s camera)… made sure to go and catch the Nuckle Brothers reunion show, it was sweet, so glad they played “Dig ‘em Smacks” just so i could yell (w/ the band and about 1/2 the crowd) “get the fuck outta my house kid!”, also saw lil Mr Aaron Barrett disguised as a trucker… then i chilled out and sat on the ground and listened to Rx Bandits, they sounded way off at that show, oh well… then the Forces of Evil played, i was super excited, but for some reason felt let down, they too sounded off… so i wandered over to see Monique Powell and her Fake Ferris band, i’ve heard people say “they didn’t play that well” but to me her band sounded on! and yeah she’s always been like that onstage, it’s funny, to a point, the best is when Neville Staple came on and sang “Super Spy” with her! but before it was over i ended up wandering to the same stage Mr Jim had wandered to, to see the highlight of the show! a new IMPOSSIBLY GOOD SKA BAND!.. that’s right folks, the Suburban Legends rocked our SOCKS OFF! it’s hard to say how good this band was, but it’s everything i remember seeing at my first few shows, high energy and fuckin’ dancible ass songs! if any new ska band is the next big ska super-stars it’s these guys!… after them we kicked arround somemore, takin’ in some sites at the venue, then it was time for Big D and the Kids Table… man i was waiting for this all day! YAY!.. right from the get go, Mr Jim realized this wasn’t his crowd as a punch was thrown in the pit imediatly in the first song, i should’ve warned him, as if any band may make a moron do this, it’s be them… they totally rocked me, i was so tired about half way thru that set it was UNREAL! they even suprised me by covering “Little Bitch” by the Specials! it was so good i REALLY hope they record it sometime! too too much rock-ska for me!.. after that we walk arround more as it starts to get cold and all we have is our sunburns to keep us warm… i stopped by the Mustard Plug both and hung out w/ the guys and took a few pix, it was great, i was sad i missed them, and sad that i had to sit thru the Selecter (never quite liked them) and Voodoo Glow Skulls (as much as i like them, they sounded worce than Rx Bandits, PA problems i’m sure) before the next band… yep it was Reel Big Fish, they started off shakey but picked up and totally dominated the crowd! and even a special performave of “She has a Girlfriend Now” w/ Monique Powell on Vocals just like the CD, talk about tres swank, and RBF played all the old ska stuff that made us crazy kids love them back 5yrs or so ago… and Tyler delivered a message to the crowd from the BossToneS and Less Than Jake: “wish we could be there, have fun”… after RBF it was time for the Toasters, but Jim’s back was hurtin’ something fierce and i decided that it was better to bite the bullet and miss them for my friends well being than to see Bucket and Crew pick it up again… on the way out the door was Dan Potthast and friends layin’ down some beats! i couldn’t help it, i told Mr Jim, Spence and Alyson to keep walkin’, i’d catch up i HAD to talk to Dan! i think i scared him by yelling “i’ve been waiting all day to see you!” as i ran up to him! it was crazy cool fun talkin’ to him! wow, i can’t tell ya’ll how much, but i made it quick and ran to catch up w/ the group… we went back to the hotel and Mr Jim and i talked a bit about the show, we came up w/ this
best new band: Suburban Legends
band most represented by shirts that played: Suburban Legends
band most represented by shirts that dinna play: the Aquabats
was it worth the drive out?: i say TOTALLY mr Jim says he fuckin’ hates me
then we totally crash out as we have to start our drive back home early the next moring
