Twisted Insane and Whitney Peyton winter warm up in Clarksville

So...yes...I know that I've been remiss in not updating my blog as often as I should. After every show last year, I thought "Man, I've gotta update the blog" but it just never happened. But don't fear. I promise that I'll keep better track of it this year. We'll start with the first show from this year, and go from there!


Saturday, March 1st
Da Mafia 6ix, Sozay, Twisted Insane, Whitney Peyton
The Warehouse Bar and Grill, Clarksville, TN
$23


I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking that it's been a long, cold winter. Most artists don't tour through the winter, so when I noticed that Da Mafia 6ix had a show coming up in nearby Clarksville, TN, I figured that it would be a fun night. But then, I saw that Twisted Insane and Whitey Peyton were opening for them...and oh yes, I knew I had to be there! I was SO ready to get out to a good live show and have some fun with my friends, and this was the perfect opportunity amid all the wintry weather!

My friends Izzy and Rusty accompanied me to this show, but once we arrived, there ended up being about a dozen of us who all showed up without coordinating with each other! Through the first three or four openers, we all spent time alternating between the bar, the stage and goofing around out in the middle of the club. At some point, a few of us took note of one of the openers, named Since When. He had some really good rhymes, and had us all paying attention more than we had to any other opener. After his set, a few of us went to greet him, and tell him that he were really digging his set. He was really nice, and seemed glad that we'd taken notice. It would be great to catch another one of his sets at some point in the future.


Shawn and Rusty enjoying some drinks in the venue


Izzy and yours truly (sporting my freshly made dreads!)


Shawn, Tiny and Rusty throw down some freestyles before the show


Check it out...my drink matches my hair!

The next opener I paid attention to was Fisty Cuffs, who seems to be someone that I've heard more and more about recently among my friends. He did a pretty good job, and the crowd seemed to be feeling him pretty well, though most people were still hanging around the bar and pool table areas during his set.

The person on this tour that I was probably most excited to see was Whitney Peyton. I saw her at the Gathering last year and thought she did a good job with such a huge crowd, so I was excited to see her perform in a small venue. Some of my friends had never heard of her before, so when it was time for her set, I tried to herd people up to the stage to check her out.









As soon as she came on stage, you could tell that she had no problem commanding the entire audience's attention and reveling in it. I thought she did a great job...better than the Gathering in my opinion! She was totally on point, and brought tons of intensity with her performance. Not far into the set, she jumped up on the barricade and held onto an overhead pipe while she performed, then later she ended up on top of a table in the VIP-type area. Then to top off an already awesome set, she ended up standing upright on top of the crowd (underneath an appropriately yet ironically placed disco ball), and TORE IT UP for her last song.

I've gotta say...I'm really digging Whitney Peyton. I think she's really good at what she does, which at the end of the day, is all I really ask for out of a performer. I love that she's intense and bad ass, and doesn't resort to using sex to sell her music. After her set, Marlie, Rusty and I found her at her merch booth, so we all picked up posters and got photos with her.


Me with Whitney


Marlie with Whitney


Rusty with Whitney

I'm definitely excited to see where her career goes, and I really hope to see her on some more big-name collabs soon.



Next on the roster was Twisted Insane, who is someone else who I knew put on a great live show. I saw him last year in Nashville, and dude is a beast! As he began his set, you could look around the venue and see people who didn't know who he was start to suddenly perk up and pay attention to what he was doing. Not gonna lie...I can't understand a word that he says when he's performing live since he raps SO FAST. It's unbelievable that someone can rap that fast, for that long, on basically every song he performs. Just awesome.









Sometimes in between his verses, he has moments of seeming possessed...like, rolling his eyes back in his head, twitching and jerking around, and flicking his tongue at the crowd. He's very unique and very entertaining, and is well worth catching live if you get the chance. After his set (and actually for the whole rest of the night) he milled around the venue and greeted people, so we all ended up getting photos with him as well.


Me with Twisted Insane



Next up on the list was Sozay, who I wasn't familiar with but appeared to be a more mainstream sounding rapper. He was good, and the crowd was really pumped up during his performance. He was having a lot of fun, as well as the guys in his crew who stood at the back of the stage the whole time. Near the end of his set, he said something about wanting all the sexy ladies in the audience to get onstage with him and dance. I saw Izzy jump onstage, then the guy in front of me moved out of my way so I could go. At first I said no, but then he said "...but you're sexy!" so I was like hey, might as well! Thank you, random dude, for paying me a compliment! ;-) Marlie ended up onstage with us as well, and we all danced around for the length of the song before heading back into the audience to finish watching his set.

After Sozay's set, it was 1:00am...and despite how I want to believe that I'm an all night party animal...I'm just not anymore hahaha I was really tired, but I certainly wasn't going to call it quits before Da Mafia 6ix came onstage! Just before they walked out, they brought out some skeletons, then flooded the whole stage area with artificial fog. Once they came out, the crowd was super hyped up for the performance.









I tried my best to take photos, and I ended up snapping about 50 of them, but basically none of them came out well due to so much fog in the venue. They were all washed out and blurry. Boooo. I hung out for a while in the big crowd at the front, but I eventually retreated back a little way since my photos weren't turning out and I was too tired to deal with the crowd. As the set went on, people began to peel away from the immediate area of the stage, instead hanging back and dancing, getting drinks and socializing. It was really fun, and pretty chill as far as rap shows go.

After everyone was done, the venue started to clear out, so we all made one last pass by the merch booths as we were on our way out. This was a great show, and it was just what I needed in the middle of a long, cold winter! There where times when our little group of Juggalos looked like we were the only people in the whole venue having any fun! It was great to have some fun times with my fam while catching some really great music too! I hope that we see a lot more of both Whitney Peyton and Twisted Insane because they're both great, and well worth paying attention to. Til next time, fam! Whoop whoop!

-Julie

Boondox on the Beach, featuring Cousin Cleetus and more

Thursday, December 1st, 2011
Boondox, Cousin Cleetus, Mars, Miss Kisa, The DRP
Sickboy's Bad Habit Lounge, Daytona Beach, FL
$7

It bears repeating that Boondox is one of my favorite music artists across all genres. I had really held out hope that he was going to be able to play at the Muse here in Nashville during his Low Down and Dirty tour, but ultimately that didn't work out (originally I got word that he wasn't booked, then a booking popped up on the Muse website, but then it disappeared again...rats!). So rather than risk missing the tour completely, I decided to take an evening away from my annual December Walt Disney World trip with my friends to head for the coast and catch his show in Daytona Beach.

I ended up booking a rental car at the Alamo inside the Dolphin hotel, which was convenient since I'd spent that morning in Epcot. I'd booked the cheapest car I could find since it was just going to be me, but since I'd arrived late in the day, the only vehicle they had left to give me was a Town and Country minivan! So on top of the omnipresent worry that something would happen to my rental car, I had the added worry that something would happen to my very expensive minivan while parked outside of a club full of Juggalos! haha


Ohhh...fancy!

After a quick stop by my hotel to get changed and do some makeup, I hopped into my swanky whip and made the hour and a half drive to Daytona Beach.


All set to go!

I made a quick stop at Burger King, but I was really too excited to eat much. I found the venue very easily, and I'm sure that I looked really gangsta as I parked my minivan. Stupid me had forgotten to bring any cash to get into the club, but luckily the owner let me charge my admission at the bar.

The crowd when I arrived was less than enthusiastic. I'm used to Nashville shows, where most people know each other, and people just hang out in groups before the shows. But in Daytona, no one seemed to be speaking to anyone else. It was quite and empty, and no one seemed excited to be there. What a bummer! Despite everyone just sitting there looking bored, I headed right up to the barricade and staked out my spot, so I'd have a front row view of all the performances. While I stood there, a few people came and went, but no one spoke to me. There were even a couple of people who would yell "Whoop whoop!" and no one was responding except me! :-( Sad face.



The first people who played were Fur Elise, who were clearly hard rock, and were clearly oblivious about who they were opening for! At one point, the lead singer said "So who's playing tonight? What kind of crowd do we have tonight?" Oh Lord. Once a couple of people yelled out that we were Juggalos, the guy replied with "Juggalos? Is that right?" I mean for real...why would the venue book them without giving them the first clue about who they were opening for? They really weren't that bad, but should clearly have been opening for someone like Saliva instead of someone like Boondox!



Next up was a local guy whose name I didn't catch. He did a pretty good job, though I'd swear that he was lip syncing at certain points. Most of the time, it sounded like he was singing, but then sometimes I'd notice him take the mic away from his mouth, but his voice would keep singing.


So, is this was Jersey shore Juggalos look like?



Next up was Miss Kisa, who is a veteran of the Gathering and someone who gets a fair amount of support from Boondox himself. I'd honestly not listened to any of her music beforehand, but I was really impressed by her!




How she manages to perform in those heels, I'll never know



She's a badass chick, and is great at what she does. I must admit that it was a bit awkward being so close that I could see up her very-short skirt, but it's all good. I certainly hope that she plays the Gathering again so I can come out and show my support.



After Miss Kisa came The DRP. He was alright. A lot of flash and drama and enthusiasm, but at the end of the day, he just wasn't my thing.



Next up was Mars. I'm only vaguely familiar with Mars, and mainly his older stuff, so most of what he performed was new to me. But overall, it was a great performance.



He moved all around the stage, and made a lot of prolonged eye contact with the crowd. Good stuff.

After about three and a half hours and five other openers, it was finally time to get to my two most anticipated acts of the night. I was familiar with Cousin Cleetus as Boondox's hypeman, so I was quite excited to see him perform solo.







From the first second he stepped out, he really commanded the stage, and did a fantastic job of grabbing everyone's attention. He has a very unique sound, and one that is exactly what I like. I'm very excited to see where his career takes him, and I'll certainly be among his new fans.

Finally it was time for the main event.



I love love love Boondox's music, and his live performances don't disappoint either. It really was too bad that the crowd didn't seem more excited about his performance.


WAKE THE FUCK UP! OMG This guy was falling asleep through Boondox's entire set

There was only one line of people standing directly at the barricade, with no one immediately behind them, then the rest of everyone was keeping a fair distance from the stage. I felt kind of sorry for him because he was giving us a performance equal to or better than the Gathering, yet no one seemed to care, except for me of course :-)











I was very happy to hear his two newest songs, Abadon and Monster, performed live right alongside his older stuff. He moved continuously around the stage, but didn't really seem to engage those of us who were standing right up front very much. Despite that, the show was fantastic, and well worth the time and effort to make it to Daytona Beach.

After Boondox was done performing, the lights came up and he made his way to the edge of the stage to hang out for a while.


This guy had him sign one of the infamous "I love Waffle House" shirts from the Gathering

He signed a bunch of autographs and gave a bunch of daps...



...and even obliged me with a self portrait with him! Not surprisingly, the crowd scattered very quickly, and no one hung around at all after the show. So since there was nothing going on, I quickly jumped back into my soccer mom mobile and made my way back to shiny, happy Disney World.

And so ended the last show I'd make it to in 2011.

I'll be doing one more blog entry as a recap of the year, then I'll keep motoring full force ahead into the new year with the same "12 live shows in 12 months" goal as this year.

-Julie

Anybody Killa at the Muse, once again

Friday, October 14th, 2011
Anybody Killa
The Muse, Nashville, TN
$12

For the second time in 2011, and the third time in a year, I got the opportunity to see ABK perform at the Muse. Beforehand, I made up a batch of 2 dozen Moon Mist cupcakes, and picked up new friend Ryan "Cookies" from his house so he could go to the show as well. When we arrived, nothing was going on yet, so like always, we just stood around and mingled, and ate some cupcakes. I actually only went inside a few times before ABK started to perform since I wasn't familiar with anyone who was opening, and since I'd much rather be hanging out on the patio with my friends than pretending that I'm enjoying someone's performance.

By the time ABK started to perform, everyone had gone back inside and staked out their respective spots near the stage. While I waited, I had something very strange happen. I struck up a brief conversation with a man standing next to me, and after exchanging just a few pleasantries, he said "Too bad more REAL Juggalos didn't show up tonight. I only see three or four." Um...excuse me? I'd never seen this dude in my life, so he obviously didn't personally know every person in the room. And who is he to judge what a REAL Juggalo is? I wasn't even sure how to respond since I wasn't sure if he was including me in the three or four who were "real Juggalos" or was lumping me in the with "not a real Juggalo" rest of the crowd. What a random, judgmental thing to say to someone you didn't know.

Once ABK came out onstage, the show was great, as always. I actually thought the set seemed a little shorter than his past sets, but in reality I don't think it was. This was one of only three "Orange and Black" shows that he did, so hopefully it's a show that was unique to only those three dates.

Photos...



















After the show, everyone made their way outside, and Killa was right behind us. We all just hung around and chilled for a while, took some photos and generally had a good time.


Crystal meets Killa...


...and so does Nick!

After we'd been hanging around for a while, I decided to get my other dozen cupcakes and pass them out. So right as I'd handed them all out and we started to eat, two cops came up. They were shining their flashlights on us and acting like brutes, apparently thinking they were gonna bust us all for doing something illegal. But nope! We were all just standing there eating cupcakes! They kept looking at us, and shining the flashlights all over the ground, but all they found were happy, upstanding citizens eating yummy cupcakes hahaha It was so funny how confused they were. Eventually they left since we weren't doing anything bad!

Not sure what my next show is going to be since I don't have anything else on the plan at the moment. Still hoping that Boondox turns up at the Muse sooner than later!

-Julie