Hopsin, SGF, Stitchmouth and more at the Muse

Saturday, April 30th, 2011
Hopsin, SFG, Stitchmouth, Lil Wyte, etc.
The Muse, Nashville, TN
$15
See all the photos from this show here

After last month's awesome ABK show at the Muse where SGF was an opener, I was really happy to see that SGF had another show coming up as an opener for Hopsin. I also noticed that local underground legend Stitchmouth was on the bill, which was awesome since I'd been wanting to see him for a while too. I went out with a guy recently who seemed more interested in bad mouthing Stitchmouth during our date than actually getting to know me, so it made me want to catch one of Stitch's performances all the more! haha

After a full morning of baking up two dozen of my almost-famous Faygo Moon Mist cupcakes, I headed out to pick up my friends Pamela and Nick, who were joining me for the show (or I was joining them, however you want to look at it!). After a quick stop by the venue to pick up some presale tickets from a guy named Sweet Tooth in an almost drug deal-like transaction, we headed off for lunch at El Mariachi. Two chimichangas and a plate of nachos later, we were back at the venue, well in advance of when the doors were to open.



After a few minutes of careful blood drip application, we were ready for the show.


All set for the show!

Once we were ready to go in, the doors still weren't open, so we had to hang around outside for a while. The vibe was really different than what we were expecting as well. Lots of people were there dressed in club wear, and there was even one guy in a sweater vest! haha Not the crowd we were hoping for, though we had an inkling that the crowd might turn lame since it was announced on the radio that Lil Wyte was playing at that show too. Oh well.



The first performer on the bill was Stitchmouth. What a frickin' travesty to have him be the first person on this bill! Especially considering how terrible a few of the bands after him were! This dude was awesome, and definitely should have performed much further into the night just so there would have been more people there! We missed about half of his set because we couldn't even tell that he'd gone on yet!



Stitch just dripped with everything that is violent and angry about underground music. And as Pamela says, he only came across as "a little bit satanic-y. Just a smidgen." hahaha


Looking intense...too bad we missed so much of the set



Next up was this joker, who was very, very obviously lip syncing!! Like, he was missing entire lines that were in his voice, then putting the mic up to his mouth for the last word or two, like no one would notice! I was embarrassed for him.



But what I didn't get was why the rest of the guys in the group were singing for real, and only the one guy was lip syncing. In any event, they sucked, and we went outside about halfway through their set.



Next up...Nick Rage. Not bad. Average. Passable.


I felt sorry for them though since there were literally 8 people in the venue watching them

Once Nick Rage was done, it was time for someone else I'd never heard of, so we went outside to hang out for a while. While we were there, we pondered how the crowd just didn't feel like we were expecting. When you're at a completely underground show, the whole crowd is really friendly, and everyone is having a good time. But for this show, it really did seem like there were two groups of people there...the Juggalos (who were having fun), and everyone else (who were picking fights with each other and acting like hookers) haha. And the Juggalos were out numbered by far! Since I still had two dozen cupcakes hanging out in the car, I decided to just go get them and hand them out to anyone I saw that I could tell was fam.

So, I went out to the car and brought back a dozen cupcakes, and the second I walked back onto the patio with the box (with its Faygo Moon Mist label), every lo and lette in the area was instantly like "WOAH! Faygo cupcakes?!?! Can I have one??" I gave out the first dozen within the first three or four minutes that I was there, and everyone seemed to love them! And it was so, so funny to watch all these other random people who were obviously not fam see me giving out these cupcakes, but me not offer them any haha. I was definitely giving off a "keep your hands up off my cupcakes unless you're fam" vibe hahaha

With the first dozen gone, I ran back to the car and got the other dozen and brought them back. I gave one to the girl at the bar, and one to Stitch...almost offered Hopsin one since he was just standing around with everyone, but I didn't get up the nerve. I know...I should have. I ended up chatting with a group of folks who are also from the Madison/Rivergate area, and it was great to meet even more local people who I can expect to see at shows. It's been awesome to have made so many new friends through this genre of music.



Finally it was time for one of the main events, SGF! These guys really killed it at the ABK show, so I knew that they'd really get the crowd going.


Awesome SGF tattoo (which I found out stands for "Spewing Guttural Fragments" haha)


All four guys


The other side of this guy's head was completely tattooed...wish I'd gotten a photo of it!


Near the end of the set, SGF called Stitch back on stage for a song, which was awesome. The crowd was so into it...it was great.



Up next was someone else we didn't know, so we all went back outside again. Once again, I ended up sitting with the Madison people, and after a while, most of the patio cleared out as people went inside to watch Lil Wyte.



I had never heard his music, but I had heard some pretty bad things about it, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It ended up being very not my thing, in an overrated mainstream sort of way. Since this was the main act that the "polos and micro tank tops" crowd was there to see, it didn't surprise me AT ALL that a fight broke out during his set. They had to stop the music and wait for all the white trash to stop throwing beer bottles at each other before they could start performing again. That mess doesn't happen at Juggalo shows. I didn't really get any good pics during his set, but I didn't really care either. But I did manage to watch almost the entire set with Hopsin standing right next to me, which was cool!

Finally, it was time for the main event...Hopsin and Swizzz! Well, after a long time of listening to a DJ, who was actually pretty good. It was funny to watch all the Lil Wyte people leave in a mass exodus, while all the Juggalos were filtering back in.


Check out the white eyes!

I'm not all that versed in Hopsin's music, but I could really see me getting into him. He had a lot of really fun songs, and he was very animated all through his performance.


Hopsin and Swizzz


OMG his EYEEEEEZZZ!!! So freaky!







After the show, everyone slowly started to head out for the night. It was definitely an interesting show, and I'm very glad that I decided go, and even more glad that I decided to make my cupcakes to share! haha I'm glad that people liked them, and was glad to put some smiles on some peoples faces.

For those of you that are interested, here's the recipe for the Faygo Moon Mist cupcakes!

Cupcakes
1 Box yellow cake mix
1 cup flour
1 box vanilla pudding
4 eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 pint Moon Mist
Splash of lemon and orange extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients and the oil together, then mix the eggs in one by one. Once all the eggs are in, mix in the Moon Mist and the extracts gradually. Bake until they are done (my oven takes 28 minutes). Makes about 30 regular sized cupcakes.

Frosting
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
4 cups powdered sugar
Zest and juice of 2 limes
Splash of lemon and orange extracts
Add a little water if you need to thin it out

That's enough frosting for a relatively thin layer. If you like a big mound of frosting, you'll probably want to double that recipe.

Next show...Stone Temple Pilots, which in real life took place the very next day from this show!

-Julie

Saliva at Sammy T's!

Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Saliva, Rev Theory, Seven Day Sonnet
Sammy T's Music Hall, Huntsville, AL
$24
See all the photos from this show here

After a full ten month absence, I was very glad to finally get the chance to see Saliva perform again! Considering that I had caught five shows in a matter of ten months between August of 2009 and June of 2010, I was more than ready to head off to another one of their awesome shows. As soon as they announced their tour dates and I saw that one of the shows was going to be at Sammy T's in Huntsville, I knew exactly where I had to be that night! I quickly booked half a day off from work and grabbed my ticket so I would be assured that I wouldn't be left outside!

When the day arrived, I left work at 3:45, completely anticipating arriving in Huntsville around 5:00. Well I'm not sure what I was thinking because I ended up arriving around 5:45...I really could have sworn that Huntsville was only about an hour and 15 minutes away, but apparently not! haha I met Smootch in the parking garage around the corner from Sammy's, and luckily she'd only been waiting for about 15 minutes by the time I arrived. Since I was starving by that point, we jumped into Humphrey's, which was a pub type of place down the street where I had a crawfish po boy for dinner, and we both grabbed a few drinks.


Poof that hair, Smootch. It's almost show time!

By 6:30, we were in line to get in, and luckily we were both still able to get right up next to the stage, with Smootch being right at the stage, and me being just behind her. Luckily for us, there were only a few other people who were willing to brave the hours of standing just for a spot up front (one of which was "Star Lady" whose real name I've now forgotten, who always throws star shaped confetti when they sing "Superstar")

The bill was packed with five bands that night, so they ended up starting early just so they could get everyone in.



The first band to play was Down From Up, who were pretty good, despite my having never heard any of their music. The lead singer was quite the cutie, so they were fun to watch if for no other reason than that haha


Smootch has a little fun poking the guys in the butt


And again...really getting up in there hahaha

Next up came Seven Day Sonnet, who were the sleeper hit of the night. Again, I hadn't heard any of their music prior to their performance, but they ended up being awesome!



The lead singer was a combo of very happy and very intense, both smiling and screaming with the same enthusiasm. But the bass player stole the show!


Anthony, immediately post Smootch-butt-poke

Before they even started playing, Smootch had been messing with him by poking him in the butt or pointing at him and staring him down in a playful way. I even made an "I'm watching you" motion with my hand, to which he motioned that he was watching all of us haha. So through the entire show, he kept making faces at us and mugging for our cameras, and even tossed Smootch a couple of guitar picks. Too fun!


Giving us the evil eye


How do those picks taste, huh?


Rocking it out



The next band on the bill was Emphatic, who really just didn't do it for me.


The tattoo on his arm is a pig on a rocket that says "Uranus or Bust." Come on...I mean, really?

The lead singer seemed like one of those guys who is all "LOOK AT ME!" but then never really interacted with the crowd. I didn't see much eye contact, and he didn't do any pointing, smiling or anything else to engage the crowd. Too bad since they actually sounded pretty good.


What is this sharp thing, and why is it 6 inches from my head??



The fourth band of the night was Rev Theory, who is apparently quite popular despite my having never heard of them. At multiple times through their set, they held the microphones out to the audience, and the audience sang back the lyrics, so apparently they get a lot of air play in Huntsville! Their set was solid, and while I am probably not running out to grab their album, I was sufficiently entertained.



Finally it was time for the main event...Saliva! The last time I saw them was last June at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, when they opened for Puddle of Mudd. I definitely prefer to see them when they are headlining since you know that the vast majority of the folks in the crowd are there to see them instead of someone else. That also means that the crowd will be much more into the performance, which will in turn make the band's performance better. Also, considering that the Saliva show last year at Sammy T's has gone down as one of the very best concerts I've ever been to, I had very high hopes for the show! Beforehand, as they were setting up, we saw that Saliva had 15 songs on their set list! Nice!



When Saliva took the stage, their performance was just as awesome as ever. Saliva truly provides a top notch concert experience...lots of audience interaction, lots of movement around the stage (at least on Josey's part), and overall just a very enjoyable performance. The one bummer to the whole thing though is the fact that Jonathan Montoya isn't with the band anymore. I had wondered in advance if the performance would feel like it was missing anything since Jonathan wasn't there anymore, and I can definitely say that it DID feel like something was missing. With Wayne, Dave and Paul all being basically stationary through the entire show, it fell on Josey's shoulders to do all the entertaining. And he's definitely good at that, but it was very nice to also have Jonathan there to watch as well as Josey. He just added that extra bit of excitement to the show, which is definitely lacking these days. But really, the show was still very good, and the performance was still solid, despite Jonathan's absence.












Much like last year, Josey came right out to the edge of the stage, and even got close enough so we could touch his hair a few times! But he didn't get close enough for us to touch all over him like we did last time hahaha I really suspect that that was due to two burly security guards who were watching those of us up front like a hawk. Considering that the show last May was so over-the-top awesome, I definitely didn't go into this show expecting the same experience. So I wasn't disappointed that he didn't get that close again. It would have been nice! But I wasn't expecting it. Security also showed their ugly faces when they sang "Superstar" and "Star Lady" started to throw the star confetti onstage. After the song, a guy ran out, brushed the stars off the set list, and was like "Stop throwing stuff!!" Killjoy!


One final shot of Josey

Near the end of the set, those of us up front noticed that they had breezed straight through their set list, playing Your Disease, which was slated to be an encore, right along with the rest of the set. So once they left the stage, there was no encore. Boo! I managed to grab one of the set lists off the stage, while Smootch had made her way out with four drumsticks from the different bands!! As some crew guys were cleaning up, I motioned to one of them to toss Josey's towel to me, so he did! It ended up being soaking wet hahaha But it's all good. On the way out, Paul was in the lobby socializing with everyone, but since I've met him twice, I kept my distance and let everyone else speak to him.


Uh oh! Where did that photo come from?? :-)

On the way out the door, we found the Seven Day Sonnet bass player, who immediately recognized us and started chatting with us.


Me with Anthony of Seven Day Sonnet

Of course, since he was so fun and friendly, Smootch and I both bought a copy of their CD for $5. See how that works? He flirts with the ladies up front at the show, which makes them buy his CDs afterward. He knows how to work it! But I didn't mind, and the CD actually ended up being really good! Can't wait to hear a full album from them! We didn't end up hanging around very long since none of the other Saliva guys were hanging around.



On the way back to the car, we spotted two guys in the parking garage peeing onto someone's car! Eww!! hahaha Once we were on our way, we made a stop at Waffle House for some post-concert grub, then I made the almost two hour drive back to Nashville, arriving around 3:30am.

My next show? Well, I have two back-to-back shows in the next week! Next up is Hopsin, with the star attractions being performances by S.G.F. and Stitchmouth, then Stone Temple Pilots the next day!

-Julie

Super-Killa-Fragilistic - ABK at the Muse

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
Anybody Killa, P.R.E.A.C.H.
The Muse, Nashville, TN
$12
See all the photos from this show here

Considering that I live in Nashville, I find it really strange that I've had two opportunities to see Anybody Killa (ABK) in concert here within the last five months. But hey, I'm definitely not complaining! His show last November at the Muse was my first Psychopathic show, and I really enjoyed it, so I was definitely not going to miss his return.

Work was nice enough to let me leave an hour and 15 minutes early, and when I arrived, there wasn't much going on just yet. After getting the best parking spot yet behind the Muse, I met Pamela in the parking lot on the way in. The first thing we heard were rumblings about Kung Fu Vampire being MIA, AMB not being able to play since one of the guys wasn't there, and now ABK was refusing to play. Knowing how incorrect info can spread like wildfire, we both chalked this up to being like the telephone game...someone said something, then someone overheard it and changed the story a little, then someone overheard that, and so on.

Since nothing was going on yet, we sat down outside and chatted, and mingled with the others waiting for the show. Eventually we heard that Kung Fu Vampire was definitely not going to be there, which was fine since I'd never really listened to them.



The first band, S.G.F., went on a little before 9:00 They were awesome though, with elaborate makeup and blood, and some great rhymes to go with it.


Chick in the tank top is not impressed



Near the end of the set, they stirred up a mosh put and a couple of the guys jumped right in, while a strobe light was making everything look like it was happening in slow motion. Wild! I would definitely head back out to see these guys again since they were VERY entertaining.



After a break, P.R.E.A.C.H. was the next artist to perform. I wasn't sure what to expect with him either, but he was fantastic. Great beats, great lyrics, and great interaction with the crowd.


Tank Top is also not impressed with P.R.E.A.C.H.


lulz She looks miniature in this picture

One of the guys he was with also handed out CDs and lighters that said P.R.E.A.C.H. on them, so I ended up with a nice yellow lighter too. I was very pleasantly surprised with his performance. It's so awesome to go to shows not expecting to find any new artists to pay attention to, then come out as a fan of one of the openers! (Happened last time too when Critical Bill opened for ABK, and I figured out that Critical Bill was exactly the style of music I enjoy!)



With the first two openers having been big hits, Bones from AMB came out on stage to announce that Otis had had a family emergency and had to fly home, so there wouldn't be an AMB performance that night. Not a biggie for me since I'm not a big fan of AMB. He then introduced local Juggalo rappers Lords of Chaos.



Poor guys...you can tell that they're new to performing since they seemed to struggle to remember their Juggalo-centric lyrics and did little more than just stand there and recite them into the microphone. They also had some song about "the dark side of 615" which pretty much painted Juggalos as gang members, which I really wasn't fond of. But whatever.


And she's totally not feeling Lords of Chaos either



Bones made another appearance and introduced a guy named FLOW who he said was new to their record label (it was news to me that AMB have their own record label now, but hey, I must not keep up with them well enough hahaha). FLOW was entertaining, though not because he was particularly good. He was all smiles the whole way through his set, and didn't seem to be rapping about anything too serious.


Tank Top had to resort to playing with her phone since she was so bored with FLOW's performance



By this point, given that neither Lords of Chaos nor FLOW were particularly good, the venue had almost completely emptied out. Too bad that the two best performers went first, since the next two acts completely sucked the life out of the venue. S.G.F. and P.R.E.A.C.H. definitely should have played just before ABK.

By the time that it was actually time for ABK to take the stage, people were slowly filtering back in, and chants of "ABK!" and "Fam-uh-ly" were starting to fill the room. Since this show was technically a part of the Medicine Bag tour (just like the last one was), I was expecting the backdrop to be the same Medicine Bag backdrop as last time. But instead, when they dropped the tarp, there were two large hatchetman banners on the sides, with some sort of tall riser in the middle that he was standing on, which was a much grander entrance that just walking out on stage!




Pamela with ABK in the background


Tank Top was actually enjoying this performance! I think she was even taking a photo with the phone and not playing with it.







Much like last time, the performance was great. He moved around the stage a lot, and made prolonged eye contact with lots of people numerous times throughout the set. At one point during "Ghost of my Ex," he stared me down and reached out his hand toward me. But dammit if I didn't have a dude standing right in front of me, and I couldn't reach back far enough to grab his hand haha Overall, again, another solid performance. Better than last time in my opinion since he seemed a little more energetic and was having a little more fun with it.

After the show, everyone made their way outside and hung around for a while. I'd met new friend Dennis "Lazy D" before the show, and he'd invited me and Pamela upstairs to the Undertones bar because he anticipated that ABK would head up there for a few drinks later. I'm certainly not one to pass up the opportunity to meet a celebrity, so after a while, we all headed upstairs. After a good 45 minutes of hanging around with no sign of ABK, Pamela and I decided to go downstairs just to make sure that his trailer was still parked beside the club, and that he hadn't slipped away unnoticed! It was still there, and after chatting with a security guard about how much we both loved Boondox, ABK came our way. We gave him a quick whoop whoop and he headed upstairs, with me and Pamela following behind. He ended up being such a Joe Average cool dude to hang out with...didn't draw attention to himself or act outrageous like you hear some musicians doing!


Yep, that's what ABK looks like without his paint!

Once ABK and almost everyone else snuck off to the back room for a while, Pamela and I stayed to chat with Dennis, who ended up being such an interesting guy! Everyone else came back into the main area of the bar at some point, and as it approached 3:00am, the subject of the Gummi Bears theme song came up. So eventually, we all ended up watching cartoon theme songs on YouTube over the big screen TV in the bar! Epic...totally epic hahaha

I've said it before and I'll say it again, that I am so glad that I chose to embrace this whole genre of music. The music is great, the concerts are awesome, and the other fans are so, so fun! Now all I need is for Boondox to come to the Muse and I'll have seen everyone on the label :-)

-Julie