Band Update: 2nd Show at The Stork

This past Friday was Red Shift's second show at the Stork Club. This night was a four band bill with us as the headliner and BRNR supporting. The first band was a pop band called Tiny Power that kind of sounded like a cross between The Cardigans & The B52's. Although they were not my cup of tea, I think they were a really good band with a lot of potential. It was their first show and I see a good future for them.

The second band (rant warning: 3...2...1...) FUCKING SUCKED!!! OK, I am not one to rip on people who are trying to do their thing; in fact, I can usually respect what their trying to do weather I like it or not. These guys however, were awful. I first met the singer of Girls With Guns when she pranced into the club and asked "Are there any big, strong men who want to help us unload?" Now, this would not have bothered me so much if the night didn't proceed to where it did. But in hindsight, if you can't unload your own equipment, you shouldn't be playing it. I have seen plenty of women who were capable rockers and who carried their own stuff (Acid King, Totimoshi, etc.). Anyway, I was fine with helping them (as I am a gentleman) and didn't think about it again for a while.

It was obvious from the beginning that the vocalist would become more annoying as she consumed more spirits. At one point she approached the guys in BRNR while in the back of the club tokin' up and offered her lungs graciously for a few hits from the pipe. Again, not that bad... That is until she went around the club asking people not to smoke during her set because "the drummer has allergies." Funny, he didn't seem to have allergies while she was smoking pot 10 feet from him during the Tiny Power set.

Around 10:30 it was time for Girls With Guns to take the stage. From the first song I knew I hated her singing voice as much as her speaking voice. The band was a kind of pop-punk blend of squeaky teenie-bopper pop-tarts and nails on a chalkboard. Song after song, she squeaked and squealed like a 12 year old singing a punk version of the theme to the Mickey Mouse club!
However, the worst was yet to come. About 5 songs into the set the guitarist broke a string. Now, this happened to me and my first show ever and I was up and running in 3 minutes (I know I have it on video), it took these girls almost 10. In this time, none of the members played any background music, no drums or bass line. However, they kept cuing the singer to keep talking to keep people interested. So for ten minutes this is what we were tortured with:

"Oh my gawd, when I'm drunk I say things and I don't even remember saying them. I do thing and, like people need to tell me about 'em the next day. I'm soo drunk... Wait, I'm not drunk, when I am drunk I ramble and you can't get me to shut up... (bass player: That's true, you'll know.)

So for ten minutes straight we were made to suffer through this shit and, if that wasn't enough, when they were finally ready to play, they massacred Breed from Nirvana. It was one of the worst travesties of music in my recent memory. Luckily, BRNR was there to bring the vibe back up.

BRNR came on the stage around 11:15 or so a from the get-go rocked everyone's fucking socks off. They play a few of my fav's like Reverse Cowgirl, Junk, & Stand My Ground to perfection. Thank god for getting these guys on the bill. They came to the show complete with demos ready to dispense, and riffs ready to commence! (OK, that was a bit cheesy, but true).

By the time it was our turn the clock had nearly struck 12:30. We went on late, but rocked the fucking house! We started the set the same as we did last week with Bastard Child, Power Drill, and *Skulls to thunderous applause. From there we went into Spacecase, The Wolf, and Sulfur Sail before beginning our big jams. This time, although the sound wasn't quite as good, we nailed Skulls and had a more energetic vibe. We go the best response of all the bands that night.

Next we tuned up to E for the instrumental Slayer, followed by The Chosen One. People went wild and, as I walked off the stage Boo & Christian decided that they had one more in them and began a song they wrote called One Night Stand which is a bass driven funky jam with heavy drums and rockin guitar. We ended the night on a high note with The Stork inviting us back again and many complements.

Thanks so much to everyone who came out and we look forward to rockin with you again soon.

See you on the road,

Minneapolis Mike (Vocals)
Monty Nelson (Lead Guitar)
Harlem "Boo" Watts (Bass)
Keith Manners (Rhythm Guitar)
Christian Rock (Percussion)

All Songs written by Red Shift except *Skulls Written by The Misfits