Only a week after "death weekend" in Massachusetts, we had a return to our regular self-promoted ericrock shows up in Maine. I was a bit apprehensive about the weekend before it started, based on the events of last weekend. However, an uplifting gig last night in Sabattus gave all of us in the Softer camp a much needed pick-me-up.
A second pick-me-up came in the form of a crowd materializing close to the start of the show, in time for the Biz-Hops to perform. The Biz-Hops surprised me as well, as i expected nothing more from them than a decent showing for a startup band. First indication that something was up was when some people above the age of 18 started showing up for the gig. Next indication was when they started playing - a pretty mature mix of classic garage and vintage rock. Definitely something i can call upon in the future for a change in styles.
The Forgotten Note was next, and they also surprised me. I hadn't seen these guys since their first show, which they played with ericrock down in Portland last fall. Much improvement has ensued. While still floundering a little in terms of musical direction, they are solidifying as a group.
Speaking of missing directions, next up was Missing Direction (PUNS!), out of Sabattus. We played with these guys last night, but i didn't get to pay much attention to them. Another relatively fresh group to me, and i'm pretty happy with them. It's good to know that there are some more indie rockers out there in maine, that aren't afraid to sing and play melocially occasionally (although they did mix in a bit of screamo and thrash in the set).
Now it was time for the heavy hitters. The next act was hardcore, not so much in style but in existence. These Green Eyes travelled up from Connecticut for this gig, and they'd been at the venue since 4:00am. When asked why they showed up so early, they responded "we didn't have anything else to do". Outrageous. And good set too. They know how to sound good (both in musicianship and in sonic troubleshooting). During their set, the grungy old Elks hall sounded like a club. Good guys too. Hopefully we'll be doing some stuff with them in the future.
After These Green Eyes, we had the heroes of the night, Heather Hates You, rock the house. I call them the heroes because they helped repair the damage done in Boston last weekend. We'd played with them at the Skybar, and proceeded to leave a bunch of our equipment/merch there. HHY, being the stand up guys that they are, snagged it all before they left -- and surprised us with it when they showed up. We definitely have a responsibility-crush on this band. As for their show, they were predictably polished, but surprisingly loud, considering that they were the smallest group (with the smallest equipment) for the night!
We played next, and although our energy was lacking (due to most of the crowd having left by this point), our music was at least on the money. I'd rather have a small number of people see us perform well than a lot of people see us play horribly, so i'll consider this gig a success. Also, playing well erased the fear that we'd forever be sucking it up (although we had a decent performance in Sabattus last night). No surprises in the setlist, although Gabe announced that we'd never be playing the Impossibles cover again. I'm not a fan of playing it every single show, but i never want to block a song from our list permanently!
The show as a whole was a very positive exeperience, reassuring both to us as a band (proving we can still play decently), and reassuring to us as a promoter in maine indie rock (proving that people - at least in Gardiner - will come out to support something that's not thrash punk or metal). Thanks to everybody who helped prove this point.
caleb.
SETLIST
Ardent Heart
1913
It Always Snows...
Stopping Sound (Impossibles cover)
TNT
Calico
