I got freakishly lost. I went 2 stations too far on MARTA and had to ride back a bit. Luckily, I left ~5 hours before the show was supposed to start since I wanted to check out the surrounding area before the show started. It wasn't too much of a problem since it consisted mainly of a liquor store, a Kroger, and an apartment complex next to a few restaurants. Since I got there around 7 PM, I went to Cameli's to see if anyone had arrived early to eat/drink/screw around before the show.
There weren't many people there, so I talked with the bartender for awhile. It helped pass the time while I waited for my order to come out. I had 3 drinks and had a monstrously large slice of pizza for dinner. I went to the Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta, GA to see Obits play with Rick Froberg, formerly of Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes. I listened to their sound session in the back alley around 8 PM, 1 hour before the DU opened.
Rick came out around 8:40 after the manager and a few of the other members went back and forth retrieving equipment from their cars. We talked for awhile, and he was really cool about talking with me about the glory days of DLJ and HS. He signed my copy of "Audit in Progress", and I currently feel like an imbecile for not getting my picture with him while I was there. Considering he looked somewhat busy, I'm sorta glad I didn't play the drooling idiot breed of fan, though I still wish I had remembered I had my camera with me.
I went inside once it opened at 9ish, and headed straight for the bar since the show didn't start until 10. I ordered some scotch and talked with the bartenders there for awhile, then went around to look at the merch table. I noticed the wallpaper in the merch area was the same background on the DU's main site, and decided to read over it while I waited.
Around 10, a group called "Orphan", consisting of a bassist and a drummer came out and started destroying everyone's eardrums. I don't say that as a compliment, but rather insinuating their main objective was to wreck everyone's ability to hear rather than make a solid attempt at playing well. It was horrible. I stuck around for 3 songs, then followed everyone else back to the bar to wait for the next band to go on. I asked around as to what everyone else thought of them, and the general consensus was that they were crap.
At 11, while "Bear Hands" were setting up, the drummer came out and asked someone what he thought of them. I feel sorry for the guy, as he lied through his teeth to her, saying she was good. He was the third guy I talked to who described their set as "a cat getting castrated". Enough said. "Bear Hands", however, were awesome. They were better than awesome. They're from Brooklyn, kinda Hyphy, and all awesome. Did I mention they were awesome? They're awesome.
Bear Hands. Wow. WOW. I seriously had fun while they were playing. That's an impressive statement, considering I'm in Criminal Justice. I generally need to hear how someone's entrails were sprayed all over someone else's lawn, and how they were still screaming obscenities at someone else as the police tried to make sense of the situation before I crack a smile. They did all that while looking like they smoked ten dime bags backstage before coming out. They made me slightly sad that Orphan went on first, since those guys made me go partially deaf in my right ear and near-completely in the left.
After they finished, I ran to the merch table and grabbed their Golden EP and a shirt. I highly recommend buying the EP, and depending on how much you like it, buying a shirt or three. Hell, buy 10. These guys need to eat, and they deserve to be paid with stuff like this. Sickly Brunette is a personal favorite.
Around Midnight, Obits came out. Suddenly, the room was immensely smaller than I originally thought it to be. This may have been due to the sudden influx of people, or the fact that Rick Froberg's voice itself takes up half the room in an epic way. I'm not talking epic like that "Epic Movie" crap, I'm talking like "Star Wars: The Original Trilogy". These guys know what they're doing, and it's not just in "Two-Headed Coin" either. Though THC is an awesome song. One Cross Apiece is great, and it's on their 7" too. It's got the bonus of having Put It In Writing on the B-Side, but OCA is reason enough for me. Rick's voice is beautiful, and it still has the same power it had when he was in Hot Snakes and Drive Like Jehu.
Seriously, I have a Man-Crush on Rick Froberg.
I picked up their 7", and I don't own a record player. It was that good. I'm thinking about giving it to my father since he has one, and he's expressed an interest in Hot Snakes after listening to AIP while bringing the CD down from home. After they finished, they came back out for an encore. It was kinda sad since everyone had started heading for the door, but then again it was 1 AM and everyone might've been going deaf. It was totally worth it though, just to hear Rick sing for a bit longer.
I was able to record some Bear Hands and Obits, and I still haven't taken it off my camera. Mainly because I'm still getting over the effects of the noise + walking about 25-28 blocks through nighttime Atlanta with beggars stopping me every 20 seconds to ask "fo' a dolla common man yew saw me at da club boiah ah tol' yew don' slip on dose step, ah tol' yew don' slip on dose step". Then again, it's not a true Atlanta Experience? without running into an official tour guide.
Finally made it back to my dorm around 1:45-2AM. Promptly made a beeline for my room, and watched some King of the Hill before going to bed. Overall, it was awesome just to hear Rick Froberg sing. I just wish I had remembered to get my picture with him at some point. Ah well. It was still a great set. Even better, nobody was wearing green and making it a point to show off that fact, nor were there assholes going around pinching people who weren't. It was damn near a perfect evening.