Let me start off by saying that I saw Jack Lawrence Friday, Saturday and Sunday somehow. He was ever present and always super awkward. SO SO SO awkward.
I didn't go to mess around in Atlanta because I wanted to see the Greenhornes play in Chattanooga with my friend, who was a huge fan and had never seen them. I had seen them once last year at Max's in Hoboken, NJ and it was sorta boring but I chalked that up to being exhausted and overstimulated from the Lou Barlow show that I had seen earlier that day. Made my friend buy tickets in advance. Thought it would be awesome...
Meanwhile, I met up with my friend at Sluggos for the tribute show to Joey Ramone on the anniversary of his death. Sluggos is one of my favorite places in Chattanooga. Yeah they only have beer and their food is a bit on the overly healthy side, but thats actually a nice change sometimes. Great beer specials, great taste in music. And free Ramones buttons! I was just starting to enjoy the bands at around 10:30pm when I find out the Greenhornes are about to start so we haul ass over to JJ's Bohemia.
JJ's was naturally packed. Tried to buy a Greenhornes lighter (not a zippo but a plain lighter with the Greenhornes logo printed) but gasped at the $5 price tag. SAY WHAT? No thanks. I did however procure some AMAZING Ray's Homemade jerky on the back porch. Man, the show was so BORING. Even my friend, who has praised the Greenhornes incessantly for years was bored.Finally, we said "Fuck this, I'm bailing" before they even completely finished. I hardly even saw anyone I knew there accept a couple of old drunks Im not even fond of. BOO!
So we arrived back at Sluggos, thank God, in time to see the Fast Boys. The Fast Boys are local and not especially extraordinary, but somehow they were perfect! Basic Punk Rawk: simple, conscise, sloppy, and fast. It was exactly what I wanted to hear. I am a fan. The night ended ok afterall. I looked around at everyone in their sweet leather jackets and DIY patches and thought of NYC in the 70's. I thought of the difference between those punk bands back then and all the overblown other shit that was happening. Shitty Disco. And all the hyped shit that may have been epic on record but was padded with overpriced t-shirts and egos live. All the shows I had paid for and been disappointed. Weezer back in 2001. The Cure in 2004. The White Stripes at Sloss Furnace in 2007. The Strokes at SXSW this year. These less than stellar shows effectively ended my great love of these bands, not that I ever loved the Greenhornes like that, but my friend sure did. Yes those bands are still great and hold some place in my heart, but the countless t-shirts I have just remind me of how much I once loved them and saddens me to know how much I just don't anymore. Like childhood posters of Gavin Rossdale, I can't identify with the person who felt so strongly. How can a love so pure and true and big just end so quickly with one bad music experience? The higher the pedestal, the harder the fall I guess.
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