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Axis is right across the street from Fenway Park, where the Red Sox were graciously losing Game 3 to the White Sox. I was hoping to walk into a party, though the game started an hour and a half before I got there, but I was treat to a quiet street and a relatively solemn feeling from the close to silent crowd.
I had a photo pass for the show. Unfortunately, the only digital camera I hve is my video camera. I called around and made the arrangements to use my video camera at the show, for the sole purpose of taking pictures. This ended up biting me in the ass hard than a steel toothed pitbull.
Valient Thorr opened the show to a positive response from the crowd. This was my first experience with them, adn I didn't know what to expect besides them claiming to be from Venus. I was expecting goofy space outfits, but they came out on stage (while the drummer performed a cadence) looking like bikers. I guess Harley Davidson has a distro deal with Venus.
They sounded like a garage rock band covering Motorhead, which was pretty cool. I was surprised that they crowd was so into them, but also glad, as I was fond of their sound and positive message. They talked about global politics and how the people in charge who have the power to do something goof for this world don't. They had a lot of positive energy that rubbed off on the crowd (there was a point when he asked everyone to kneel down and feed off of each other's energy).
I was taking pictures during their set when an angry Chinese mafia security guard grabbed me and told me not to take pictures. I told him I had an okay to do so, but I iddn't have a pass. I went to the ticket booth to get a pass, but she said they weren't giving them out and I was all set. I was stopped by a punk rock Chinese mafia security guy, who looked at my camera, said something I didn't hear, and let me on my way. I headed to the bar for a Guinness.
Kids were moshing to Comback Kid's pre-recorded piano intro, and didn't stop until the end of their set. They were really energetic and their singer had the knees to teh chest hardcore jump down pat.
I should have listened to my intuition and put my camera away after I saw Chinese mafia guy angrily throw a kid out. I was intimidated, but I snapped some shots anyway. Somehow getting in front of me (this was no more than two minutes after I saw him behind me), Chinese mafia guy grabbed me and told me that he already told me not to take pictures. I told him the ticket lady said it was okay, but he took me outside and told me to leave. I was pissed because I didn't do anything wrong, but also because my backpack-consisting of about 70 CDs, my CD player, voice recorder and notebook-was sitting comfortably behind Comeback Kid's merch table. I tried talking myself back in the show because I wanted to see the rest of it, but mostly because I needed my backpack.
I told a dressed up bouncer my story before I retold it to the punk rock Chinese mafia guy. He told me that I was told not to shoot the crowd (which I wasn't). I came to the conclusion that that was what he had told me during our first inaudible conversation (I really shouldn't pretend to understand what people are saying in these situations). I told thim that I cleared my camera with Comeback Kid, so he went inside to get their tour manager. I was wondering what the Sox score was, but I was too worried about losing my bag to ask. The crowd was pretty close to silent, so I knew it wasn't good.
Their merch guy came out and set everything straight. He told me that, because of the Boston Beatdown video, they were really strict on shooting the crowd with video cameras. This made sense and I was let back in with enough time to catch the final few songs of Comeback Kid, which filled my whole body with relief.
The Red Sox had lost before Bane started their set with "Swan Song" (kind of fitting for the situation), and the sold out crowd went absolutely nuts. This was the fourth time that I had seen Bane live this year, and their energy level has gotten more intense with each show. This left me stoked after hearing about uncertainties of their future. They looked and sounded totally fresh and had the crowd eating out of their hands, even though a barrier separated the band from the crowd.
I was still able to take pictures, as long as it seemed like I wasn't shooting the crowd. I decided to take a couple quick pictures before hiding my camera in my bag like a ninga. The good thing about not taking many pictures was that I was able to enjoy Bane's set through my own eyes instead of looking through the viewfinder of my camera. They played all their classics and encouraged the crowd to get on stage, which was usually thwarted by the bouncers (one kid ended up getting clotheslined on his way to the stage).
The crowd really thinned out after Bane, which bummed me out due to Strung Out being a huge influence on me for about ten years. They never disappoint live, this show being no exception. They played a lot of newer songs, which sounded great, but they only played "Gear Box" from Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues, which is still my favorite Strung Out album. Surprisingly, they played a song off of Another Day in Paradise, though the name of it escapes me. They also pulled "Jackie-O" out of their arsenal, which I don't think I've ever heard live.
Strung Out is a band that I will always go to see live, and I've been attending their shows since 1996. I thought it was cool that they had a rather young crowd for them, meaning that they still appeal to this new emo generation. Strung Out is a timeless band, both live and on record.
Written by: RF