CINCINNATI (OR RATHER, NEWPORT, KY)
We love playing at the Southgate House, except for one thing: the load-in and out. If there were an award to give for the most ridiculous load-in situation in all of American rock, I’d say the Southgate House Parlor has to be in strong contention for the gold medal.
First, if you’re not familiar with the place, it’s an old mansion near the southern bank of the Ohio River. The inventor of the Tommy gun was born there. It’s supposedly haunted. It’s also a fantastic place to see a rock show. However, if you’re playing there and you’re not playing the Ballroom, get ready to lug your amps about a half-mile and then up a flight of stairs at the end. Two flights if you’re playing the Gallery. Maybe the ghosts that roam the venue could bring you a dolly to cart your amps around the building.
Bitch-fest over. After load-in we soundchecked and went out in search of some dinner. On a recommendation, we headed up Monmouth Street past the Brass Ass (strip club), the Brass Bull (strip club), and the Brass Balls (Lonn) to La Mexicana. FYI: the word “carniceria” should let you know that you’re on the right track. A really wide selection of traditional Mexican meats, including asada, al pastor, chorizo, bistec and a few “very traditional” offerings:
Back to the show. We got to play with our good friends Chuck and Lisa from Wussy. They’re a fantastic rock band, but there’s something really precious about watching the two of them sing and play guitar by themselves.
We played the middle slot to a mixed reception. There were a lot of people in the room who had come to watch the last band, but they kept their distance during our set. We’re always worried that our volume is going to push people away, but not enough to actually turn our amps down. We seemed to go over well, just with a lot of space between us and them.
The Devil and Dan Majesky played their first show ever to close out the night. Lonn was geeked to see his dude from Cleveland with a new band in Cincinnati. And they brought it, friends. Really great rock band and a great way to finish off the show.
After their set, we decided against staying in Cincy since our drive to Tuscaloosa the next day was expected to be brutal. Instead we sacked up and drove to Louisville and grabbed a hotel room at We Jam Econolodge. Lonn took a bath.
SETLIST:
Can’t Make Up My Mind
My Resume
Impatient Man
Blast From The Past
College Try
Nothing Interesting
The 8-Track Recorder
Sharpshooter
(It’s Not) Easy To Be Hard
I Would Like To Speak To Your Manager
Big Dipper (Built To Spill cover)
P.S.: This dude decided to park his fucking Jetta on the Silver Fox. Thanks.
