Welcome Back

A huge welcome back to the members of DeYarmon Edison, who not so long ago picked up and left for Appalachia in search of bigger things. More on them later...

Arrived at the House of Rock a little after 10pm to find the place already packed and the first act nearly done. Apparently when the posters say 10pm, they really mean 9:30. No matter though...Alison and I found nice spots not too far in front of the stage as the second act, Minneapolis' own Coach Said Not To. And though their set was very good and I enjoyed hearing them for the first time, they need to realize that DeYarmond Edison and Amateur Love (RIP) are and always have been two completely different bands, as not to confuse people when announcing their gig on their website. Misinformation aside, they played very well.

I was hoping I would be able to get through tonight's show without the usual menagerie of drunken misfits that always manage to find their way to the front of the pack at a House of Rock show. I was really, really hoping that would happen...

...not so much.

Tonight we had the full assortment of obnoxious characters. First there was "Smokey Joe," who looked like he was strung out on some sort of substance, and boldly wandered in an out of the crowd as he pleased. He dissapeared not far into DeYarmond's set, so he didn't bother me so much.

Then there was "Boris," a tall fellow with a red Hammer + Sickle t-shirt on, whose eyes were glazed more than a Krispy Kreme. I don't think he even knew what was taking place on the stage, because all he could do (besides raising his glass in the air and spilling beer on people) was to stand with his back to the stage, focus on a stationary point in the distance, and scowl at it in his best attempts to stay vertical. Unfortunately, Boris found his way in and out of the crowd throughout the evening. Go back to Russia, you commie pinko.

Finally, there was the seasoned concert veterans who braved the dark and cold and traveled all the way from Minneapolis to see this show. At first, they were very pleasant people, and had it not been for their last and second to last rounds of beer, they would have not been present on my account. Unfortunately, the group were drawn away from the show more and more as stupifecation set in, and towards the end, they were turned into a drunken hugging/swaying/screaming pile of obnoxious goo. I hope they had someone in the back as their DD, otherwise they're going to be spending the night in the car they drove here on.

But how was the music? It was great! I hadn't seen DeYarmond play since July, and they were back in all their glory. They seem to be working on focusing their sound out there in Raleigh, and I think they're on to something good. I can't wait until they return in April (where they are playing a much classier venue up at Fanny Hill).

But now it is way way way past my bedtime.

Tomorrow: Rollerdome.