Hickoids, Voodoo Doughnuts/04 Lounge, 3/17/2018

And so, it ends. This SXSW, anyway. But we went out with a bang. It was like this...

Originally, I had three gigs scheduled for Saturday, two with the Hickoids, and a sandwich-filling one with Pocket FishRmen playing with the Skatenigs at Rockfest. Very early Saturday morning, the word came through that the entire Rockfest show was cancelled. Apparently, Rockfest had not collected enough funds through the first days of SXSW to pay the bands, so the event was off. So, I was down to two Hickoids gigs, but man, were they fun ones.

Also, I came down with some sort of allergy cold Friday night, so I wasn't feeling my best. Personally speaking, I'm glad I didn't have the FishRmen gig. It was nice being able to rest between the two Hickoids shows. Phil of the Skatenigs is talking already about doing the same bill somewhere else at a later date. I'm all about that. And hopefully, it won't be anywhere near downtown.

So, here's the scoop: the Hickoids first gig was at Voodoo Doughnuts, which is on Sixth Street between Brazos and San Jacinto. In other words, hell during SXSW. I got down there about 1:15 (the trek wasn't too bad) and sauntered up to the parking payment kiosk. I expected $20 for half a day, or something like that. Nope. $30 for four hours. Wow. I walked a little funny for a few minutes after paying that. But at least I was only a block and a half from VD (buh-dom bish!).

The line-up at Voodoo Doughnuts was Count Vaseline, Hickoids, and Dinola. Dinola had ponied up their equipment for us to use, nicely enough. I guess they hauled it over from the same parking lot I was in, in a few trips or something. Jeez. I'd done my newly-discovered "pack stands and throne in suitcase" routine and had extra stuff to flesh out Jimmy's admirably lean drum kit. As I was setting everything up, Stefan (the Count) asked me if I'd play along with him, as he didn't have his electronics - he usually has a drum machine, etc. going. I said "sure!" and proceeded to play a full 40-minute set with him, mainly just keeping a beat. He'd lean over and say "Motown beat on this one," or "that 'Stand By Me' rhythm." It went surprisingly smoothly.

After a 15-minute or so setup break, the Hickoids started, and we delivered to the sometimes baffled doughnut shop patrons. Smitty really worked 'em, and I had the best vantage point in the house. It was hilarious. At various times, everybody (except me, of course) ended up outside, performing for the passersby.

I had parking paid through 5:25 and was determined to use up every penny of it, so I stayed to watch Dinola (and partake in a maple bar). Their songs have been growing on me steadily for some time now, and it's hard to leave one of their performances without singing "Vaporizer.....Vaporizer...." I bought a shirt.

Drove home and thought about hitting Indian Roller (I still have not been there) for Pure Luck but my growing congestion (i.e. general snottiness) dictated I needed to eat Vitamin C and take a nap. Which I somehow did. Michelle got off work at 9, came home, and we headed to 04 Lounge together. That worked out nicely!

We got to 04 Lounge in time to see Texas Bob Juarez, from San Antonio, who had James Flores playing drums. I did not know James was playing, so that was a very nice surprise indeed. James was playing the backline kit (another Rock n Roll Rentals kit; thanks, Chad!), but the kit wasn't situated on a rug. There was no rug in sight in 04 Lounge, and of course, I hadn't brought one. But I noticed that James had no problem with the kit, so I gambled that I wouldn't, either. The Texas Bob Juarez set was a bit loose, but James got to give it his all at times, and I really enjoyed that. He's an inspiration.

Dinola played next, Jimmy again using his kit instead of the one proffered by the event. And, of course, they rocked it, although we spent a lot of time outside with folks we knew who were hanging out.

And then, it was the Hickoids turn to close out the night. We started about midnight and played a pretty damned good set. We only duplicated one song from earlier ("Driftwood"), and yes, the drum kit didn't budge....well, once, but I think one leg ended up on Smitty's shirt for a bit. The kit was great overall.

Afterward, I could feel the old cold feeling coming over me, so I packed up while chatting with folks outside. Tim Swingle and I were talking about, well, whatever we were talking about ("heh, you remember when Mob played Liberty Lunch with.....," etc.), and I noticed a woman approaching us, and she stood near Tim for what must have been ten minutes. I thought she was waiting on Tim. But all of a sudden, she found a break in our blathering and walked over to me, saying "I just want you to know that I've been at the festival all week, and that you are the best musician I've seen playing." I thought she must be drunk, high, or maybe hadn't seen that much music this week, but what a compliment. That's one I'll take to the grave. She didn't tell me her name after I introduced myself, so lady, let me say "thank you very much!" Compliments like that keep us going!

I'm going to try to kick this cold now. After I unpack some gear. And I'll go back to writing about other topics soon. At least I think I will.

Three gigs today! Oh, wait......two gigs today!

So, last night, I took it easy, stayed home, did a little laundry, watched a movie, practiced drumming, etc. My usual Friday night when I'm gigless for the last couple of years or so. There were a few shows I was interested in, but most of them were by folks who play regularly around these parts. So, I stayed home. Plus, I was getting a bad sore throat and feeling a bit sickly (just how I woke up today).

Around 1 in the morning, technically today, Phil Owen posted on the Skatenigs Facebook event page that today's show is completely off. Pocket FishRmen have no gig today now. A post by Adam Brewer of Texas Rockfest on someone else's wall today confirmed that they just haven't had enough people through their gates to pay for the show today. In his initial post, Phil promised we'd do this bill somewhere sometime. So maybe it'll happen in the near future. I'm somewhat disappointed, largely because we tore the paint off the walls at Nomad Thursday night and was looking forward to a quick 30-minute onslaught with the FishRmen today. But....it's not to be. I still have two Hickoids gigs. Maybe, feeling the way I do, that's for the better.

The first gig is at Voodoo Doughnuts, on Sixth Street, where we played their grand opening a couple years back. The second gig is closing out the 04 Lounge tonight. Both gigs will be mostly backlined for drums, but I've packed my "contingency suitcase" anyway. About to head downtown, figure out where to park, and roll these suckers (my cymbals/snare combo, too) what might be many, many blocks. Still, I'll take that over the alternative. I hope Jimmy Ford can get the Dinola van down into VD territory to get gear out to play. We shall see! Complete report tomorrow!

As I mentioned, I'm feeling ill, so I'm ending this here. It's been a pleasure, folks. Write ya real soon now, ya see?

Pocket FishRmen, Nomad, 3/15/2018

Last night, Pocket FishRmen took the stage for the second time this SX, at Nomad in a nice line-up including Queue Queue, Suckling, and Dinola. For the record, this is maybe only the second time the FishRmen con moi have played two days in a row, the other time being a West Texas trip in 2013. And it showed last night. I'm going to say, while trying to keep a small sense of modesty and decorum, that we tore the roof off the place. Damn, it felt good to be in a band hitting on all cylinders like that!

The backline drum kit at Nomad was in great shape, stayed in place, everything. I used my own snare and stand, throne and added one cymbal stand. And, puzzlingly, as I was removing my top hi-hat cymbal from the clutch, I dropped the main part of the clutch and could not find it on stage. The sound man and I both looked for quite awhile (the next band didn't have drums, so we had some time). I left the sound man with a clutch of mine to get through today with that kit. Weird.

I didn't use the sampler or lights last night, and man, did that make a difference in setup time! Gotta get an assistant. We dropped "Pronounce" from the set list, as that really does need the sampler for the electronic drum sections. Kinda falls flat without it. The rest was fine. I imitated the other samples as need be; having this new headset mic facilitates that.

Today is a day of rest, as they say. I may go see something later, depending on how I feel. Actually, after three days in a row of it, I don't feel bad at all; yesterday, I was much droopier. The leg is cooperating. Maybe I'll head out later.....hmm.....