BEST OF THE DECADE

So, a lot of "important" music publications are releasing their top lists of albums released this decade. I thought I would weigh in on these last ten years of wonderful music. To be honest, at the beginning of this weekend I was just starting middle school and was trying to find myself within the musical landscape. I was super into nu-metal and whatever else was on mainstream rock radio. Some time in high school though, I discovered "punk rock" through the most un-punk sources around: MTV2 and Tony Hawk's Proskater. There, I heard the likes of At Drive-In and Goldfinger. Soon I found myself fully immersed in the scene attending local shows and eventually making the annual journey to the Fest in Gainesville. So, without further a due I present my top ten favorite albums of the past ten years starting with number ten.



10. Shinobu-Worstward, Ho! (2006)

When this record first came out in 2006 it met some lukewarm reviews from sites like Punknews.org. Around that time though, I paid little attention to this band, why? I have no idea! I was missing out on one of the best active bands around at the moment. I didn't purchase the record till December 2007 and kind of slept on it for a few months. I think I was letting the previous reviews get to me, but I'm glad that people today can still think for themselves and that is what I did.

It was not long till I listened to this record non-stop. The song writing is impeccable and the emotion is real. To this day, I can find songs on this record that can make me want to cry. The record isn't a total downer, but Mike's song writing is at times rather melancholy. His love of literature and existentialism shines through in songs like "Hail, Hail the Executioner" and "Same Bastards." Every song has a certain tongue-in-cheekyness to it, which keeps it fun and thoughtful all at once. You'll want to cry or dance, but either way you'll be having a great time.

This record means so much to me and it only lands this low on the list because it's the most recent of my all-time favorites so I wanted to broaden the list out. It will go down in history though as that one record that got me through a lot at my most trying time of need.

FEST 8: PART 3

After the insanity of the night before, I was ready for an easy going final day of the Fest. This morning, we caught breakfast at Krispy Kreme and ended up at my ex-girlfriend's hotel room. That was the least pleasant experience at the Fest and that's saying a lot considering I watched the Emotron. Anyway, after that terrible blast from the past we made our way back to the "festival grounds" to wait in line to see Broadway Calls and Off With Their Heads. Broadway Calls were a fun band, I've never really listened to a lot of their music, but "Fuck You Seattle" is a really great song. To be honest, I was just waiting for OWTH. Last time I saw them was at a botched house show and I hadn't been listening to their record very much. Over the past 6 months of so, they seem to be the only band I want to listen to. Luckily they played pretty much every song I knew and I think it was a good release to see them live. Everyone could not feel so miserable about their lives for 40 minutes.

Off With Their Heads must have got me really pumped, because now I had to pee and Stephen owed me money. So we made the ridiculously long walk all the way to a gas station across from the Fest hotel. That's right, every bathroom in the downtown area was conveniently closed just in time for the Fest. Afterward we made our way to Durty Nelly's where we saw Arms Aloft earlier in the weekend. Stephen really wanted to check out this Japanese band Worthwhile Way, who were actually great. Hell, they came all this way to play to a bunch of beer chugging white dudes in beards. I think they deserve our attention.

Immediately after them though, I was hoping to go see P.S. Eliot at Cam's Cove, but that did not happen. I did however get to see Teenage Cool Kids for the second time this year. What a fun band, I think a girl left with a broken nose? Either way, everyone was dancing and the venue was right next to the Kickstand where I planned on staying the rest of the night. We stuck around to watch the Emotron. Holy shit, the Emotron was the one of the greatest performances I have ever seen. I will try and attempt to tell you in words what happened, but you might need a better visual. Emotron's music is simple. It's one dude with a sequencer playing songs and he does vocals. Kind of like Atom and His Package, but no additional guitar playing at times. Ironically, he did a cover of "Me and My Black Metal Friends" and a Dead Milkmen cover. Those were great fun and plus all he was wearing was a thong while he threw flour into a giant fan. His set was coming to a close and that is where the great finale came. He was fully naked and had a bottle of chocolate syrup. Now, we're all thinking to ourselves, "what is he gonna do with that?" Well, let me tell you, he put it in his butt hole. The madness did not stop there though. The big finale was him lighting his penis and testicles on fire. If that does not shock you, then you should have been there. That's all I can say.

The funny thing about his performance was it wasn't the last of the night. O Pioneers and Bomb the Music Industry had to follow up this act. However, both bands delievered. O Pioneers seem to get better every time I see them and have grown in members. They now have two guitars, bass, and drums. They were tight too. Sticking to all the good songs from Neon Creeps they also did at least two covers and a new song. Their Piebald cover was insane, people were going crazy. After them follwed BTMI. The crowd for them was ten times more insane and I eventually found myself moved all the way toward the middle of the crowd instead of my up close position at the beginning of the set. Jeff made a short statement about what happened the night before and they broke into a cover of "Dumpweed" in the middle of a song. That the most fun seeing them I have ever had and a great ending to the Fest.

It was chilly the rest of the night in Gainesville and Stephen and I made it home safe only to suffer from the infamous Fest AIDS that everyone gets the week after returning from Fest. All-in-all I made an amazing time at the Fest and would like to thank all the great people I met there, in no particular order. Jose, Jon, Danny, Avi, Trey, Mike from Shinobu and all my other great friends who attended as well.

FEST 8: PART TWO

Waking up after 11 is a terrible idea if you want to catch Steak N Shake breakfast, which is exactly what went wrong on day two of the Fest. I wanted a good hearty breakfast for the busiest day of the Fest, but that was not going to happen. We ended up buying lunch, since I forgot they stop serving breakfast at 11 a.m. What a bummer. After our defeat though, we began our very long day.

To start the day, Stephen wanted to check out the No Idea yard sale. That was a no-go. The line was ridiculous and everyone was walking about with free Avail records. I decided that it would be more worth it to start walking toward the Market Street Pub to check out the Sidekicks. I've only heard their name through Eric from O Pioneers and decided to just check them out. They were a pretty good band, nothing that blew me away, but they were not terrible. From there, we immediately made our way to Common Grounds to check out another band I've only heard about, Banner Pilot. Banner Pilot are making a good name for themselves. After just putting out a new full length on Fat Wreck, they seem to be gaining some notoriety. They play that almost typical new wave of Fat bands, which is not necessarily a terrible thing. Kudos to the lead singer though for losing a tooth, but still completing the set. I would have probably been screaming in pain, but he just kept playing. Keeping with the trend though, we continued to press on.

Fearing missing out on Andrew Jackson Jihad because of long lines, we steadily made our way to the Civic Media Center skipping a band I actually really wanted to see, Dear Landlord. Civic Media Center is a newer venue this year and was originally George's Meat Packing warehouse, but I guess CMC purchased the space and made it a bigger home for their tiny operation. I remember going into the older one last year and thinking it was a really cool place. It really is though, tons of books and zines all there for you to just read. That made it an even nicer venue to enjoy some mellow acoustic music.

I was actually able to see the Grabass Charlestons for the first time ever while attending the Fest they always play. They played a cool acoustic set with at least one Tom Waits cover and a song I actually recognized "Atlanta is a Cocaine Town." The performance was a nice treat, but we were all there for AJJ obviously. You could just tell by the crowd and all the other people that crammed into that warehouse/bookstore. The line was outside the door leaving people stranded outside, but Sean and Ben played anyway. They did a decent set of new and old songs, including a song from a split with O Pioneers!!!, which is rather exciting. The line to leave was pretty bad though and Stephen was unable to purchase any merch, but AJJ did promise to play a set outside for the people stranded, so that was very nice of them.

After their set, we actually had time for a break. All that running around helped my appetite to eat some Boca Fiesta. If you were in Gainesville that weekend, Boca Fiesta was the place to be. It is owned by Gainesville's own Warren Oakes, former drummer of Against Me! and let me tell you the food is great. Stephen went all out and ordered a gator burrito, I kept it modest and got a chicken one, but both were delightfully filling. If you are hungry in Gainesville, I highly recommend eating there. When our bellies were full, we made our way back to CMC to watch Kevin Seconds. I know what you're thinking "Timmy, that's a lot of Kevin Seconds in one weekend," but I assure you it was worth it. Kevin has a very modest demeanor about himself and just seems like an all around nice guy. He played a bunch of songs I have never heard, but they were all great. That man is one of my heroes for sure. Plus after his set I was able to talk to Mike from Hard Girls, geek out on questions, and find out about a house show that would include a super secret Shinobu set. OH JOY!

After Kevin's performance I was hoping to catch Religious as Fuck at 1982, but that was proving to be impossible. The entire venue was to capacity, that means I missed In Defence too. I accepted my loses and thought, maybe I should go see We Are the Union, so I did. Their show was free and on the University of Florida campus in a really nice ballroom type setting. We met up with Eric and most of Go Rydell. With a few awkward UF students in custom hanging around we all watched WATU. It was actually a lot of fun, though I still miss Johnny all the kids at that show were really into WATU so it made the experience better. One of the best shows at the entire Fest.

Quickly, however we jetted back to Common Grounds just in time to see Good Luck and Defiance, Ohio. It was so hot and uncomfortable in that large venue, there had to be at least 300 people in there. Kids were going crazy and I watched Will stagedive. I also met Trey from the Mitch Clem Forum and Danny from the Pillowfights let us cut in line with her. People sure are nice at the Fest, which makes the next event seem way too wild and surreal. Pretty much everyone knew about the house show with BTMI! and the supposed Shinobu show, but I didn't know it was 200 people. As we made our way down the side street you could see the sea of people flooding the street. I was lucky enough to secure a good spot inside the house with Trey and Stephen, but that is when all hell broke loose.

Right when my friend Jack's band started playing the owner of the house announced the show was over. Total bummer, but there was rumor that he just said that so BTMI! could set up, so we waited inside. I could see police sirens, but I figured they got a noise complaint or something minor like that, but then the owner was really pissed and told everyone to, "get the fuck out!" So slowly we made our way out of the house where I saw what seemed like a fight going on in the street. I ran to a white car parked right on the side of the road and I see people stomping someone. To my amazement, that person was a police officer. A police officer holding someone while he tazed them multiple times. The scene was out of those G8 riot videos you see on t.v., it was horrific to say the least. Girls were crying and people were shouting "Fuck the police" or "Stop it!" the entire situation was out of control. Eventually 6 people were arrested and one tazed. The only thing going through my terrified mind was "This is the last Fest ever," and hopefully I will eat my words.

I SURVIVED FEST 8 (part one)

And all I got was Fest AIDS.

It has been a week since my third annual pilgrimage to Gainesville, Florida for the Fest. I took a week to recount the whole last weekend. Not that I was severally hung over or anything, I just needed a week to think over everything. Friday started off fine. For awhile I thought I would be driving up to Gainesville all by myself, but my good friend Stephen ended up joining me for the weekend. After a short detour to Apopka, we made great time arriving in Gainesville in about two and a half hours. Knowing that registration was going to be crazy, I wanted to get to Gainesville early. The line was crazy, but not too crazy. There was plenty of Double Bubble scattered across the Holiday Inn parking lot, so that was nice of the blow horn wielding hotel guests. Eventually we made our way up to the actual registration table and filled up on free shit. Everyone loves free shit. Got some Razorcake pins and even the new issue of Razorcake. Plus, coozies and free Fest samplers. It really is Christmas.

After registration Stephen and I caught some lunch at Leonardo's where I heard one of the best quotes of the whole weekend. Someone was listening to Metallica in the back and one man shouts, "You can skip 'The Thing That Should Not Exist', more like the song that shouldn't exist." That was probably paraphrased, but to say the least it made me chuckle. Anyway, we enjoyed our pizza and met up with my friend Eric to check into our hotel. Eric was not staying at our hotel, since he lives in Gainesville, but he had to use the restroom and knew a cool back way to our hotel. We settled in and then headed back to downtown for the first show of the night.

Out of convenience, we watched this band Battle! from Gainesville. They were a decent hardcore band, the vocals weren't as strong as I would have liked. We did get to watch a kid get way to far in Contra then any person should and meet up most of the guys from Go Rydell, which is typically a treat. Immediately after Battle! though, we left for the Venue to watch Japanther. When I first heard of Japanther I think I wrote them off as some kind of New York hipster band, but they are quite the opposite. They are actually a fun drum and bass pop punk band for lack of a better word. A tape recorder played continuously during their set adding samples and guitar tracks. It was a very interesting set up and set the party mood for the rest of the Fest.

Wasting no time, we immediately moved to the next venue, Durty Nelly's, which was right across the street. Steve and I joined Will to watch Arms Aloft, a great pop punk from Wisconsin who played a pre-Fest show last year in Cassellberry. I think they did a Jawbreaker cover? "Kiss the Bottle?" Something like that, I really enjoy them I want the one record they have that Will owns. So far, the night was going fine and all the anticipation was building up to the inevitable beach party at the Kickstand.

That's right, the Hard Girls were the next band on my list and I could not wait. While waiting for them to set up I met up with my friend Jose from California. That is right, he flew all the way to Florida to come to the Fest, not only him, but his friend Danny too from the Pillowfights. Both Danny and Jose are the some of the nicest people I met the whole weekend, including Wild Jurkey himself, Jon. Jon is from Long Island, so you can already assume many things about him and his personality, but don't hold that against him. I watched Hard Girls and had some of the most fun I had all Fest long. If you haven't heard the new EP or read my review of it you should. I purchased a shirt and the Shinobu/Pteradon split that Asian Man put out awhile ago. Honestly, after that performance I could have not seen any band and I would be fine for the rest of the day.

Since it was rather late, Steve and I got some Taco Bell then tried to get into 1982 to watch my buddies in Spanish Gamble. That was not going to happen though, because they were to full capacity, which is how it stayed for the entire weekend. Total bummer, so we went back into the Venue and was able to catch A Wilhelm Scream. I have only seen them live once, but I got in just as they were into "The Horse." They played a few great sounding songs from the new EP and I was more impressed with their performance than the last time I saw them. Strike Anywhere was next and of course everyone went crazy. They played their most popular songs right at the beginning of the set and played a few new ones. They always put on a great live show and I almost somehow never miss it. Quickly though, their set ended and 7 Seconds came on. The younger me freaked out to see these older guys going up there and playing songs they wrote when they were younger than me. The stage diving was non-stop and I avoided the pit. I was gonna stay young till I die and not die in that pit. They ended the set with their cover of "99 Red Balloons" and that was the end of my night. Exhausted, we retreated to our hotel room to rest up for the next day, which would prove to be the most insane Fest day in history.