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Welcome Friends This is a diary composed by yours truly, The Dirty Hands Man. I'm the one that writes the Dirty Hands Newsletters that clutter e-mail accounts all over the great state of Illinois (just in case you're wondering who to complain to). When the band decided to finally get this site going, I told them that I needed my own corner of it to catalog all the shows and post my opinions. What you are about to read are the fruits of my hard labor. The band didn't want to grant me this space, as they thought I've tainted their wholesome down home image enough. I, however, convinced them otherwise through my overdeveloped gift of persuasion, which some might call "blackmail." Call it what you like, but it got me the right to post this page, so all you Dirty Fans can follow along as the band performs. I hope you enjoy the journey.
~The Dirty Hands Man
Feb 15th, 2008
J Bucks
Bloomington, IL
This was the first show back for
Ken after a two week long illness (over his birthday too goddamnit). It was definitely a chill one as there were
maybe 15 people there over the course of the night (including the bartenders).
The night started off with Chris doing a solo acoustic set, and then moved into
a semi-acoustic stripped down band setup.
The music (especially in the 2nd full band set) was good even
if the crowd turnout wasn’t. In
particular, “Catfish John” was one of the best versions I’ve heard in a really
long time, and “Pin it On Me” definitely saw some new growth at this show. Also, “27 Bones,” Justin’s new tune made a
solid debut as a closer for the show.
All in all… it was a very chill affair, but a good show
nonetheless.
Jan 26th, 2008
The Long Branch… Again
Cooksville, IL
Yet another Birthday show. This one, in fact, was actually booked
specifically for Teresa’s birthday.
Teresa is either friends or family with the people that threw “Danny and
Tina’s Wedding Party June 3rd 2006” if you want to reference that show. If you don’t feel like back tracking, all you
need to know is this: These people are
CRAZY and know how to have a party. The bar
was the only watering hole in the one-horse town of Cooksville, so as you can imagine, just about
everyone in the whole town showed up. In
addition to them (all 15 of them) there was also the birthday crew. With all of them put together, there was
quite the crowd, and EVERYONE was getting down.
I think the best memory of the
night was right at the beginning of the show.
When the band was setting up, a couple of elderly couples sat down at a
table directly next to one of the speaker cabinets (which just happened to be
next to the drum kit as well). Just for
reference, when I say “elderly” I think of my Grandma who is somewhere in her
late 70’s or early 80’s (I think the latter is closer). When I saw these couples park themselves, I made
a mental note to watch and see how long they lasted. The band started playing and about halfway
through the second song (“Big Boss Man”) all four of them get up like they are
about to leave, but instead they walked up in front of the band and started
breaking it down like mad. They ended up
staying all through the first set and into the second, two-steppin,’ slow
dancing, shit-kickin,’ stompin,’ and heel spinning. I hate to say it, but with the way they were
carrying on, I half expected one of them to drop dead of a heart attack in
front of my eyes, but they ended up being more spry and energetic than most of
the college students the band plays for.
12 cheers for you folks!
The other bit of excitement of
the night happened towards the end when the bartender offered to show the band
her “mammalian protuberances” in exchange for a rendition of Marshall Tucker’s “Can’t
You See.” Well, she never busted out the titties, but the band played her song
anyway (completely off the cuff mind you).
They even let her (Nicole was her name) sing a couple of “Can’t You See’s”
on the mike. I half expected it to turn
into a drunken wank-fest, but to my surprise, the tune turned out really
good. It’s definitely a deep-cut worth
listening to. In fact, the whole show is
a really great recording, especially for those of you with a sense of
humor.
This was another one of those
small town bars I’ve been raving about lately that are the absolutely, topmost,
super-coolest places to see The Dirty Hands Band. I can’t even describe how off the hook and
crazy the citizens of the boonies get.
We love you all!
Jan 12th, 2008:
Illinois Brewing Co
Bloomington, IL
This show had a really
experimental set list that turned out pretty interesting. The band separated the rock tunes and the
stomp tunes into two separate sets. The
rock tunes came first, and then after set break, the band came back out to do
one long Honky Stomp. I do have to say
that it was a definite task in endurance, not only for the band, but also for
the audience. The theory behind the
stomp set was that people could have a good solid time to get down. With the rock tunes, the crowd tends to do
more listening than grooving, and conversely, the stomp tunes get everyone,
well… stomping. The band figured that if
they threw all the stomp tunes together it would get everyone dancing and not
give them a chance to walk away. As it
turned out, the idea worked really well, but after about the fourth or fifth song,
you could see the more enthusiastic stompers start to waver. You could see them sweating and trying to
hang on, desperately fighting off the urge to either pass out or go outside for
a break. Case in point, the theory
proved well, but I think it would be better used in smaller doses due to the
humanitarian impact that forcing people into a frenzy for such an extended
period of time has.
Also of note was the fact that it
was Reggie’s (Jon and Chris’ mom) birthday, and there is a very nice dedication
to her in the show. There were also a couple
of fairly new additions to the set list that night. “Dark Hollow” and “Goin’ Down the Road” made
their first appearances (electric anyway), and “T for Texas” (“Blue Yodel”) was “formally” busted out
for the first time. For the audio buffs,
the recording for the show was a sound board, too, so as you can imagine… it’s
really good.
For final props…
Chris was the super trooper of the night as he played with a serious cold which
caused him to sound a little bit like a drunk Jim Morrison (at least by the end
of the show… well, last half actually).
Cheers for being a trooper Chris!
Jan 4th, 2008:
NV Ultra lounge
Normal, IL
Ahh, the first show of the New
Year— and a good show at that. I think
the band was still reeling from the holidays that night, and I know that advertising
was forgotten, so there really wasn’t much of an expected turnout for this
one. Happily, quite a good amount of
people showed up, and everything turned out awesome. The sound was surprisingly good too, even
considering the absence of a sound guy.
After this show, I’m beginning to think NV is starting to look up in
terms of cool places to play (and to see a show for that matter). The only downside was that the band didn’t
make any money, but hey, I guess you can’t have it all. This is definitely a venue I suggest visiting
the next time the band comes through, as it is turning out to be a pretty sweet
place.
As far as the show went, there
wasn’t really anything new and exiting, but the band played extremely well, and
the crowd responded enthusiastically. In
fact, there were a lot of random people in the bar that night who stayed the
whole time, and even ended up in front of the stage getting down by the end of
the night (you know who you are). Over
all, it was a pretty fantastic show that started out with pretty low
expectations. Such a case is always a
happy surprise. On top of it all, the
recording turned out well too, so you collectors out there should scoop it
up.
Oh, and one last thing…
Thank you to Kemp for coming out to the show.
Everyone loves the chilled whiskey!
Can’t wait to be back on your home turf.
Dec 29th, 2007:
Paulies
Bloomington, IL
This was a pretty uneventful show,
however, a startling amount of people showed up to see the band. Unfortunately, DHB had the opening slot that
night, and most of the crowd showed up right as the band was finishing up. A lot of the people there were new faces, too. At first I assumed that everyone was there to
see the other band, but as the night went on, more and more people approached
me asking when DHB was supposed to start (which, like I said, was much earlier,
and well over). It was one of the best DHB
crowds I’ve seen at Paulies and the band was done playing by the time most of
them showed up. I think we can thank
Tire Fire for the exposure we got at the Jamboree. It seems to be helping out already.
Dec 23rd, 2007:
Kemp’s Upper Tap
Lexington, IL
The boys were riding high off the
success from the night before, and used that energy to produce a really
excellent show which, unfortunately, only got partly recorded. I would also like to take a minute to say
what an awesome bar “The Upper” is. The
guy that owns the place (Kemp) is possibly the most friendly bar owner I’ve
ever encountered, and definitely the only one who aggressively pushed the band
into drunkenness by way of chilled Jameson shots (we love you Kemp). The bar is pretty small, but it was packed to
the hilt with just about every soul in town.
One of the highlights of the night was when Candy’s uncle turned his
wooden leg upside-down to use it to hold his beer. He was sitting right in front, and the
expression on Ken’s face was priceless when he looked up and was encountered
with the sight of a man with his leg screwed on the wrong way.
The band was feeling adventurous
at this show too as they pulled “T. for Texas” and “One Way Out” out on the spot. Unfortunately, these and other golden moments
happened during the second set, in which the recording was sabotaged by the
gremlin.
All in all, it was a stupendous
show, and one that reminded me how much I love to see DHB in the small town
bars.
Dec 22nd, 2007:
Backyard Tire Fire Winter Jamboree
@ Daddios
Bloomington, IL
The Tire Fire Winter Jamboree is
an annual event setup by local giants Backyard Tire Fire which is a showcase of
all the local acts, and also a sort of “family reunion” for all the area
musicians who have been hanging around the scene for the last decade (and in
many cases, even longer). Tire Fire
started out as a Bloomington/Normal band, who in the last five years or so,
have managed to break out into the national circuit. They set up the first Winter Jamboree a year
ago as a way to get together with all the old crew and pay tribute to their
grassy roots. I can’t stress how much of
an honor (not to mention a hell of a good time) it was to have DHB included in
the lineup (we can’t thank you guys enough--- and it’s always great to have you
around as well as having all the rest of the old faces in the same room).
This year, the event was set up
with half a dozen or so local bands each doing half hour sets capped with
Beatle’s tunes and including sit-ins with musicians from other bands. After that was all said and done, Tire Fire
put the icing on the cake with a long set that included many more guest
appearances and tasty Beatles covers.
DHB scored a slot right in the middle of everything, which turned out to
be an absolutely perfect seating (thanks again guys). The band hit the stage with a new axe in
Chris’ hands, a recent album to uphold, and a mindset to tattoo the brains of
every soul in the room.
It was one hell of a barn-burner
set if I’ve ever heard one: “Paycheck,”
“T. Whiskey,” “Skyline,” “Rural Rt,” and “Get Back” (with Ed Anderson on
keys). As soon as the band busted out of
the starting gate, the crowd was sucked to the front of stage as if the music
were a giant magnet tugging at their frontal lobes. It was immediately evident that people have
been listening to the album as there were many people audibly shouting lyrics
over the din of the thumping sound system.
“Paycheck” and “T. Whiskey” were absolutely blazing, and then during
“Skyline,” John smoked one of his strings in the midst of his fiery solo. The B-N musical camaraderie immediately
became apparent when Tim Wallis of the amazing Buddy Love Orchestra put his custom made (by himself) honky-tonk
machine into John’s hands without missing a beat, and lending him the
instrument for the remainder of the set.
By the time “Rural Rt” came along, the crowd was in full rowdiness, and
people were answering Chris’ “Let it fly’s” on the chorus’ with such gusto that
it could be heard over the band. After
that, it was all brought together with Ed playing the Billy Preston part on
“Get Back.” Before I knew it, the show was over, and I, along with everyone
else, was left hungering for more.
This show was a definite
milestone for the band. They got to
strut their stuff in front of a lot of people that weren’t familiar with their
music, and I think they won a lot of fans that night. Thanks again Tire Fire, we (and I think I
speak for all the other musicians in town as well) are eternally grateful. The Winter Jamboree is the best thing since
the old Lacrosse House to happen to the B-N music scene.
Dec 6th, 2007: Brewe-Ha’s
Normal, IL
This was a fantastic show that
will go down in history not for its prowess, but for the fact that this was the
last time Chris’ Roadhouse Telecaster was heard. Yes folks, Chris got his guitar ganked. For those of you that follow the Myspace
page, I’m sure you got a blow by blow account of the drama, but for archival
purposes, and for those of you that won’t go near Myspace due to the fact that
you haven’t yet realized that it’s more than a haven for thirteen year old
high-schoolers and their pedophilic admirers, I’ll
recount the story here.
Like I mentioned earlier, the
show was a smashing success and was full of enthusiasm from both the crowd and
the band. As it usually is with
Brewe-Ha’s shows, the band was very well liquored up as a result of the very
generous staff, and shot-happy members of the audience who see it as their
divine duty to make sure the band is as righteously intoxicated as they
are. By the end of the show, everyone
was riding high, and Chris, in true Corkery style, was well into a tribute to
the Budweiser gods. It was particularly
frigid and icy night that night, and loading the gear into the cars after the
show was an extraordinarily difficult task (I saw Justin and Ken both eat shit
on separate occasions). Somehow during
the load out, Chris managed to leave his guitar on stage where he was going to
“get it later.”
Due to his “Brewe” laden
condition “later” ended up being a couple of days later, and by that time, the
guitar was nowhere to be found.
Evidently, the bartender who opened up the next day saw it sitting on
the stage, and put it in the back room to keep it safe. It stayed there for most of the day, but
disappeared sometime during the post-football drunkenness in the early
evening. By the time Chris realized that
his axe wasn’t with one of the other band members, it was too late. Some heartless fuck took it upon themselves
to trespass into the back room, snatch Chris’ lovely guitar, and sneak out the
back door under the noses of the busy bar staff.
A frantic search was mounted for
the lost instrument, and ended with no results.
The guitar was never seen again.
I’d like to say that I hope that whoever took it is giving it a good
home and playing it everyday, or at least was able to score some really good
crack with it, but in all honestly, I would really like to believe they got
busted with the crack they bought before they got a chance to smoke it, and
that they are now in prison getting sodomized by a dirty, splintered, broom
handle.
Aside from the misfortune, this
was an excellent show and worthy recording.
It was the debut of Chris’ new tune, “Pin it On Me” as well as the first
electric version of “Goin’ Down the Road.” The band also dusted off the old
number “Sad Day” which hadn’t been played in a long time (I can’t help but
think how ironic this is). All in all, a
great show. It’s too bad that it will be
remembered as the night Chris’ guitar got ganked.
Nov 10th, 2007: Bonkers
Bloomington, IL
The best way to describe this
show was “Freakin’ BONKERS.” This is one
of those early drinker haunts that has peak business from about 7:30 to 11:30.
When we were loading gear in at 8, there were already drunks being
kicked out. Bonkers is a working-class
type of place where people get out of work around five, party till they can’t
stand (around 11 or so), and then go to bed so they can wake up and do it again
the next day. It was absolutely packed
from the very beginning, and people loved every second of the show. The
band was accompanied by screamers, clappers, dancers, and drinkers all night
long. It was awesome.
It was also the first acoustic
set the band’s done in awhile, which was really cool. Ken played the washboard for the first time
ever, and there were a couple of new covers broken out during the acoustic set
as well as one during the second electric set.
Also, this show was the debut of some new audio gear courtesy of Chris’
father-in-law and hard-core Dirty Hands Fan (thanks Brian). During the acoustic portion, we got to hear
“Used to Love Her” (the Guns and Roses Tune), and “Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’
Bad” (a really old tune I don’t know who wrote). Also, the electric portion brought us
“Motherless Children” which sadly didn’t get recorded. As a side note, the band was originally going
to bring this one out at the IBC show, but figured that it was a little
tasteless considering who the benefit was for (I think it would have been
delightfully ironic, not to mention bad-ass).
If you listen to the recording,
you’ll get a little taste of what it was like to be there. At times the crowd noise over-powers the
band, the cheers are throaty, and there might even be a hee-haw or two toward
the end. Also, it was fun to notice how
many people have been religiously listening to the new CD. We had just as many people singing along with
the Dirty Hands tunes as with the cover tunes.
In many instances, the enthusiasm was geared more towards the original
tunes, which is really great to see. I
guess the album is really starting to work for us.
Oct 24th, 2007: Illinois Brewing Co
Bloomington, IL
This was a benefit put on for the
Baby Fold courtesy of Corey Hager. The
Band volunteered its services, as did The Chicago Farmer to play happy hour on
a Wednesday. All proceeds (which ended
up not being much) went to the Baby Fold.
There might have only been about 10-15 people there, but those that did
show up were very enthusiastic. Cody
played an awesome set, and Dirty Hands likewise reciprocated. I actually had a really awesome time at this
one. The sound was really good, and
everyone there was having fun. You can’t
ask for much more than that. Also, it
was really nice not to have everyone ushered out of the bar once the band was
done playing. Everyone got to hang out,
have drinks and sandwiches, and shoot the shit without having to worry about
getting all the gear packed up, and getting everyone shooed out of the
bar.
Also, the soundboard recording
experiment came to true fruition for us this night. Thanks to Brian, we got a pretty nice
recording of the show, which is definitely scrap-book worthy. I think we’ll be definitely doing board
recordings at IBC in the future. This
was a really good chance to get all the bugs worked out of things, and I think
that our next show there is going to be really killer (and with a good
recording too).
Oct 6th, 2007: Brewe-Ha’s (Outside the City Limits release party)
Normal, IL
The day has finally come, and it
was well worth the wait. There were a
few sweaty moments when the printing took quite a bit longer than anticipated,
but we now have the birds in hand—no more bragging about the little birdies in
the bush! It’s fitting too, that we
ended up doing the CD debut at Brewe-Ha’s which has always felt like home-base
to the band. It was here that the band
began its journey toward getting this album made, and it’s only right that it
make its introductions here too.
The band pulled out all the stops
during this one. There were almost 30
songs played over the course of the show, and a few new additions were added to
the set as well. The Allman Bros. tune,
“Blue Sky,” The Beatles’ “Get Back,” and the blues number, “Key to the Highway”
made their debuts into the band’s repertoire.
The show included three sets, with the middle set being Outside the City Limits.
Needless to say, the energy was
off the hook that night. The crowd was
amped from the very beginning of the night, and only continued to get rowdier
as the show wore on. At times, the crowd
overwhelms the band on the recording.
After all was said and done, this raw energy culminated in some truly
shameless male nudity, the like of which I haven’t experienced in some
time. It’s one of those things that once
seen, you never have too see again, nor do you wish to. I like to call these experiences “brain
tattoos.” This such tattoo, I have to
admit, was just as funny as it was scarring, but even so, I hope I never have
to see it again.
The show was finally over, and
the band was in the midst of packing up their gear, but the crowd was not done
for the night. Everyone was ushered out
of the bar, but many of them congregated in the parking lot as they were not
done partying for the night. At this
point, two guys (who shall remain nameless—you know who you are) decided to
take it upon themselves to entertain the hangers-on. It started off with some innocent, but lude
dancing which gradually escalated into the aforementioned “brain tattoo.” I was minding my own business and casually
watching the two males bumping and grinding on each other, when they decided to
up the anty on each other by taking off various articles of clothing. Little by little, one tried to outdo the
other, more and more skin appeared. By
the end of this macabre dance, one of the males (completely naked at this
point) enacted the famous “Buffalo Bill Dick Tuck” scene from Silence of the Lambs. I have no idea how these guys failed to get
arrested for indecent exposure, but somehow they managed to walk away from the
ordeal with nothing more than damaged pride (and I don’t think that they even
suffered that).
In any case, that was my last
memory of the night. I don’t know if it
was plain shock, or if the booze finally caught up to me, but the rest of the
night is a blessed black hole. Three
cheers for The Dirty Hands Band
Sept 22nd, 2007: Beerfest @ The Sale Barn
Bloomington, IL
Here we are a year later on the
eve of a new album, and a whole year tighter.
This time we headlined the event, and had a little (well, a lot) more
time to play. The band played nice and
precise, as can be expected, and the show went off in a mostly perfect
manner. Unfortunately, there is
absolutely nothing that can be done about the sound in the gigantic tin shed
that is the Sale Barn. Fortunately,
however, I don’t think that people really cared about the crappy sound due to
the fact that their attention was focused on the plentiful and potent
micro-brew selection. Also, for those of
you who like to peruse the show recordings, we took a stab at recording the
soundboard mix. It didn’t turn out too
bad (especially if you like to hear lots of bass drum) and is definitely worth
a listen.
The biggest letdown of the night
was definitely that we didn’t have copies of the new CD to sell. The Band did everything in its power to get
them out by this time, and we were just a day or two short of getting copies in
time for the show. I know that they were
all pretty bummed that they weren’t able to announce the long-awaited “now
available,” but the built-up tension was definitely good for a rockin’ good
show at the Brewe-Ha’s CD release.
All in all, though, Beer Fest was
a good time (especially for those of us who got to enjoy the free beer, and not
have to be on stage unable to partake properly).
Oh yes, and as a side note, my
favorite hot dog guy had a stand set up there, which made the night even
sweeter. Three cheers for Vienna Beef!
Sept 8th, 2007: Illinois Brewing Co.
Bloomington, IL
Well, I don’t really remember
much of note during this show. The crowd
was really good, however, and the band played well, however unremarkably. They tried to duplicate the totally awesome
“Why Does Love” from the previous show, only to render a “pretty good” version. I suppose it’s also noteworthy to mention
that this was the first return to IBC for John since his alien abduction. All in all, though, the show seems to lie in
the shadow of the Show-Me’s experience, and has somehow been lost amongst the
avenues of my overworked brain.
August 25th, 2007: Show-Me’s
Bloomington, IL
This is definitely one of my
favorite shows in a long time. It was
outside (which is always good), and the weather was absolutely perfect. There was also a downtown music fest going
on, which we weren’t officially part of, but ended up grabbing us a lot of
walk-ins who ended up staying throughout the whole show.
If you listen to the recording of
this show, you’ll hear the enthusiasm of the crowd. There were a group of guys that stopped by at
the beginning of the show (around 3pm) that were going to have a beer and
listen to a few songs. They ended up
staying the whole time (7pm), and getting absolutely plowed. They weren’t the only ones that got pulled in
like that either. Throughout the day,
people going to, or coming from the music fest got waylaid a Show-Me’s (about
as unlikely as a live music venue as you’ve ever seen). Many of the people who stopped are types that
would never be caught dead in a “Hooter’s-esque” place like “Camel toes”…
excuse me, Show-Me’s. This brings me to my next point, and yet
another bullet hole that has been put in the metaphoric foot of the Bloomington
Music Scene.
The band was petitioned to play
for 6 hours (supposedly) for $400.
Normally, a place like Show-Me’s is not top on the list for places to play;
especially for significantly less than they normally get paid (it’s usually
$400 for two hours). The owner of the restaurant
is a family friend of the Corkery’s, so as a favor to him, and as a way to
pirate our way into the downtown music fest we weren’t invited to, the terms
were agreed to at $400 for four hours.
The times indicated were loose, sometime between 2:30 and 8:30.
The band started a little after 3:00 even though there were only about six
people there at the time. From that
point, the band played almost continuously until around 7:30, with a couple of breaks (which added
together maybe totaled 45 minutes). The band played every song they knew, and
then played a couple of them again. The
crowd loved it, and showed their appreciation by buying food and drink by the
ton. Despite the slave wages, though,
the band and crowd were happy with the show.
Everyone had a good time, and the band had a chance to play for a crowd
they wouldn’t normally get in the college bars.
At the end of the show everyone had a smile a mile wide.
Of course, that was until it was
time to get paid. Despite the fact that
the bar was getting a deal that no band outside of a high school garage band
would agree to, they decided that we didn’t play long enough, and that our $400
was now only $240, not to mention the fact that we owed money for drinks and
food (both of which were consumed in more than reasonable quantities). I have experienced the reluctant bar owner
before, but usually it happens when you’re playing out of town and nobody shows
up to the show. The bar doesn’t make any
money, so they try to cut their losses out of the band’s pocket. In this case, the bar made a bunch of money
from people who would not have been there if it hadn’t been for the band, and
their way of thanking the band was to try to duck out on the pay agreement,
which even if it might have been unclear, was more than fair. I can’t
think of any band that would agree to play an almost continuous 4 hours of
music for $400 with no comp food or drink.
The only one you could possibly get for that price is one that wouldn’t
bring in any people, and who still
wouldn’t deserve to get hosed for $160.
I know that it’s a little
tasteless to bitch about money after such an awesome musical experience (and it
really was), but it’s shocking that any
bar could be so blatantly stingy after such a great show. I guess a bar/restaurant that tastelessly
tries to earn money by exploiting the scarcely-covered mons pubis of poor
college girls would be such a place.
Again, I have to admit that this
was one hell of a show, and that it is more than worth downloading from the site. The sound quality is no less than excellent,
and the band is no less amazing. In
fact, the “Why Does Love” toward the end is probably the best I’ve heard the
band play in a long time, if EVER.
Unfortunately, you’ll never see
the band play at that venue again, despite the KILLER beer garden, so if you
weren’t there you missed a one-of a kind show.
August 23rd, 2007: Paulies
Bloomington, IL
On this Thursday night, the band
opened for a really great band from Canada called “Superstacked.” There was a little bit of behind-the-scenes
drama that night, due to the fact that there was originally going to be a third
band (who incidentally was the one to set the whole deal up). Unfortunately, the guitar-player in the third
band, “Steepwater” did something to his sciatic nerve, which caused the band to
cancel something like 11 shows out of their tour.
There turned out to be a decent
turnout (for a Thursday night Paulies show anyway), and both bands played
really good sets. Dirty Hands played
especially well as this show fell right in the midst of the studio recording,
yielding a very crisp, precise, and reasonably in-tune show.
I still don’t know if anyone got
paid to play that night, though. I know
that DHB voided their payment (and requested that the cover charge be dropped) so
that Superstacked could get the $250 that was guaranteed to Steepwater, but
since they weren’t there, nobody at the bar seemed to remember their guarantee. I feel really bad for the band that was on
the road, and definitely did not make gas money, let alone room and board, but
I’m pissed at the same time that this is another of many slams that have caused
a bad reputation for the Bloomington music scene. If you talk to any of the traveling bands
about Bloomington, IL you’ll hear plenty of stories about
missing money, empty bars, and outrageous cover charges that chase people away
like plague declarations.
Anyway, the music was good. Once again, though, the band is reminded why
they (and everyone else, for that matter) avoid certain venues.
August
18th, 2007: Hooligan’s Pub
Colfax, IL
This show was the band’s return to Colfax, and also
John’s return to the stage after his almost month-long hiatus. The crowd was more than enthusiastic even
despite the unseasonable chill in the air.
John stepped up to the plate without missing a beat, and rushed to the
occasion with a gusto that said “it’s been too long.”
It was definitely a high-energy, guitar-laden
show. For you guitar lovers, this was a show of noteworthy content.
Solos were long and intense, and despite a few travels into
wankersville, right on the money. This
show was like a pent up monster released into a crowd of peanut butter covered
virgins.
The band played two relatively short sets, the
second cut even shorter by the friendly, but rigid Colfax Police Department. This prompted a nice improvised tune by Chris
at the end, which began to bash, then applaud (once the squad car pulled up)
the local law enforcement.
There were some really great moments at the show,
and you can literally hear the crowd buzzing with enthusiasm on the recording
(sometimes to the detriment of the recording).
There was one of the best “LWFH” versions that have been played in a
long time, and a truly fantastic “Open Rd” right off the bat in the first set.
“Killing Time,” was a crowd favorite, and had people singing along and
two-stepping until the rock section left them puddled on the floor wondering
what happened to the nice, textbook-country tune they had just been listening to. “Rural Rt. Blues” came off without a hitch,
and then “Five Long Years” stretched into a 14 minute epic (due to the wanking
mentioned earlier).
The crowd spent the night hootin’, hollern’,
dancin’, and air-guitarn’ with an almost unnatural enthusiasm. The pumped crowd, coupled with the band’s
excitement led to another great show in Colfax.
I can’t wait until the next one!
August
12th, 2007: Illinois Brewing Co.
Bloomington, IL
Awesome Show.
That’s the best way to start this.
Unfortunately, John was still recovering from his “accident,” and wasn’t
playing that night, but it turned out to be a wholly awesome show anyway. Jaik Willis opened up the night, and brought
a nice crew with him, which combined with the Dirty Hands people, ended up
making a really great turnout (a much improved situation from the last IBC
show). As always, when the crowd’s hot,
the band pulls out all the stops.
I love to see throw-back shows to the three-piece
days. It brings back memories, but at
the same time, it shows how far the band has come in the past couple of years. The same ol’ three-piece we all came to know
and love was there, but there was also a new confidence and more developed
sense of showmanship that has been developed since John joined the band. This was clearly evident in Chris’ rowdy
stage antics that included his in-your-face rock-god stance and flashy
behind-the-head and with-the-teeth guitar abuse. Yes folks, the “Dirty” was definitely out
front and obvious during this show.
We also got to see some throw-back tunes such as
“Don’t Do It” which hasn’t seen the light of day since the three-piece became
four. Some of the new tunes were seen in
a fresh context too. “River Take Me” went
surprisingly well even considering the absence of John’s part which holds the
main melody. At the end of the show,
Jaik joined the band on stage for “Five Long Years” in which he filled John’s
gap with his signature vocal styling.
Everyone definitely had a blast at this show, and it
was one you should kick yourself for missing.
Hell Yea!
July
21st, 2007: Lexington Street Dance
Lexington, IL
Unfortunately, a minor tragedy beset The Dirty Hands
band during the week leading up to the show.
Sometime after the IBC show the weekend before, aliens from a distant
galaxy abducted John while sleeping on his mom’s couch. We’re to assume that they wanted to bring him
back to their planet as a kind of zoo oddity.
Investigative psychology has unearthed memories of being pelted with
something resembling peanuts while exhibiting his guitar talents in front of an
audience of what appeared to be ill-behaved school children.
John was not seriously harmed during the affair,
except that during the jump into Hyperspace, his brain, ill-suited for such
extreme modes of transportation, bounced around in his skull like some sort of
biological game of Pong. He awoke the
next day with a severe headache, which was assumed to be a hangover. When the pain didn’t subside after about 24
hours or so, he checked into the Emergency room where it was discovered that he
had sustained traumatic contusions on his brain.
Due to his condition, DHB had to perform the show as
a three-piece.
On the up-side, the show turned out really
well. It’s always fun to hear the
throwback performances with the old-school three-piece line-up. Chris really stepped up to the plate to fill
out John’s parts, and everything sounded really smooth and nice.
The band played in the middle of Main St. Lexington on a flatbed truck. Sister
Groove’s sound crew (and system) was there, and the sound was absolutely
excellent. The weather was absolutely
perfect that day, and just about the whole town showed up, as well as many
people from the surrounding communities.
It was definitely a hoo-dang, hell of a time.
There were excellent versions of “Knoxville,” “What you Want Me to Do,” “Feel Like Doin’ Time,” and the oldie,
“Whatever it Takes,” which hasn’t been heard in some time. During the last two songs, “Big River,” and “LWFH;” former member of the band, Rob O’Brian stepped up to lay
down some guitar riffs.
All in all, despite from missing John (and he was
missed), this was a really great show which yielded a great recording.
July
14th, 2007: Illinois Brewing Company
Bloomington, IL
This was one of those shows that the band was really
stoked to play. It was the first show
back in the hometown after all the studio work, and everyone felt on top of
their game, especially after the huge success at Hooligan’s. All the Friends seemed pumped too, and it
looked like there was going to be a great turnout. Unfortunately, nobody came.
I’d like to blame a lot of this on the hot weather,
and the new smoking law (which really is hurting the bar scene), but then
again, who can ever tell what went wrong when you have a really dead
night. You know it’s bound to happen,
but when it does, it sucks some serious ass.
It was especially hard this night because everyone was so primed for a
great show.
The band played okay, and the people that were there
(it wasn’t completely dead) seemed to enjoy themselves, but it just wasn’t the
blowout everyone expected. It seems like
this always happens when the band gets extra-pumped. It might not have been as bad if we weren’t
expecting a full house (there were probably 30-50 people there), but the
anticipation made the let-down all that much bigger.
Still, I give props to the band for performing as
well as they did. It’s easy to have a
great show when you’ve got a huge amount of crowd energy to feed off, and it’s
like trudging uphill in the snow trying to rock out a (mostly) empty room.
Oh well, another flop for the files.
July
7th, 2007: Hooligan’s Pub
Colfax, IL
7-7-7 was a very lucky night to see the band in Colfax. The band was fresh out of the studio from
working on Outside the City Limits
the up-and coming debut album, and was pumped to get on stage again. They were set up outside in the beer garden,
and blasted the town until after midnight, which is unusual
considering they’re frequently told to “turn down” around 10 or so when playing
outside. The folks in Colfax, however,
were having none of this and rocked harder than anyone anticipated.
The show turned out great, and second set
highlighted the tunes off the album nicely.
By the time “Paycheck” came around, there was a full on dance floor
going on with couples grooving on the Rock N Roll and Two-steppin’ to the
country numbers. With every passing
tune, the crowd got more pumped, and the band laid it on thicker.
By the end of the night, the crowd was screaming for
more, and the band did two encores. This
bar turned out to be a really happening place, and I strongly suggest that you
catch the next show there. Drinks are
VERY cheap and VERY strong, and you’ll get to groove with a truly colorful
group of people.
Also, for you show collectors, the recording turned
out really good, and is definitely one to keep around.
Hurray lucky seven!
May
27th, 2007: Brewe-Ha’s
Normal, IL
There was a small, but enthusiastic crowd on this
night. The band did okay, but I think
they were pretty well lit up by the end of the night. Ken destroyed a life-size cutout of a Corona model with his drumstick, and mounted her head on his bass drum for the
remainder of the night. I think everyone
really had a good time at this show, but honestly, my memories aren’t all that
clear about what specifically went on.
All in all, it was a pretty typical Brewe-Ha’s fun-fest.
ROCK N’ ROLL.
May
19th, 2007: The Landings
Henry, IL
I’ll start off by saying that this bar definitely
had a lot of character. It is perched
right on the banks of the Illinois River almost underneath the bridge that goes into Henry. It has an excellent deck that overlooks the
water and the bar area definitely has that down-home river town feel to it that
is absolutely priceless.
Unfortunately, the band didn’t play in either of
these locations, but in the Shoney’s-like dining room attached to the bar. I think this place would be really cool for a
daytime show outside, but with the way things were set up for us, it was, to
say the least, pretty lame. The band
played to a small crowd, which isn’t unusual for these sort of shows, but for
the fact that the crowd was in the other room.
Also, there was a cover charged at the door, which is unheard of in
small towns, and which subsequently chased out at least a handful of people.
The band played pretty unremarkably that night as
well, except for probably the best “Skyline” that was ever performed. There’s no recording for this show either due
to a battery pack malfunction (it wasn’t charged before we left), but if you
haven’t figured it out already, this is not really all that bad of a thing.
This was definitely one of those shows that will be
happily forgotten. Can’t win em’ all,
right?
May
5th, 2007: Gill St Sports Bar and Restaurant
Bloomington, IL
I will never understand why Americans consider
Mexican Independence day a drinking holiday even in the heart of the United States, but I have to say that I’m thankful for the enthusiastic crowd it got
us. This was definitely a show for my
“favorites” list. The band played
awesomely, the crowd had a great time, the venue was good, the sound was good,
the weather was good, and the recording turned out good.
For those of you who are not familiar with Gill St’s beer garden, I suggest you check it out, but I’ll give you a quick
description to peak your interest. It’s
a cabana-like outside bar with canvas walls that can be dropped in the case of
rain or heavy winds (the latter of which we had to contend with). Directly off the bar/dining area are two
regulation size sand volleyball courts which can be lit up like midday once it
gets dark. It’s a great place to sit and
relax with a drink, and as we’ve found out, a great place to have a show.
This show was so good that it’s almost got me
speechless. It’s hard to pick out the
highlights because everything was really good.
I have to say that John was in rare form that night, and just about
every one of his guitar forays were pure gold.
Also, there were some really good cooperative solos between him and
Chris that were really great. “Carry
that Load,” “Catfish John,” “Workingman’s Blues,” “Skyline,” “Five Long Years,”
and “Good Hearted Woman” were my favorites, but like I said, the whole show was
really good. “Skyline” in particular was
extra good, though, and I think that tune gets the honorable mention if
anything. It was one of those rare
nights where the tune really took off and went someplace.
I don’t really have much more to say about this
other than the performance definitely speaks for itself, and for those of you
who like to collect the recordings, this is definitely worth the download. It’s truly fantastic.
Hurray Dirty Hands!
April
14th, 2007: Show-Me’s, Spring
Fest… (well, sort of)
Bloomington, IL
As always, playing downtown during a pub crawl is an
interesting experience. People who don’t
usually drink or go to bars come out, and get more intoxicated than they really
should during these events. All it takes
is the slightest excuse to really get hammered, and all these older corporate
types pile into the bars to relive their college recklessness. The college students, on the other hand, just
come out and do their normal thing. The
only difference is that the college students come out to the bars around 10 or
11 o’clock and stay out until the bars close (and then find a party afterwards),
where the older crowd comes out around two or three in the afternoon and end up
puking and falling all over the place by eight or nine. There are also a handful of younger folks
that think they can make it the whole day (and through both crowds), but this
always leads to disaster and a whole group of “that guy”(s).
Show-Me’s wasn’t technically
part of the larger Spring Fest activities, but that just meant that there was
no cover, and that the band wasn’t advertised with the other Spring Fest
groups. However, the bar was located
right in the middle of the busiest area of the festivities, and there were huge
glass windows facing the street that the band played in front of. So, as it turned out, the lack of advertising
was not a problem at all. The room
stayed very steadily crowded all night and there was at least a handful of
people there listening to the band at any given time.
The rest of the people in the bar were either too
drunk to notice that a band was playing or too mesmerized by the “Show-Me”
portion of the bar. You see, the bar gets
it’s namesake from the fact that there are scores of college girls sporting
tiny pink shorts that shamelessly exhibit the “camel toe” look by riding up in
just the right places. It was fun to
watch guys walk past the huge windows, see a band playing, come in to check it
out, and then stop right inside the front door with their tongues lolling out
over the barely legal meat on display.
Oh yes, and I’m told that the food is really good there, too.
As you can imagine, the above mentioned factors are
the perfect recipe for bedlam.
Upon entering the bar, I realized that I had some
business to attend to in the little boy’s room.
I was pretty excited by the prospect of clean facilities due to the fact
that the bar was less than a month old, but instead was greeted by the sick
realization that men who have been drinking all day (or at all) are not very
good at aiming. Just as I had properly
sanitized the area and settled myself down on the throne, I hear this girl
bumble into the bathroom and start thrashing around calling out, “Mike! Where
the fuck are you? Goddammit Mike, I’m not fucking around, where
are you?” I hear her banging on the doors of the stalls
silently praying that she doesn’t decide that I’m Mike, prompting her to kick
down my door. With a sigh of relief, I
hear that she has finally found Mike in stall next to mine. No sooner is she reunited with her friend
then I begin to hear, “tap, tap, SNORT... tap, tap, SNORT… Mike get over here… tap, tap, SNORT… tap, SNORT… Mike!
Come on, get over here… SNORT… I’m…tap, tap, SNORT… not
fucking around… tap, tap… Oh shit,
I just spilled the blow all over the toilet seat… aww fuck it... SNORT, SNORT… tap, tap, SNORT.”
At this point, I decide that I want to be out of
there before the diva in the stall next door finishes and realizes that I’ve
been sitting there listening to her little party and also adding to the already
pungent conditions in the bathroom. I
finished up quickly, and then joined the band at the table they’d set up in the
back of the room for the recording equipment.
I told them the story, and then said to watch for the girl coming out of
the men’s room. A very few minutes
later, I was surprised to find a very googly-eyed fortyish woman stumbling out
the door and gazing around the room like a deer caught in the headlights. I’d pictured her as a twenty-something party
girl, but watched in astonishment as a woman that could easily be a friend of
my mom’s stumbled over to the bouncer and whispered something in his ear. The bouncer cocked his eye at her, gathered one
of the bartenders, and led him into the men’s room. There was some pretty heavy commotion for a
minute or too (accompanied by some shouting), and then the two bouncers appeared
dragging a balding, white-haired man with his pants down around his knees out
the back door where they deposited him in the alley and called him a cab.
It was only 8:00 at night.
The band started playing shortly after that, and
provided the soundtrack that saw people coming and going, falling and puking,
on the street and in the bar as the night rolled on. They played three sets that night, and
actually sounded really good however overshadowed they were by the rowdy crowd
at times. The crowd was in and out all
night, and changed over into completely different groups of people several
times during the night. Sometimes it was
quiet, and people sat there eating and listening to the music. Other times people were dancing and getting
rowdy, and other times they were just getting rowdy and not paying attention to
the music at all. One constant, though,
was the endless parade of camel toe that kept every male on the block at least
glancing through the front windows from time to time.
By the third set, the band finally gave into the
liquor haze that permeated the room, and began to wrap things up as people in
the bar began to drop like flies. The
first couple of tunes of that set were dedicated to the wild order of the
night. “Cocaine Blues” was for the woman
in the men’s room, and “Whiskey to Ease the Pain,” was for the band (as the
juke box was way too loud during the set breaks). Other highlights of the night include “River
Take Me” during the first set, and “Workingman’s Blues” at the end of the
second set.
All said and done, this was a night worth
remembering (for better or for worse).
March
30th, 2007: Paulies (opening
for Rev Peyton’s Big Damn Band)
Bloomington, IL
This was an early night set opening for Rev Peyton’s
Big Damn Band. It’s short, to the point,
and the sound quality on the recording is great due to Paulies’ top notch sound
system. The engineer that night was also
really great. I can’t remember the last
time that room sounded so good. This
show is a good one for those of you who like to download the recordings. There’s nothing terribly exiting to say about
it, but it does sound really good as all the instruments are miked and sounding
pretty. There was a pretty good crowd
that night too. Amazingly, they actually
listened to the music, which seems to
be a rarity in most bars these days.
People like to go to bars with live music, but nine times out of ten,
they just treat the music as background sound unless the band happens to play
their favorite song (in which case you’ve got their attention for one song). It was refreshing to play for an audience
that was there to hear some original music, and actually applaud it when it was
all said and done.
Finally, I have to give three cheers to Rev Peyton
for producing some of the most authentic, and at the same time, fucked up music you can see around. I especially liked their tune “Your Cousin’s
on Cops.” It was your standard stomp
tune with the repeated lyric, “Your cousin’s on Cops,” lovingly (but forcefully) laid over top. From what I understand, it was written while
he and his wife were watching Cops on
TV, only to find that his brother-in-law (wife’s brother) was a subject on the
show. Classic!
Mar
27th, 2007: Brewe-Ha’s
Normal, IL
Unlike the last show here, the band managed to
perform a (mostly) sober and fairly tame show.
This is not to say that it wasn’t good, though. In my opinion, the band plays much better
when they’re not half-cocked, but I do have to say that shows where there isn’t
excessive debauchery doesn’t quite have the excitement (however good sounding
they are) that shows like the St. Patty’s Day one have. Also, this one fell on a Tuesday night, so
the crowd was a little tamer than usual, but still, the turnout was really
good.
The most memorable fact of the night was definitely
Pat’s (I’ll keep your last name out of it) 21st birthday
appearance. He and his friends brought
all the drunken rowdiness that was previously absent in the bar. Most notable was that Suzanne (very cruelly)
bought Pat a shot of Rumplemintz (probably not spelled right) that caused him
to vomit quite liberally. Pat showed his
skills by making it outside before the eruption, though. Way to go Pat!
Anyway, other than that, this was a night of good
(mostly) clean fun, which unfortunately doesn’t give me a whole lot to write
about.
Mar
17th, 2007 (St. Patrick’s Day):
Brewe-Ha’s
Normal, IL
This show was what I think could be called “double
rowdy.” First, it was St. Patrick’s Day,
which is a famous excuse to get rowdy and drunk on green beer. Second, it was also Chris’ birthday, and
everyone knows that birthdays are another time-honored excuse to get
plowed.
Even as the band was loading their equipment into
the bar, there were blacked out, drunken wastoids cramming the room from wall
to wall. Evidently, St. Patrick’s Day is an
excuse to begin drinking as soon as the sun comes up, and everyone in the bar
looked like they had taken full advantage of this. In fact, everyone there was so drunk that I
don’t think they noticed a band was playing until about halfway through the
first set. Due to the highly alcohol-soaked
nature of the room, the crowd turned over several times throughout the night as
people who had reached their endurance limit stumbled home, and fresh recruits
stumbled in to take their places.
As you can imagine, it wasn’t long before the band
was swept up into the festivities themselves.
In addition to the normal amount of shots the crowd tries to get the
band to consume, there were the St. Patty’s Day shots (and green beers) as
well. To further complicate matters, the
crowd finally realized it was Chris’ birthday on top of it all, and more shots
went round. In fact, at one point in the
show Ken orchestrated one of the famous DHB group drinks.
By the end of the show, I was in no better shape
than anyone else, so therefore don’t remember the night too accurately. Upon listening to the recording, however, I
was much surprised to discover that the band played a really great show despite
the heavy liquor handicap they were working under. As a matter of fact, the recording turned out
really good (in sound quality and in actual playing quality). This show was also the first appearance of
Chris’ new tune, “Caroline,” which came off (mostly) without a hitch. The whole first set was tight and energetic,
everything you want in a show. After set
break, however, the handicap struck with a vengeance.
There were shots passed around liberally during the
break, and as soon as the band hit the stage again, the group drink was
facilitated. “Cocaine Blues” opened up
the set, and it looked like the band was going to be able to hold it
together. “Cocaine Blues” went pretty
well (although with some improvised lyrics), but by the second song (“killing
time”) it was becoming very evident that Chris had achieved that special level
of looseness. The whole band began to
wilt, but no one in the audience seemed to notice. They were, in fact, way drunker than the band, and actually seemed to be digging the
show even more as they felt some sort of drunk kinship to the wasted musicians
on stage.
LWFH came next, and by the end of that tune, there
wasn’t a coherent stare on stage. Every
member of the band was hidden away in their “special place,” but still doing
everything in their power to plod along and keep everything together. A super-loose “Whiskey to Ease the Pain” came
up next, which for some reason, always seems to sound better when the band is
utterly shit-faced. As you can imagine,
tonight would yield a GREAT version.
This success gave the band the illusion that maybe they weren’t
necessarily as sloppy as they thought they were, and they trudged though a few
more songs before the realization that the alcohol was winning the battle began
to show it’s ugly head again.
Now, don’t get me wrong, wasted or not, the show
sounded really great. I think the
drunkenness added to its’ charm, too.
The energy (due to plenty of Red Bull and Gurana) kept up the whole
night, and everything stayed pretty tight.
The “Big River” toward the end of the night was absolutely rockin’ despite being a
little sloppy. After that tune, however, there was ABSOLUTELY no hiding the level
of wastedness any longer. In fact, I
think that the band might have even forgotten that they were playing a show at
that point.
From out of nowhere, they rocked into a 10 minute
version of “Highway to Hell” (sort of).
It started out being a tease, but turned into a drunken rock fest that
went on and on….. and on. After that, the band began to wander off the
stage and tend to their bathroom needs, get more drinks at the bar, and wander
outside to smoke cigarettes. At one
point, during a huge 20 minute gap in the music, Ken found the microphone and
decided to rap about “Dirty Thirty” and other assorted drunk ramblings. The band was able to pull themselves back
together for an 18 minute version of “Five Long Yrs” to close off the night,
and then unceremoniously left the stage (after shouting at the crowd a little
more, of course).
All in all, it was definitely a night not to be
missed or forgotten (even though most people probably did).
Feb
23rd, 2007: NV Ultralounge
Normal, IL
This was the test run of the new bar in town, and I
can say that it didn’t go half bad.
There were two other bands playing before Dirty Hands: Jaik Willis, a Bloomington/Normal veteran,
and Grabbing the Grape, a really cool jazz/funk band from Chicago. Also, there was some sort of
Sorority/Fraternity mixer going on up on the balcony throughout most of the night. One of the highlights of the night for me was
seeing Jaik trying to communicate with them during his set. For those of you who know, or have seen Jaik
on stage, I’m sure that you can picture how funny this was. I have to admit, though, the Sorority girls
were pretty good sports about the whole thing, and to my utter astonishment,
most of the people up there were actually watching the shows. I have to mention at this point that the
irony of the whole situation was completed by the fact that the show was billed
as “Hippiepalooza.”
Honestly, though, I really don’t have anything bad
to say about the bar. The sound was
really good, the staff was friendly, and they were offering probably the best
drink special I’ve ever seen for live music:
Vodka and Red Bull. I do think
the sound would benefit from some more extensive micing of the instruments
(there was none), but all in all, I think that they’ve got the place going in
the right direction.
The band played a fairly short (and very fast) set
that was almost completely composed of original music. The crowd was a little different than we are
used to in Normal, but a lot of the regulars came out, and shortly into the set, there
were people getting down in front of the stage.
Some of the tunes were a little sloppy (largely due to the
amphetamine-like tempos), but for the most part everything was tight and to the
point. “Paycheck” sounded really good (I’ve
been enjoying watching the progress on that one), and “Rt 9,” which, for the
record, will probably be renamed “Rural Rt. Blues” or something like that,
sounded good as well. At the end of the
set, Jaik joined the band on stage for an extra-soulful rendition of “Five Long
Years” that capped things off nicely.
All in all, the show went swimmingly. I think that we’ll be back there to do more
shows in the future, and I strongly suggest that you come and check out
NV. It’s a pretty slick bar, and I think
it will shape up to be a good venue to see music.
Feb
15th, 2007: Underground @ The Red Sea
St. Louis, MO
Luckily, this show went much better than the
last one in St Louis. Unfortunately, regardless of the
band’s state of mind and their skills on the stage, the crowd failed to
show. I do have to give honorable
mention to the 17 year old that played a double- neck SG and rocked the Talk Box
before the Dirty Hands set. I don’t
recall his name, but I guarantee that you’ll be hearing about him if he keeps
up the way he’s going. I also have to
give dishonorable mention to the
30-something that snickered to his friends and bolted in terror at the first
hint of country twang, especially since we politely sat through his solo “folk”
set (and even clapped after songs).
The actual playing at the show was really good, and
there were a good handful of people that stuck around until about 12 or 12:30. This, however, is not enough to
justify the cost of gas to get down there, let alone the full price drinks and
food.
Have no fear though, St. Louis patrons, we’re not going to abandon you.
We’ll be back down there soon, but on a weekend this time (when you can
get properly Dirty and not have to look like it at work the next day). These shows at the Red Sea have been a great
contact gathering expedition, and I think that we’ve got enough together to
establish our precarious hold in a new city. Thanks to all of you who have showed
your support and helped make this possible.
We’ll be seeing you again soon.
Feb
10th, 2007: Brewe-Ha’s
Normal, IL
Well, folks…
The only thing to really say about this show is that
it was Ken’s “Birthday Show.” As with
many birthday celebrations (all the good ones anyway), a lot of embarrassing
things happened that nobody really cares to remember. In fact, many pacts are made during birthday
celebrations proclaiming lists of things “never to mention again.” If you were one of the lucky ones who were at
this show, and one of the even luckier ones who by some miracle actually have
clear memories of what it was like, you are part of a very small group of
people saddled with the responsibility of secrecy which must be carried with
you for the rest of your lives. Also,
you’ve been witness to what happens when The Dirty Hands Band (and their fans)
are in an extra-enthusiastic drinking mood.
In my memory, the show sounded awesome, and was a
hell of a good time. When I listened to
the recording, however, I was shocked to find nothing but sloppy, drunken, Rock
N Roll accented by toasts made to Heather’s ass, and off-color jokes about
flatulence.
If you’re really curious, you can download the show
and hear for yourselves. If you were
there, it might jog some hidden memories loose, but otherwise, it’s not
something that is really all that great to hear. We all know about the stupid things that come
out of people’s mouths when they’re drunk, and this show was pretty much just a
recital of D.S.S. (drunken standard speak) but with the luxury of microphones,
which most drunks have to do without.
Oh well, speaking for myself, the band, and everyone
who attended, I can say this was a really fun show, but also one not worth
remembering in any detail.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEN!
Jan
27th, 2007: Illinois Brewing Co.
Bloomington, IL
So, as it turns out, we open and close the first
month of the New Year at the good ol’ IBC.
Happy Ending?
Hell Yea!
This show was silly, fun, and Dirty as hell. There was a really good turnout for this show
which always leads to fun times. The
band was pumped, the crowd was pumped, and hilarity did ensue.
Brian gets three cheers for an excellent job on
sound (which is always a battle there), and also props to whoever the wasted
kid that got on the lights was. We had
dancers going by the middle of the first set which led to absolute mayhem in
the second and consequently the third.
Chris was in rare form that night too (maybe he was showing off for
Candy— Ha-Ha). He was rapping with the crowd all night,
singing it crazy, and playing like a mad man.
There were many “Happy Endings” during this night. In fact, I think I’ll give you another…
“HAPPY ENDING”
First set started out with Jimmy Reed’s “What You
Want Me to Do,” which was solid from the start, and led the band into a really
great set. “Knoxville Boogie,” “White
Freightliner,” “Sad Day,” “Cold Weather,” and then the fist-ever electric version
of the new Chris tune, “Paycheck to Paycheck.” “Paycheck” went off really well
for its first time, and I think this is going to end up being a really great
song. After the success of that one, the
band busted into one of the best versions of “River Take Me” that I’ve heard in
awhile. After that one, the rest of the
set came together with a fury. Even
“When the Lights Go Down” was rockin’.
The crowd continued to grow during set break, and by
the time the band started set two, the whole bar was full of rowdies fixin’ to
have a good time. “Big River” started
out jumping, and then the show moved towards some songs that have been on the
shelf for awhile. First, they played “Daylights
Gone,” which hasn’t seen the daylight in many months, and then “Random Woman,”
who’s been on vacation for quite some time too.
“Mt Home,” “Hwy Tonite,” and “Feel Like Doin’ Time” added some heat to
things, and then the set ended with some good ol’ Dirty drinking songs. For “Killing Time” all the band members got
on the mics for the chorus. To follow
that up, the set ended with “Whiskey for the Pain,” and “T. Whiskey.”
The final set, which was actually a pretty full set
for once (and not just a couple songs) was our request set. We started with “Catfish John” which the girls
wanted to hear, and ended with “Whiskey River” which all the drunken men (yes, that’s you, Hud) wanted to hear. It’s interesting to look at the differences
between the sexes isn’t it? In the
middle of those two tunes was “Rt. 9” (awesome), “Open Rd,” “Vegas,” and
“Cocaine Blues.” “Rt. 9,” of course, was rowdy as hell and was even reported to
come close to bringing several into cardiac arrest. The biggest surprise of the set was
definitely “Las Vegas” which turned out really awesome despite not having been played in a
long time.
Nothing I can say could accurately describe how fun
this show was. It was an absolute
pleasure to have been a part of it. If
you weren’t there, you missed a really good one.
Oh yes, for all of you concerned, Murray the Freestyling Squirrel made a full recovery and is back in Freestyling action thanks to the overwhelming support at the show.
“HAPPY ENDING!”
Jan
18th, 2007: The Red Sea Restaurant
St Louis, MO
The second installment of the DHB roots rock
showcase,
Oh, how to begin…
Unfortunately this show had none of the glory
associated with the previous Red Sea show. Right from the start, the band was plagued
with difficulties. I think that this
show really gave the band its first taste of the woes of the road. Playing out of town can be an exiting affair,
but it can also prove to be extremely difficult, and prone to disaster. When playing shows close to home, it’s a lot
easier to deal with problems that arise, and also a lot easier to say, “Oh,
well, you can’t win em’ all,” when the show doesn’t go off as well as
planned. There are so many more
problematic factors inherent in shows abroad:
money, time, lack of fan base, fatigue, communication with the venues,
advertisement, and a plethora of unknown factors that hide in every corner
aching to fuck your world over in any way possible. On top of all that is the desire to play the
best show ever in an attempt to really prove what you’re made of to the
out-of-towners.
Here’s what happened…
After the first show, we agreed to do an every third
Thursday affair down there. There was
some talk about a Feb 15th date, and it was also assumed that we’d
do one in Jan as well. Through some
faulty communication, somehow the band thought that the Jan show wasn’t going
to happen, and that our first date was going to be in February. I don’t know whose fault this
misunderstanding was, but it was the first of many elements that led to our demise
that night.
Out of the blue, Chris gets a call from the bar a
couple of days before the show saying that they’re exited to have us down again
and that one of the other bands that was scheduled to play asked specifically
if we were going to be there (as they’d heard of us and were looking forward to
seeing us live). Also, there was going
to be some radio advertisement of the show during the noon hour, and that a lot of people were expected. Of course, nobody was really counting on
playing that week, and so the band had to make quick alterations to work
schedules and figure out traveling arrangements. We tried to get the word out as best as
possible, but with a day’s notice, there weren’t many people that were able to
come down. Suzanne almost didn’t make it
either, but ended up tailing the band by a few hours by the good will of AWB
(thanks, AWB). To make matters worse,
Justin was in a pretty bad car wreck the week before (not his fault) in which
his car was totaled and his spine bent nastily out of shape.
Finally, though, everyone made it down to the bar
(on the late side however), and are promptly told that they need to get on
stage and get playing right away. They
were scheduled to open and close the night, so the plan was to do an acoustic
set followed by an electric set, which has always worked out really well. In the rush to get down there, though, Ken
forgot his Cajon, and after being in the car for two and a half hours, Justin
was in no shape to get up and play right away.
Chris and John planned a brief acoustic set that was made even shorter
by the demons in the sound system that were determined to make the show even
rockier than it was already fixing to be (another one of those unseen factors
that make the life of a musician a constant trial). Fortunately, though, there were a lot of
people there and it was looking like things would turn out okay after all.
Unfortunately, the demons of the road were going to
have none of that.
The acoustic set went pretty well, the bands that
followed were really good, and the night was looking up. Then, with no warning, the crowd cleared out
during the band that went on before the closing set. I don’t know if it was because it was a
Thursday and people had to work in the morning (that was the excuse we got from
all our friends who didn’t show) or
if everyone was just there to see the other band and didn’t care to see anyon |