A Good Day
Originally written Sunday 08.27.2001
If I could have a month of days like yesterday, I would be a very happy man. I guess one can become sick of anything, but I would just love to have 30 days where I can focus on the things that are important to me without having to worry about the obnoxious difficulties of everyday life like finding places to live, fixing my car, paying bills, etc. Granted, I don’t neccessarily have a ton of responsibilities right now, but the anxiety of the approaching school year as well as heading off to Scotland as well as thinging about all the things I didn’t get to accomplish this summer is more than a bit harrowing.
But back to yesterday. It was an epic day, only tarnished by the fact that I couldn’t share it with my friends. I was woken up by a phone call from my mom. After handling some administrative details with my mother, I got a chance to chat with my brother about film, music and life in general. Later that day I also got a letter from him and some CDs which was a really great. It is going to be so amazing having him in Columbus this fall. Someone to skate with, someone to go to shows with, or just talk. I’ve never had the opportunity of being in the same school with Tim and its going to be a blast plain and simple.
After I finished talking with Tim I ate a rushed breakfast before heading into the office to do a little work. I’m working on a somewhat rushed project dealing with windows drivers. It reminds me how much I hate Windows, IT people who can’t figure things out for themselves, and being forced to do the dirty work for stupid IT people using windows. I guess the good thing about the project is that it gives me more experience with reading APIs and implementing software using those API calls. Though I could care less about the platforms I’ve worked on this summer, the skills I’ve picked up should be pretty handy if I ever choose to go into the industry.
I finished setting up a few tests of my code at work. Then I headed out to the skatepark. I was a bit rusty from not having skated all week, but I was back in the groove after a few runs. The public park in Austin is pretty fun. Its small and the obstacles are small enough for a loser like me to skate without looking like a complete novice. The local rippers absolutely shred the little course. I’m working on big noseslides on the tall manual pad, backside grinds on the low manual pad and ollieing over the fun box. Weak I know. I skated as long as I possibly could under the hot texas sun before I had to retire back to the old hotel to shower and get some more fluids. Before doing that, I stopped by Tekgnar to pick up a new deck. Too many times skating in the rain and too many aborted tricks means that the nose of my board had delaminated into splinters. I picked up a new deck from a local Austin company called ATX both because it was cheap and because it was a nice little Texas momento.
After showering and resting for a little bit I headed out the door to go to a little core show in a small town about an hour north of Austin called Temple. The show was free and featured some of my favorite Austin bands. The show was outside in a picnic pavilion which was also pretty neat, but the best part was that right next to the pavillion was a skatepark. The skatepark had a fun quarter, a low pyramid and a nice mini ramp. It was really great to be able to skate betweeen sets, but it made me sweat more than Mike Tyson at a spelling bee. The bands were amazing. It was the perfect example of why small town diy shows are the best. There were five bands and they all had pretty different sounds. The first band to play was a melodic, emo-twinged punk band called Skate Or Die. Their bass player was wearing this rabit suit, even in the heat, and absolutely ripped. After that, an emo band called meanest capacity played and they were also excelent. Following that, one of my favorite Austin bands, The Teresa Banks Profiles played. They have a pretty original sound, a combination of metal style hardcore with synth backing it all up. Not only do they sound great, but they also put on an intense show. They got the by then sizeable crowd rocking hard. After The Theresa Banks Profiles played, my absolute favorite Austin Band took the stage, err, picknic table. Recover is so damn good. These guys are all pretty young, but they are redefining hardcore music with their mix of crunching guitars, emotion, and melody. By using two vocalists they are able to create a really rich sound with both screamed and melodic vocals. Their songs incorporate components from all types of hardcore and emo music into a cohesive whole that is original yet inviting. Not only that, but they put on a great show. Their relative youth makes the between song banter somewhat akward, but none of the kids in the crowd matter at all. They love Recover and the band seems really supportive of the local crowds who have supported them during their relatively short life as Austin hardcore favorites. I’ve seen Recover about a dozen times and though the last few shows have had very similar sets, mainly songs off their new Fueled by Ramen release Rodeo and Picasso, the absolute energy of the band, their tight musicianship, and their overwhelmingly infectious exhuberance for playing their music. It was a rocking show, plain and simple. Seeing recover play is definitely one of the things I’ll miss most about Austin and it was great to see them play one last time before I head up north to the land of medio-core. The last band to play was also very energized and interexting, though I didn’t care for their style of music quite as much. Temple hometown boys Those Peabodys play what I can best describe as broken down classic rock played by indie rock kids. Its good high energy stuff and a fitting end to a rocking evening. The reception that was given to the band was really what a small town show is all about. It doesn’t matter how different the bands sound. Its all about supporting your friends bands, supporting the scene, and having a good time. I’ve been to a lot of good shows this summer, but I don’t think I’ve had as much fun as I did at the show last night. I’d trade a local show like that for any show in the world.
I didn’t make it back to Austin in time to catch the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club show, but I hardly cared. I had enough rock to last for weeks.