Chain Me Away Tour!

Rocked out last night at the Chain Me Away Tour in Spring, Texas. This punk fest featured the Plain White T's and The Matches, and IT WAS AWESOME. The show was held in a very hickish coffee house, which seemed more like a barn than a coffeehouse. I swear it would have looked so cool if they just had a couple bales of hay sitting around. The middle schoolers and high schoolers from Spring all had ugly mushroom hair cuts, and they didn't know how to rock at all. Fortunately, Jordana and I were there to show them how it's done. The Plain White T's tore it up, and we stood front and center not more than 8 feet from the band. They were happy because they just recovered one of their stolen guitars. They had $20,000 worth of gear stolen in November at a show in L.A., and they finally saw one of their Gibson's turn up on eBay. They bid a shitload of money, contacted the cops, and now they'll recover their guitar and send some stupid fuck to jail! During the Plain White T's show, two guys from The Matches came out from their dressing room and stood at the back of the crowd. Most people didn't know they were even standing there, but some fans went up and talked with them. That's what I love about punk shows: the bands are so friendly and approachable. In fact, the front man from the Plain White T's manned his band's t-shirt stand after their set, and The Matches shook hands with the crowd after theirs.

The front man for The Matches was tall (at least 6 feet) and he had the most bitchin' mohawk I've ever seen. It was at least a foot high, and one side of his head was completely shaved while the other side was long and shaggy. All the while, his huge ass mohawk stuck up in the middle. His hair came close to hitting the rafters of the 8-9 foot ceiling! The band jumped around more than the crowd did, and just tore the place up. I was disappointed for them that there weren't more fans in attendance. They even specifically thanked us for coming, noting that Texas is usually a "tough crowd." It must be weird to play half-empty shows in Texas and then to sell out several thousand tickets in California. My favorite song was definitely "Chain Me Free," but my favorite lyrics came from a brand new song: "someone shoot me in the smile." I hope this new song is entitled "Paris Hilton" or something. Oh, the mohawk dude also makes his own clothes. His t-shirt looked like it was composed of pieces from at least 2 shirts that he had sown together. Awesome guy, awesome band, ringing ears. Goodnight!

Music of the Moment: "Smash It Up!" by The International Noise Conspiracy