Last nights show was fuckin' incredible!! It was one of those nights where I felt proud to be the one putting on the show. One of the great things about last night was the fact that so many people traveled for the show. Over the years i've spent countless hours in cars, vans, planes,and buses to see shows. A few weeks back i started getting emails from people asking questions about the show because they were making travel plans. I was stoked to think that I was putting on a show that was deemed "travel-worthy", especially considering it was essentially a local show (local in the sense that Vancouver/Seattle/Bremerton aren't that far apart). There were kids from all over Western Canada, Washington state, and even a couple Japanese hardcore kids who planned a trip around our show!! Insane, right?!
All in all the show was a huge success. Shook Ones and Sunset Riders both made it into Canada after being denied back in the fall of 2006. Wait It Vain also cleared customs with ease. Those 3 bands all played amazing sets. Wait In Vain covered By the Grace of God and Shook Ones played a Descendents cover (ballsy move covering "I'm the One", which is later era). Shook Ones are a band that makes me smile. I love their fast, yet melodic jams. Sunset Riders are a bunch of younger kids from a small town called Bremerton in Washington State. All the kids there are super hyper and 100% stoked on hardcore/punk. It's pretty rad. Circles played their first show, and were incredible. I'm sure there's big things on the horizon for this band. They also played a Descendents cover. Headlining the whole event was Go It Alone, it was their record release show (2nd full length LP, way to go guys!). This band is incredible; very powerful hardcore with great lyrics. I love working with GIA. They had a limited version of the new LP, hand numbered out of 70. I got #16, what number did you get?
During the Wait In Vain set last night Timm said some nice things about myself and Mike, and also said "as DIY as those 2 are they still run things professionally". It was something along those lines. I really appreciated hearing this. I like to think that me and Mike put on good shows. I also like to think we treat bands right. I know that when I put on a show i run it the way i'd like to have a show run; lots of flyers on the streets, the show runs on a time schedule, show doesn't run too late, american bands get into the country legally and without hassle (via contracts), and that bands are treated fairly (water, snacks, decent pay, etc.). It's nice to see that bands recognize the hardwork we're putting into this.
It's now July 1st, we have 5 more shows to do until August 1st. Surprisingly August is looking slower for us, which is kinda good. At this point all we have booked is Career Suicide, who are flying out from Toronto for 2 shows, and Regulations from Sweden (who'll be playing 1 of the Career Suicide shows).
Now it's time to enjoy my Sunday by doing nothing. But i might hit the streets to flyer.