Sunday, October 18th, 2009 Lesson
Lesson Lessen Relearn, Neon Blud, Slavescene,
Mr. Transylvania and Diet Cokeheads Stardust
1842 East Winter Park Road
Orlando, Florida I was up in Orlando about two weeks
ago when I found out that not only were two of my current favorite
homegrown noise mongers, Tampa's Slavescene and Neon Blud, going to be
playing up there soon but also that Lesson Lesson Lessen Relearn was
going to be coming up from West Palm Beotch, Lamesville's Diet
Cokeheads were heading down and Orlando's own Mr. Transylvania
would be there as well. Most every Sunday night I'm
usually just waiting for Monday morning to roll around so I was way
into hitting this show instead of enduring my usual routine. I
got back to Tampa and spread the word about this upcoming gig, my goal
was to find as many bodies as I could to pack in the van and then hit
the road. I came up empty. The response I got from most
everyone I talked to was "Can't make it, I gotta go to work/school on
Monday.", work and school, they both suck. Determined not
to miss out on this opportunity I talked to Slavescene and Neon Blud, I
wondered if they thought we could squeeze both them and their gear in
the van, if we could, then I'd happily drive them up and back to the
show. They thought that this would work so it sounded like I'd
found a way to get up there, all I had to do was wait. The day
eventually came around and I picked them up, we went to Heinrich's and
loaded the van, pumped some gas in the tank, put some air in the tires
and we were off. Hurrah! Traffic wasn't all that bad and we
made good time, stopped by Josh's house, he had set up the show and was
extra excited because the first batch of the new Slavescene/M[L]U
cassettes had just arrived in the post. I got mine, it's up
to you to get yours. L.L.L.R. showed up at Josh's house shortly
after we had and then we all made our way down to Stardust. This
was my first time there, to say I was impressed would be an
understatement but it's what I'm saying. A combination coffee
shop, cafe, live music venue, bar, art gallery and video/dvd rental
spot, they even had a kitchen sink, in the kitchen of course.
Apparently this place has been there for some time and I got the
impression that it's a solid spoke in that communities wheel.
Good for them. There's a good number of patrons there when
we arrive and as time draws on more people show up, more time passes
and more people show up, it looks like it's going to be a good night,
if these people have work and school the next day they don't seem to
care about either one, I like that kind of attitude. Lesson
Lesson Lessen Relearn got the night off to a great start, hidden away
in a tiny closet at the back of the stage this set was dedicated to
Josh and the piece was entitled "Don't trust anyone over thirty.", I'm
somewhat split on that advice but it was only a title so I let it
pass. This set was a treat, haven't had near enough opportunities
to hear L.L.L.R. play live myself and this turned out to be a way cool
set, you might want to take that with a grain of salt though,
apparently, and according to him, I can't be trusted. A brief
intermission and then Neon Blud were up. I think I was the only
person in attendance that had seen or heard them play before as this
was, as far as I know, their second gig, the first one was at the last
Cafe Hey! show in Tampa and that set totally blew my mind, I was
anxious to see what kind of reaction they got from a virgin
crowd. It didn't take long for me to see that not only were they
just as devastating as I had remembered but that they quickly were
turning a whole new batch of people on. When you're looking
around a room and a band is playing it for the first time and all you
see are smiling faces and pumped up people, it's such a wonderful
thing, once again this band just let loose, they were amazing. I
wasn't the only person that thought this, immediately after this set
the room was buzzing about how blown away people had just been left by
them. Slavescene had the third slot up. I really have
enjoyed seeing these people play, each and every time, tonight was no
exception. Hold on, that's not right or true, tonight was an
exception, things started off alright, they came on with a fully stoked
furnace blast and started pile driving thru their set with total
abandon but then, I don't know what it was exactly but all of sudden
the room just went absolutely apeshit, the barrier, however slim it was
to begin with, between the band and the crowd gave way, people started flying thru the air,
without wings, kids were on their knees beating on
top on the bass drum, it was incredible, the ride cymbal came of it's
stand, the bass and guitar kept on going while the cymbal was fixed and
then they were all off again until the end of the set. I knew
coming up here was a good idea. Another intermission so everyone
could catch their breath. Mr. Transylvania. I could see
where some jaded music critic (I hope I don't fall into that category)
would sum him up as "a spoken word artist" but that's just the kind of
lame copout people in that profession often take, usually because they
just don't have a clue and don't know shit about music in the first
place. To me, Mr. Transylvania has very little if anything to do
with "spoken word" as it's commonly perceived, ok, he uses words, he
speaks, he tells stories that could be construed as songs, he also
screams, cries, throws himself around the room, gets wrapped up in
furniture and goes thru a series of physical fits all the while doing
so. Probably the longest set I've seen of his yet and most
definitely the best. In summation - he goes to prove that you
don't need any instruments when you are one. A short intermission
and then Diet Cokeheads were set to go. I haven't seen this band
before, I was hoping to see them in Tampa at Unit 19 a couple of months
ago but they couldn't make that gig for one reason or another.
Damn. This band is tight, hard, loud, diverse, they were all the
things I hope to find in a band and then so much more. The drums
and bass laid down solid foundation after foundation while the guitar
ran in, on and around it all. People were soon taking to the
skies once more and generally spazzing out. My only complaint
would be that this set could have gone on longer but you don't get
everything you wish for, I got enough to make me fairly freaking happy
though. They ended up wrapping up what was an awesome night
out for me, all the bands were so good, I felt inspired more than
anything else. Huge props go oout to Josh for setting this show
up, the folks at Stardust for hosting this madness, the better than
good sized crowd that came out, on a Sunday night no less, and didn't
hold much of anything back. Mega thanks to Neon Blud and
Slavescene for letting me tag along, chances are I wouldn't have
otherwise been able to go. Additional thanks to Josh for passing
me one of the new Slavescene/M[L]U cassettes and Nelson for passing me
the Lesson Lesson Lessen Relearn/Russian Tsarlag split 7", they've both
since graced my ears and my ears liked them both very much.
Neon Blud
(This is a picture, it doesn't move, it doesn't make sound but they do,
and quite a bit at that.)
