Saturday, December 19th, 2009
the Saint Petersburg Institute of Noise presents :
Black Beast of ARRRGHHH, S2K and PAS
@ Cafe Bohemia
937 Central Avenue
Saint Petersburg, Florida
3pm

This show was supposed to have started at 8pm on the night but things were switched around about a week or so before it was meant to go down and it was moved up to 3pm because some kind of tattoo convention was also booked for the same time and night.  The show must go on, you know?  Go on it did.  The only other difference from the original plan was that two of the bands scheduled to play weren't able to make it.  No biggie.  This shindig was put on by the Saint Petersburg Institute of Noise and thru this gig they were giving me my first opportunity to play on that side of the bay so it was definitely an opportunity that I didn't want to miss.  The show was held at Cafe Bohemia, a small cafe/bar with an outdoor patio that all sits along Central Ave. in downtown St. Pete.  It started off a little weird at first, it being daylight and all, but it was nice, there was some kind of outdoor market with canopies and stalls set up in different spots along and off Central Ave., there was some kind of game going on at Tropicana Field, the streets were pretty active.  The day itself was beautiful, really nice to not only be out in it but out at a show at the same time.  the Black Beast of ARRRGHHH started to get it's down on and I took up a seat to take whatever it wanted to throw at me.  This set turned out to be an incredible experience for me.  Basically a continual series of blasts of raw noise with subtle variations that took on a life at their own I happened to look up at the sky above me partway into the set and I watched in silent amazement as huge white clouds drifted by, without the sounds that were going on at the time it would have been a sight to behold by itself but with these sounds a stunning sight turned into something else, something I wouldn't have thought of and was glad I didn't miss.  Having three bands and just about as many hours available for them to play meant that there wasn't a rush and there was time inbetween sets to sit back, have a drink and shoot the shit.  I started to get my own set going somewhere around 4:30, I took a couple of minutes to say a few words and ended up disturbing a table of old hippies to the point where they got up from their table and left.  The old hippie guy's tie-dye shirt was giving me a headache anyways so I wasn't that upset that I'd driven them off.  If I hadn't been there for a show myself I probably would have left too.  The sunlight made it hard to see if all my gears "on" lights were actually on but once I figured out that they were I gave myself 15 minutes to see what I could do.  I ended up not really doing what I had intended but just let things go where they went while in a fairly relaxed state.  I've got no shame in tooting my own horn when I say that this turned out to be one of the best sets I've ever played in my entire life.  It wasn't perfect in a lot of ways but at the same time I was able to get everything up and moving with a strange kind of organic flow and I ended up really satisfied with how things went.  That's not something that happens much when it comes to me playing out so this was an extremely rewarding and exceptional experience for me.  Another kick back and relax spell and then PAS started their set.  Playing as a two piece today they had come down from Brooklyn for this show, by this point the afternoon had slipped into dusk and the strings of lights over the patio, not visible earlier in the afternoon, made their presence known by quietly glowing in the now dimmed sky like stationary lightning bugs.  I was nothing but impressed by PAS's set, using a variety of electronics, as well as bells, chimes, a carved wooden flute and a six string bowed guitar they created a series of audible moods and movements that ended up going all over and off the map but it was all loosely held together by it's own continuum.  I really heard some wonderful sounds and was nothing but glad they had given me the chance to have done so.  Their first time playing in Floirda I only hope they come back sometime soon to do it again.  It was around 6pm by the time they'd finished their set, I guess the tattoo thing was going to be getting set up so I hung out for a while and had some chat before saying my goodbyes and heading back over the bay.  I'd like to thank S.P.I.N. for putting this show together and making my first St. Pete gig one that I'll definitley not only wistfully remember but hopefully also one day match, or at least come close to.  Thanks to Cafe Bohemia for letting this take place and thanks to the Black Beast of ARRRGHHH and PAS for coming out and blowing my mind.  I'd like to thank everyone that came over from Tampa to support our sister scene in St. Pete and at the same time offer me some kind of moral support by thier simple presence but I can't do that, only because not a single solitary person from Tampa came out today to do any of those things.  Way not to go Tampa, your absolute lack of participation was noticed and was a disappointment for sure but at the same time it just made me want to go back to St. Pete and play whenever I'm given the chance to do so again.