This is long overdue, but I still have great need of describing the events that took place, Sept. 5th. What a night! But where to begin? I suppose we'll start at the beginning of the night's time line to keep it all straight.
Before the Show:
Briefly, I wanted to say how funny it is that D and I experienced so many "signs" on the way to see this show. They were those little signs that are relevant to the topic you have stuck in your head at the moment, if you know what I mean. The best example was when D and I had just exchanged words concerning my non-believer status, one of us then said Jesus Christ or something to that effect, and lo and behold...there's a monk standing directly (and oddly, very nonchalantly) in front of Pravada (sp?)
The Show:
First and foremost, if you've never heard me speak of the greatness that I feel the band, Hierosonic, displays...well, you haven't been listening to me much, have you? Phenomenal musicians. They are currently on the local level, but they tour when they can (like right now) and have a couple of albums out. The newest, Kymatica, also shares the name of a documentary created by the singer, Ben Stewart. Do check it out. For a snippet, see part 1 here: Kymatica: Part 1. A lot of it is on there, but you can purchase and enjoy the whole thing along with it's awesome packaging from Hierosonic themselves. I believe they're $10, same as the CD (also a must have), but don't quote me on that. If you'd like one, let me know.
Anyway, the show was at The Dragonfly in Harrisburg. This, if you know of my normal haunts, is not a place that I frequent. I have a couple of reasons for my not so great opinion of it, ranging from the fact that it's on 2nd St. to the way the place is run and the money is handled, to the personality of the owner (which I had the privilege of experiencing due to Nick's show booking). Anyway, I felt I made a huge exception by going there, but I would do it again any day to see Hierosonic. That's how much I love them. I brought along my very fantastic friend, Danielle (D), in hopes that a new Hierosonic fan would be born. If nothing else, I knew that she would be be great company during such a great show. It also must be mentioned that prior to entering the venue, I managed to embarrass us at least 3 times. One of which occurred when Mike Stang and I were exchanging greetings. I was looking at him to my right and walking forward. And then...I tripped. What is it about that man that makes it impossible for me to walk right??? That's the 2nd time I've done that!
Once inside, D and I immediately grabbed a drink and then headed straight for the stools for a spot to rest our bones before the show and to, um, text. If you don't do things like that, you're seriously in denial. Now, understand that I most certainly do not text in the middle of sets unless it is it to tell a friend how f'ing awesome the band is. Why? I feel such great emotion during that time that I must share it with someone I feel will appreciate it. Or at least I want to share it with a person that might actually take the time to look up the band if they've never heard of them before and maybe give them a listen. In other words, we end up sharing more than just my sentiments about the band and/or the set at that given moment. Ya know. While sitting, texting, and chatting with D, I happened to spy someone on the right using my ever so developed peripheral vision. All I saw was this: an older guy wearing royal blue baseball shorts and a bright red Phillies baseball jersey. My first thought was, whoa is this guy out of place. What in the world? But my curiosity caused me to turn my head away from my phone to get a better view of this gentleman that certainly caught my attention. And whadda ya know? It's Mr. W., my boss' boss (essentially, my boss). I decided within the next couple of seconds that I had 2 choices. I could pretend I didn't see him and if we met up, we met up; or, I could get his attention now and get it over with. Note that had I not, I figured that gossip would ensue the next day concerning how I was out and about at this wild concert. You know how these things go. So, I waited until he looked in my direction so I could make eye contact. When we did, I yelled over to him. By that time, his wife was by his side, so they both strolled over to where D and I had rooted ourselves at that moment. Of course, we exchanged our "What are you doing here?" stuff, he introduced me to his wife, I introduced them both to D, his wife and I chatted, etc. Apparently, the reason they were there was because the week before, they had been to a bar that was hosting kareoke night, and good ole Aaron Miller of A Public Betrayal (APB) was there singing. Aaron had convinced my boss and his wife to come out and see them play at the Hierosonic show. Quite a feat, Aaron, quite a feat. And I will commend you on the fact that you had them pretty much at hello. Your personality completely won them over.
Anywho, on with the show. My Inner Animal were first to take the stage (I was standing up front at this point, btw.) As usual, their stage performance was fantastic. I know I've said this before, but if you pick up their album, please do not judge them by that. While the cd doesn't represent them as being bad, it represents them as being very 1 dimensional, very flat. I don't consider myself the harshest music critic ever, but WOW is there a huge difference. Regardless, they were a great way to start the musical festivities. I highly recommend that if you see their name on a lineup, you check them out.
2nd up was a form of APB. Apparently, the drummer was missing due to his girlfriend's car accident. It must be said here that the injuries were very non serious, so all was well (at least that's the report I received as this group of people like to make sure we all know what's going on at all times). So, while it wasn't full band, it was still very nice. They are yet another wonderful and extremely talented group of musicians that I would recommend to anyone and definitely ones that I'm keeping my eye on so that I can see them more. I've yet to be disappointed by any project that Aaron Miller has been a part of. As always, feel free to join me to any of these shows.
Hierosonic...I really shouldn't have to say much more because I've probably said it all within the last several Hierosonic related posts. However, I was more than blown away by this performance. I, unfortunately, was standing directly in front of a speaker, but that was only an issue the next day when I couldn't hear a damn thing except the incessant ringing that I couldn't figure out how to rid myself of. But during this particular set, I felt more emotion brought on by, not just the quality of the music and the talent of the musicians but, the passion that they stirred into their musical creations, the way they actually felt every note that came from their instruments and reacted thus with their bodies. It was incredibly intense for me. The best I can say is that I urge you to see them, be it with me, with someone else of your choosing, or by yourself. I feel wrong knowing that this feeling has not been shared with many of the people I love and care about. I hope to remedy that.
After the Show:
At this point, I had to adamently and repeatedly refuse a ride home from someone so that D and I could continue our journey. At one point, D turned and stated point blank, "If at any point A needs a ride home, it will be me driving her van." To which she turned on her heels and continued down 2nd street. Our destination? McGrath's. Let me tell you, while I would have gone anywhere she asked me to as D has nobly proven herself to be a friend like no other, our stay at McGrath's was painful to say the least. I won't go into detail on this as it really is not my detail to give. But that was where we ended up, though not for long. After a short stay there, we decided it was time to head home. I do want to note that it wasn't McGrath's that was the problem. It seems to be a nice establishment.
After retrieving the van from the parking garage, we had to fight our way through a very crowded 2nd street. Right in front of The Dragonfly, we came to a stop because of traffic at the light. As we were in the far left lane, we were the closest to the scene of 3 individuals in a fist fight. One had a terribly bloody nose, but he was still swinging. D said, "A, we really shouldn't be here right now. We need to go." While I certainly agreed, I had to point out that there was nowhere for us to go. We were boxed in from all sides. People were even filing through the street now to watch the spectacle. More cell phones were out than you could probably imagine to catch the fight either via picture or video. One particular guy was standing so close to my van, that he was about to get hit with my side mirror as we were gliding forward. I tried to get his attention by saying, "Dude. I'm going to hit you with my mirror. You might want to move." But I must not have said it loud enough. Plus he was very taken by the fight scene and probably wouldn't have heard me anyway. So...I hit him with my side mirror. He just turned around and looked at me. My response was, "Sorry about that. You were a little too close." He just laughed and apologized to me and said that he just couldn't help but try to get the fight on video and that he'd be putting it up on youtube if we wanted to look it up. I did, by the way, and I can't find anything.
We made it out of that mess though, and D kindly serenaded me to Miley Cyrus on the way home. I must say that was incredibly hilarious. It was one of those moments that you wish you had gotten it on video, but totally missed your opportunity. Oh well...
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