September 26th, 2003
Well this was our big show. Perhaps not the "biggest" in size, but as far as i'm concerned, the most significant show we've played even since Lowfive first started - mainly because Coheed and Cambria is my favorite band. Oh, and they also played at this show.
I suppose i should explain how we got the gig, because it's a little story in itself. Like the band geek that i am, i found out way ahead of time that COCA was going to play The Edge on the album pre-release minitour. We thought to our collective selves that we needed to play this show - because it would be the best show ever. I even promised the band that if we got on the bill, i would buy a Moog Prodigy (that's an old-school, sweet-school analog synth for anybody not in "the know"). Anyway, through a few friends of the band, we learned who was sort of promoting the show. And then we asked him to play. And then he said no. We were kind of bummed, and then began hating on life. Not really, because it was more a fantastical dream that just didn't work out. But then it turned into a fantastical dream that just DID work out!
Anyway, we'd sent a demo to the promoter for the show just for reference and so we didn't miss out on future shows of this type (ie: good). And then i guess people started talking in places such as "the downlow" and "the grapevine" and a few weeks later, the promoter dude was like "i can add you to the show". At this news i was like "oh crap" because i knew i had to buy a Moog. And the Prodigy costs like $600. I was happy on the inside though.
Then we showed up at the Edge that day, me from Boston, the Softer dudes from Eternia. We were super early, and it was sweet. Some of the other bands (3, Boys Night Out) were there and moving some gear in. We started wandering around, unsure of when we were supposed to load-in or whatever. Eventually Ian showed up with the van so we just went inside. Nobody was guarding the door anyway.
After we got our crap in, we had to wait around for a while. The start time for the show was being pushed back to deal with the crowd outside. Apparently the venue was sold to capacity (for the upstairs and downstairs) and they had people just hanging around outside trying to get in. It was weird for us to be able to come and go through the crowd as we pleased. Up the Rockstars! Special thanks to black-haired dude (our self-proclaimed #1 fan) for shrieking like a little girl every time one of us walked by. it was wicked gay, but also totally sweet. we got to watch COCA soundcheck inside before the crowd was let in.
and the fun part hadn't even started yet. people came in and we were gearing up onstage. The Edge is a pretty small club, so when you pack a few hundred bodies in the place, it looks pretty darn full. We played first, so people were rip-rearing to go. When we started playing, we weren't supposed to, so we got cut off after the first 10 seconds of 1913. That was kind of a good thing, because Ian was playing it slow. Thanks a lot dumb Ian! Luckily, dumb Ian's doppleganger, Good Ian, quickly took over on drums for the REAL start of the set.
We played most of our current setlist, which i realized has changed drastically as of late. We play mostly "Softer" material, with the exception of the last songs written as "Lowfive". All of the material from Paths that used to be common is pretty much gone (Action Reaction, Autumn, Boys Will Be Boys). Still Photography has made a few brief comebacks since way back when, and It Always Snows... (which was never even a Lowfive band song) has emerged for the first time as a current. Go figure. We closed with it this time, directly after debuting a brand new song called Confessions of an Ardent Heart.
After us, 3 went on. They were pretty good, but kind of weird. Some of their stuff sounded like COCA, and some of it sounded like DMB (our first drummer Matt Deprez would have loved them!). I was a little disappointed with them because they had a synth player with a couple of sweet synths (and old Korg analog, and a new Korg ms2000 analog-modeling digital synth)... but he only used them for like 2 seconds, and spent the rest of the time acting as a second drummer. Oh, i didn't have my Moog for this show either. When i got back to Boston though, it was at my house waiting. Bites.
Anyway, i missed a lot of Boys Night Out because i was talking to a lot of people - mostly new faces, but then some of the diehards that i see every time. They are good fans, and thus win the 'my favorite fans' contest. Then Coheed and Cambria went on. I've seen them before, so i didn't pay too much attention to the show/performance itself. I guess i was just too enthralled in the atmosphere of the place. Also, the band was all sick and stuff so they didn't do all the crazy stuff that i've seen them do before. But hey- at least they didn't cancel the show (like they did the day before).
After the show ended, we did some boring stuff like flyering for an ERICROCK show, and then (being the record geek that i am) got most of the band to sign my Vinyl import of Second Stage Turbine Blade. I missed Claudio though because he huffed in on out to the river as soon as they were done. Ah well. Mic (bassist) talked with me for a bit, and that cool. And then after my favorite fans jeopardized their top rank by making me drop some important papers in the mud, they redeemed themselves by giving me a lift to Denny's to meet the rest of the Softer dudes, who had left already in protest of my record geek ways. Eventually i actually did arrive at Denny's (that's a whole other story!), marking the end of stuff that's your business. The rest of the evening is boring anyway, and basically just involved us driving home in the van with the green lights on the inside. And i was probably talking in some funny voice, but that's not the important part.
caleb.
SETLIST
1913
EOS (?)
Tourniquets and Treachery (?)
Calico(?)
Confessions...
It Always Snows...
