Let's see... Ricky came into town Wednesday, we went and hung out at the Galaxy Hut with Tina and her friends, a girl in the bathroom line asked me if I knew who Gloria Steinem was (and if I thought that was common knowlede). Alison Wolfe DJed and I remarked that it must be cool to DJ and be able to play 90% song by friends of yours. Then we tried to convince Jason to go to this party in the middle of nowhere, but we just ended up hanging out at Jason's for awhile.

We went back to the farm at like 4. I woke up at 11 and woke up to Angele, Tony (Angele's friend who had also driven from Nola) and Ricky sitting in the living room, drinking beer. I was a little shaken by this, but I realized it was indeed the forth so it was okay. We went and got lunch, more beers were drunk, then we headed to Baltimore. Chris X was having a BBQ, or so we had heard.

We made to Chris', but he wasn't home. So we headed to his store, then had crabs and beer (this is where I had my first one of the day), then went to Mount Royal Tavern (where we had gone to drink and meet kara when me and Evan visited DC), to drink more. A woman had made cake and snack food, so I gorged myself while a friend of Kara's explained there was an ogre-like man there who kept cracking jokes and slamming him in the back, painfully so.

We left for Chris'. Soon after arriving, Ricky stumbled outside. Chris and I exchanged glances, and peeked out his window. Rick was jerkily wandering into the park across the street, until he leaned his body back, then forward, and the vomit flowed forth... Now, Rick will deny this, because he always denies when he is sick due to alcohol, but it is quite true.

The party continued on for quite awhile, we ate BBQ, caroused, watched semi-disturbing videos. Eventually I declared that we must go, because I had to meet Bob at my house, for we were leaving for More Than Music/Columbus Fest the very next morning.

The drive up was pretty uneventful, we managed to stick with Ricky very well and we made very good time. The ride back wasn't as fun, but we'll get to that.

We ended up staying in a hotel that was very very close to the fest, walking distance, which was really awesome. Let's go over some of the fest highlights:

Guyana Punch Line
Finally managed to see these guys, they were good, less spastic than I expected, but a lot of fun. They are demented hardcore with a really funny way of expressing their politics. Their set was light-hearted, quick and loud.
Flying Luttenbachers
These guys were missing a bass player (they are a drummer and two bassists), so the drummer kept announcing between songs "our other bass player here yet? no?" and they looked pretty pissed. I expect they will probbaly break up, or find a new 2nd bass player soon. They sounded like Orthrelm with longer songs.
Erase Errata
Pure suck, I don't know why anyone likes this band. Sorry if you're a fan, I just couldn't get into their live set.
Lightning Bolt
Amazing. A bassist with two full stacks and a drummer with a microphone taped to his face. The Lightning Bolt sound can't be explained. They set up next to the stage, and everyone - hundreds of people - crowded around, including most of the members of the other bands. Everyone wanted to see what Lighting Bolt is about. They were crazy, fast and danc-ey. People were throwing water balloons and setting off smoke bombs. The venue turned the music on three times, but they would ask the crowd "should we play more?" and we would all scream YES and they would just play another song, since they are totally self contained.
Converge
I'm not a big fan, but they are good live. The singer is tall and skinny and tattoo-ed. He bounces around on stage, waving his arms and managing to go from one side to another between almost very lyric.
the Locust
Lots of fun, crazy electronic dance grindcore insanity. They all wear ninja-esque costumes that obscure their features now. They don't banter much. People were heckling them like crazy, I don't know why they even do it anymore. I couldn't play shows with people yelling like they were. I guess that's one reason I'm not in a band. People were throwing bottles and stuff at them, even setting off firecrackers in the crowd and throwing them at the band. Still, it was a great set and I'm glad I got to see them again.
Melt-Banana
Amazing. They flew Melt-Banana in from Japan and their stage presence is pretty impressive. Everyone danced, they played for what seemed like two hours. It was a great capper to the first night.

Other bands seen : Blow Up (not THE Blow Up), the Dishes, Rah Bras, Mastodon). Many records bought.

I'll sum up days two and three in the next post.