My first stop was Over Macho Grande at Kelly's. The music didn't impress me, but I was overjoyed to see Light Show Bob with the band.
For those of you who are too unfortunate to know Light Show Bob, he worked over at The Attic before it became Celina's. He had his own light rigging attached to the ceiling, which he can control from his Lightar, a device he crafted all on his own. He goes up on stage with the band (he's on the far left in the picture), and does his thing. The only other time I see him out any more is at Dally in Alley, rocking his Lightar at the Garden Stage.
In order to leave Kelly's while the music is going, you have to walk right in front of the band in order to get to the door. Awkward!
I then went to Atlas, where Cheat Sheet was supposed to start at 9:00. They were the first band to go on, so there's really no excuse to be late. They started at 9:25. I listened for a minute, then decided they weren't worth the wait and left. If no one has ever heard of your band, you really haven't earned the right to fuck up the start times for the 3 other bands that play after you.
Prussia was scheduled to start at the New Dodge Lounge at 9:20, but in another effort to be fashionably (and unjustifiably) late, they started at 9:35.
Charlie Slick managed to start on time over at the Belmont. He's changed up his routine a bit. He's playing a guitar during his performance now, instead of relying solely on prerecorded music. I thought to myself "Where the fuck is the bubble machine and the glitter?". Slick explained before his last song, that he feels trapped by the expectation of always including glitter and a bubble machine. He goes on to say, that once a blog takes note of these thing. the record of it happening is out there forever, no matter how long ago it happened, and that the internet doesn't allow us to be free even from ourselves. So if you ever run into Charlie Slick, don't mention glitter or bubble machines. Otherwise it might make him sad.
Tried to see Brian Rottar at Baker's at 10:20, and they were nowhere near being ready. Went around the corner to Whiskey in the Jar and saw Patrick Davy & The Ghosts (not to be confused with Patrick Elkins & The Rainbow Vomit Family Band who preceded them). Went back to Baker's and saw this:
Two guys sitting on the floor. I'm glad all that preparation didn't go to waste.
On to Mars Bar at 11 to see Banxx. Mars is still trying for the upscale theme. Reserved tables at the Blowout, really?
I was expecting Banxx to be Allan James and Leann Banks. The music I heard from them online had some interesting joint vocals going, Instead it was just James with his guitar, and it didn't quite meet my expectations. It's also hard to pay attention to a mellow song when Superman IV is playing on a large projection screen ten feet away. Since I'm on the subject of Mars Bar, did you know they had 2 go-go dancers near the windows? The windows are so heavily tinted that you can't see into them from outside, so their exact placement might me be somewhat wasted. Nevertheless, those dancers were stripperific.
(Not actual strippers, but you get the point)
Baker's for Sheefy McFly and the Deloreans. Despite following a late act, they managed to start pretty close to when they were supposed to. I'm not really sold on the whole noise-rock-rap fusion thing, but they turned out a pretty decent cover of I Wanna Be Your Dog. Highlight was J.R. saying "fuck that writer who called us a diverse act just for having 1 black guy.
At long last, the event I had been waiting for all night, Marco Polio and the New Vaccines at Mars Bar. As the band was setting up, Steve the vocalist was creating several stacks of black boxes with colorful paint. The same paint that Steve was covered with.
People started throwing around the boxes like they were beach balls. They kept hitting the light fixtures, and the bar staff wasn't too happy about it.
Steve started passing out umbrellas, and I knew better this time than to take one. They're filled with glitter and confetti that come raining down once they're opened. Another move that probably made the band unpopular with the bar staff.
Steve took a human caterpillar cape, and draped it over several people. At the end of the last song took his human caterpillar and anyone else willing to join in, and formed an impromptu parade a couple blocks up Joseph Campau and back, stopping momentarily at Amicci's Pizza. The parade's return to the Mars Bar coincided with the arrival of the Night Moves bus, and they just couldn't refuse to take their human caterpillar onto the bus.
What did I miss by not getting on that bus? Maybe I'll never know.
I then drove over to Gates of Columbus, hoping to catch the end of JSB Squad, who started after Marco Polio did, but they were already done. Missing them to see the Marco Polio parade was probably worth it.
Going over to Columbus Hall wasn't a complete waste. I managed to run into one of the guys from Five Three Dial Tones while he had his Hello Operator tapes on him. I now own copy 71 out of 333.