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NOM NOM VEGAN BAKED GOODS NOM NOM
There are certain points in the year our band finds easily marked by festivals… March is South by Southwest, April is CincyPunk Fest, September is MidPoint Music Festival, October is CMJ, and August—well August is Dayton's Ladyfest… Ladyfest is a multi-day celebration of women in performing arts, and it's one of those neat ideas that many cities chose to host in festival form throughout the year. We played Dayton's Ladyfest last year and it was a major blast—we've been looking forward to this year's incarnation since…
I met the boys +1 (Mike's dad, Mark, joined us as Merch Guy Extraordinaire) in Dayton for load-in (I'd been visiting family in Cleveland). Dayton's Ladyfest is held in a DIY art venue called C{Space—it's a large, colorful, L-shaped spot. The festival organizers had moved some things around this year and we loaded our gear directly into the vault. From there we high-fived some friends of ours from Chicago-by-way-of-Dayton Hospital Garden, explored the prospect of a bright future made possible by vegan twinkies (there was a booth!) with some good folks who drove from Cincinnati for the event, and watched a giant spider spin a web in the open doorway leading the the back lot where all the smokers were hanging…
We had some sound problems that complicated our line check and put Mike in a prematurely sweaty and slightly anxious state. Thankfully the problems were resolved, and with Mike just a little wetter than usual, we got going. During our set I found myself adjusting to the view from our stage, which had been moved from its location last year. Rather than looking out from the vertex of the L upon the front doors, we were facing the second stage perpendicular to the entryway. While the stage this year seemed higher and larger than last, and jumping on and off it with gear was kind of fun, I do think I preferred the location of the stage from Ladyfest Dayton 2008. From there I probably started contemplating something entirely inappropriate to think about on stage, like what it would take to turn my home office into a sweet room for a (future?) pet baby bunny, or how large an AU really is in comparison to my height (as a graphic), or how great it was going to be to get a vegan twinkie after our set… Every so often my mind wanders off while we are onstage—something I generally try not to let happen, but I accept that sometimes it does. Whatever it was, I was brought back from Reverie Land with the help of some particularly loud and enthusiastic "wooooooo!s" from the Cincinnatians. We had a great time playing just as we did in 2008. Sadly (for me), the vegan twinkies had all been sold by the end of our set, so I'll just have to wait for next August to get my "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling" on.
Bribot prepares for battle.
Mike curses the phantoms.
—Margaret
Listen up folks, this is a good one.
It seems somewhat rare these days to find a bill with just two bands. Not just two bands, but two awesome bands who really love what they do, and especially love one another's band (both personally and musically). This is exactly what fell upon the great city of Louisville on Friday July 31st. Home to the standard instrument used in our greatest pasttime (the Louisville Slugger), and some of the most ridiculous nights of drinking in bars until 4:00 A.M., this city expects a good time. Well Louisville, you got what you deserved.
We had just arrived a few days earlier from our east coast tour. One of our most successful spans of shows ever, it was easy to say we were riding relatively high after melting faces in Cleveland, Philly, Boston and Brooklyn. Four shows in four cities through seven states and over 1600 miles is enough to take a toll on anyone—especially in Hollandaise Firebot (aka our mini-van). Bavanarama (our 15-passenger) sat this one out, and we crammed all of our instruments plus our Seedy selves into some pretty close-quarters. Good thing we love each other!
Needless to say, we had been rushed around and required a new kind of show to bring us back down to Earth. Again this is where the love for a two-band bill sets in. Not a lot of equipment to fight through, or long sets with still two more bands to play before your 1:00 A.M. slot. Everyone is equal, and is there to equally have a good time.
The fine folks at Buzzgrinder.com, one of our favorite music blog sites, invited us and our buddies J Roddy Walston and the Business to help celebrate their 8th anniversary. After a scheduling conflict and a last-minute venue change, we were still stoked to play what we knew would be a great evening.
We arrived at the Rudyard Kipling early enough for some fine summer brews and vegan pizza, and shared some great laughs with the men of J Roddy. Sean Cannon of Buzzgrinder, along with his lovely with Brittanie, treated us to as many red, white and blue PBR headbands and wristbands as we could handle. Nothing spells freedom superfun like good, cheap 'Merican beer.
We opened the night with a fury. A solid hour with non-stop Seedy hits—the "Rud" (Louisville slang) certainly sustained some structural damage. The energy was up all around, and we played to a large crowd packed tightly around all edges of the stage. You know its a great show when you come back with a couple bruises.
Next up were one of my favorite live bands I have ever played with. J Roddy is simply fantastic live, and the more intimate venue to witness their madness will guarantee the best of times to be talked about around campfires for months to come. The boys bring it like it should always be brought, a mentality common in the Seedy family. Hair-whips, piano-fits and broken sticks are just some of the images I can offer. Do yourself a favor, and please check out this band… worth every penny of every dollar from now until eternity.
Zach from J.Roddy rips it up while simultaneously tearing it down.
Did we mention the evening also featured a visit from Green Man? Because it did.
Post-show became a slight blur, mostly due to exhaustion. I can tell you that it involved drinking some more PBR in a stationary '57 Chevy Convertible while eating pizza that was cut the size of Rhode Island. Joined by our friend Scott of Bro. Stephen, and with crocheted sea-monsters and stories of Seedy and Buzzy world domination, we finally settled on the Cannon's floor—Mike and I sharing a blow-up mattress big enough to float across the Ohio River on… Speaking of that, see you soon on a boat!
—Brian
