For some dumb reason, I made a new year's resolution to see at least one show a month that I don't play in. When I went to the Sunset at the end of 2025 to see Pop Cycle, Rallies and Royal Blunder, it really was cool and a lot of fun. Plus, making connections will just get people to come to my shows, so, like everything else, it really is all about me.
After talking to some friends about this show, it seemed like there'd be more people at Slim's than at for my own shows. I showed up a little after 8, after having not picked up Mike and Amy since they got hung up on the light rail. The place was fairly packed, what with Slim's recently announcing they'd stop shows in mid-Feb this year. Though rumors are swirling that Mason from Tim's is purchasing the place; I've heard it from multiple people, including in the club that night, but I am a nobody and maybe I'm being trolled.
Anyway, these three bands, Thrashed Behind the Eyes, Once For Kicks and Mopsey, all have their own little legacies and people I recognized. As a result, there were plenty of scenesters in the room. Other bands were there as well, and I may have had a hand in that, bringing out Brian, Tom and Lee from Full Life Crisis. The aforementioned Mike and Amy were there, as was Jeff, doodling his pictures up front. I saw Fred Speakman, who helped me get my amp back.
Brian Hughes plays bass in TBTE and OFK, and he backlined his rig, two Aguilar SL12s and a Mesa Boogie head of some sort. He's seen a bunch of Planets shows and is always super nice. I had never seen him play, so I wanted to check him out.
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| Thrashed Behind the Eyes |
TBTE started things off. Brian played a nice sunburst P and his band was a little garagey, a little grungy and pretty cool. I couldn't hear his bass much, but that changed for OFK.
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| Once For Kicks |
OFK featured Kurt Bloch on guitar and Bill Coury on vocals. I have seen Kurt a bunch, but I only know Bill from when he fronted Thee Sgt. Major back in the day. They were great when I saw/played with them with the Lunds. And OFK was really really cool. Poppy catchy tunes and Brian's bass playing really shined. He played a Stingray and it cut through the mix a lot better. His lines were complex and that band would be a ton of fun to play in.
During one of the sets, a woman asked if I played in "Planets Run The Ocean." At least that's what I thought she said. I straightened her out and she introduced herself as Hennessy and that she has a Planets sticker on her coffee mug. Apparently she loved one of our songs, called it "haunting," but she didn't know the title and when she asked us about it at a show, we didn't either.
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| Mopsey |
Mopsey finished the night with their tight ass guitars and pounding rhythm section. Jason on drums is so fantastic. Their songs are so high energy. Sadly, Brian's amp acted weird for the first song, so I couldn't hear Richard's Jazz bass at all. Then he got it dialed up for the second song but it was too quiet. That is, until someone in the crowd walked up front and asked Richard to turn up. Note to self: if it's too quiet for me, it is too quiet; say something!
Overall, a cool night at Slim's. I have great hope for when we play there in a few weeks that it will be well-attended, with Stag headlining.
Not sure who's playing where next month, but it'll be fun to go to another show!
