Alabamalama

On a whim, Jamie Mechan & I took off and headed down I-65 on Friday afternoon. Destination: Bamalama. The Thomas Function boys had put together a little shin-dig. The two hour hike down inspired us to put the top down on his mom's convertible. This turned out to be a bad idea later, since the roof wouldn't go back up, but it proved to be the perfect way to kick off a weekend of summer rockin'. On the way down we got matching sunglasses - mine in white, his in black. We rolled up to The Flying Monkey a half hour or so before the gig. We caught up with some old friends and made a beer run for the BYOB event. The show kicked off with Plexi 3 a powerpop outfit from Wisconsin, a state firmly represented at the fest. The best part about the band, aside from their hooky songs, was that their drummer looked a little like Corky from Life Goes On. I left it alone, but it was a bit hard to not should out a request for "Ob-la-di Ob- la-da." They were good, but The Strange Boys blew me away. If you dig Them or The Seeds, the young Austin rockers would be your jam. Check out their Nothing ep. The Thomas Function guys were incredible. Best band of the whole weekend. Listen to their new LP on Alive. This might be the best record of 2008 so far. The final band was Live Fast Die, who I had seen just 2 nights before (see previous blog.) Both nights, they were awesome. Terrific punk. Melodic without being stupid. Buy their Buzz Buzz Buzzard 7".

After the show, it was party time. We kicked it outside with some dudes we knew. My buddy Justin showed up lookin' good. Slimmed down bearded out. The unexpected sight of West Tennessee's Mr. Joe Simpson was a pleasant surprise. We saw former Nashvillian Peyton "Thrash" who was there playing with his band Wax Museums. Two thirds of Cheap Time were there. As usual, Jon Sewell was the center of the party. Josh from Thomas Functions let us crash out at his crib. After getting lost on Memorial Parkway for 45 minutes, Jamie and I arrived. We didn't what we were getting into. The members of Jail & The Barbaras were also sleeping. Little sleeping was done. A lot of partying and listening to records by The Feelies, Camper Van Bethoven, Tommy James, and select 7 "s by Alabama bands. Tons of fun. Little Sleeps. As it should be at any good weekend fest.

Saturday afternoon was great too. The class of the show was definitely Rise Up Howling Werewolf. Its a brand new band from members of The Pine Hill Haints. The band sounds like a cross between Hot Snakes and 70s fuzzed out rock. Great band. Jon, Jamie & I headed back to nashville after the mid-day show. A terrific time for all. Tanks to everyone who showed us hospitality & rocked out.