Keeping the Bottle Empty

Last night, The Joans participated in a benefit for the Actor Slash Model Film Collective at The Empty Bottle, and we had a terrific time. We played a shorter set than usual (about 22 minutes), but I was still sweating like a butcher by the time it was over (somehow, the experience is always so intense). The crowd was very enthusiastic and the bands were all terrific. I was especially blown away by Condenada, a very heavy all-female punk-thrash band with a dynamic lead singer and a rapid-fire drummer who graciously allowed all the bands to use her kit.

Other participating bands included The Pussy Pirates, Brother Truck, Justin Petertil, Plaid on Plaid, and of course, Actor Slash Model, the hosting duet, which performs a quirky, endearing brand of folk/bluegrass. The emcee for the evening was Jessica Halem, a hilarious comic and all-around terrific lady, who really kept the crowd pumped up and excited between bands.

I had to leave before the final band played (as I had to be up at 7:00 this morning), but I did get a chance to catch the clip of the film that Actor Slash Model produced, and it was a really cool interview with two members of a MTF transgender band, interspersed with performance footage, and the editing was really cool. I hope to see this get fleshed out more, because it's such a great topic.

I left at around 11:45, and I think I was the last Joan standing, as the others had left a while before. I felt good (if tired) at the end of the night. It was the first time we'd played live in a few months and I thought the energy was good, although the band had some "tightness" issues at the very beginning (in particular, I have problems working the kick drum pedal on the faster songs sometimes, which leads me to do funky shit tempo-wise). We soon got our mojo warmed up, however, and by the time we finished "Mad At The Dirt," the crowd demanded an encore, which we gladly provided ("The Boys and the Booze").

Today, I'm just catching up on some work and afterwards, a group of us are heading to TimeLine to see one of the last few performances of "Dolly West's Kitchen." Then, I'll probably head to Andersonville to say happy birthday to fellow Handbagger Brigitte.

Tomorrow morning, I'm off to Peoria to spend the day visiting Mom and I'll probably stay over night. The nurse said yesterday that she still won't get out of bed, so I think we're starting to see a definite downturn. It's hard to say exactly how things will go, however, so we just play one day at a time...

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend! I'll be back Monday...