Happy Birthday
I'm starting to get used to celebrating my birthday at TBM concerts.
This year it was about a week prior to my birthday at a show on December
1 held at New York's Gramercy Theatre.
Along with the tickets, I had also purchased the "VIP package." This
package included an autographed poster signed by all members of the
band, a "VIP" laminate on a lanyard, and... the opportunity to meet the
band prior to the show!
You may be thinking, "But they stick around after shows and mingle with
their fans anyway," and "You've already met them a few times!" Both are
true. And even with this "VIP" package meet-and-greet, they still make
time for all their fans after the show. What this provided was a
somewhat quieter meeting in a more intimate setting.
In fact the meeting was in a small lounge beneath the concert hall. Dim
mood lighting, mirrors, and couches set the atmosphere. I spoke with
Rainbow, Michael, and Nate first. Rainbow informed me his name was
Michael also and made a joke about the "power of the three Mikes
lighting the room." After a bit, they started moving me to Chibi who was
sitting on a couch after injuring her knee during a show two nights
prior. She tried to walk to me, but I told her not to. She said, "I'll
meet you half way then."
I gave her a get well card, knowing she had had surgery on her vocal
chords about 8 weeks prior and recently injured her knee. Someone
decided we needed a photo of that and she gave me the card back so I
could give it back to her. I believe it was Owen who said, "Act natural
and hold it for 30 seconds!"
I asked Rainbow about writing "Unfamiliar" because both he and OE were
given credit in the liner notes. He said it was mostly OE; OE started it
and Rainbow had finished it. I said I wanted to thank them because it
was a song that had taken on some greater meaning to me and I relayed a
brief version of the story of the moment I recognized that. It turns
out "Unfamiliar" is one of Chibi's favorite songs too.
Every one of the bands that night were amazing. All, remarkably, were
performing as duos. Creature Feature was a real fun band to see. Their
music is heavily influenced by old horror movies which gives them a
dark yet fun sound.
Aesthetic Perfection put on a good performance. Their drummer is
amazing and fun to watch. They heavily synth-based and while there was a
dark tone to most of their songs, they still had fun and lightened
things up with a Fine Young Cannibals cover.
William Control was the only other act I had heard before the show
(Thanks Last.fm!). He was great live and I'd love to see him again. He
reminded me a little of Dommin in that Dean Martin meets Glen Danzig
sort of way.
The Birthday Massacre was great. They played a good mix including songs
from every album. For most of the set Chibi was sitting on a speaker
placed near center at the front of the stage, wearing a knee brace. She
stood up and moved around occasionally, but not much. At one point
Rainbow sat down on another speaker and stuck out one leg in a similar
fashion to how Chibi was seated and laughed a little. It was easy to
tell by their interaction here that Chibi and Rainbow are close.
If you care (or even if you don't), their set list follows:
- Night Shift
- Down
- Control
- Always
- Red Stars
- Video kid
- Lover's End
- Forever
- Pins and Needles
- Happy Birthday
- Alibis
- Calling
- In the Dark
- Sleep Walking
- Midnight
-- Encore --
- Leaving Tonight
- The Long Way Home
- Blue
The band did not leave the stage prior to the encore as they normally
would. Chibi said, "This is the part of the show where we say thank you
and leave and you clap and we come back out and play some more. But I'm
not going to walk down those stairs anymore than I have to, so do you
want to hear three more songs?"
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Happy Birthday
Last night, as an end to my 30th birthday weekend, I went to see The
Birthday Massacre in Teaneck. The show was at the Mexicali Live which is
a rather small, intimate venue with full table service for dining, and a
bar with some really good microbrews on tap.
The first act was A Verbal Equinox. I thought they were pretty good,
especially considering they all seemed to be still in high school. Their
set was pretty tight, with mostly original songs and a My Chemical
Romance cover. Frankly, I think they did the MCR song just as well, if
not better, than MCR. They definitely had a good rhythm section.
The next band, who shall remain nameless, was described by some as
"Armenian Industrial." I thought the music was good, but I wished the
singer would just shut up. No singing, no talking to the crowd. Just.
Shut. Up. Their set would have been awesome as an instrumental.
During their set they had two "gothy cheerleaders" on stage. It turned
out that one of them was my friend's niece. Kinda random.
After their set, I ran into a couple of the kids from the first band and
talked to them a bit. I told them I liked what I heard and they thanked
me and gave me a CD-R labeled with sharpie containing their first
recorded single. Something about that is just awesome.
The Birthday Massacre was great. They played a good mix including songs
from every album.
If you care (or even if you don't), their set list follows:
- Pins and Needles
- Control
- Happy Birthday
- Forever
- Burn Away
- Shallow Grave
- Always
- Weekend
- Video kid
- Blue
- Looking Glass
- Lover's End
- In the Dark
- Horror Show
- Red Stars
-- Encore --
- Sleep Walking
- Midnight
They didn't play my favorite song, "Broken," but I was not disappointed in the
set at all. After they finished, Rainbow was on stage for a bit talking
with people from the crowd. I told him it was a great show and asked if
they'd be playing "Broken" at tonight's show with Dir En Grey. He said
it wouldn't be in the set, but he loves that song and they'd rehearse it
for their next tour.
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A rather blurry picture of The Birthday Massacre from the show. |
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Happy Birthday
Last night I went to see The Birthday Massacre in Hackensack. The show was at
the School of Rock which is a rather small, intimate venue.
The first act was September Mourning. I thought they were pretty good. I got to
speak to Emily and Chris from the band later in the evening and they seemed
like pretty cool people.
Dommin was the next band up. The singer's got a pretty good voice and the
bassist was really good. They played a cover of Depeche Mode's "People are
People" and it was pretty good.
I was a little less than impressed with I Am Ghost. They weren't bad, but I
couldn't get into them.
Early in the evening, before Dommin's set I went to the merchandise table and
picked up two new shirts. Now I have TBM shirts that fit! I also picked up a
copy of the new live album Show and Tell. Zimmy couldn't make it this
tour, but Michelle, the girl who took his place, was just as awesome as he was.
The Birthday Massacre was great. They played a good mix from their albums
including songs from their three albums and the Looking Glass EP.
If you care (or even if you don't), their set list follows:
- Red Stars
- Goodnight
- Falling Down
- Play Dead
- Weekend
- Shiver
- To Die For
- Lovers End
- Remember Me
- Video Kid
- Violet
- Looking Glass
- I Think We're Alone Now
- Walking With Strangers
- Blue
- Happy Birthday
They didn't play my favorite song, "Broken," but I was not disappointed in the
set at all.
After the show they came out to meet the fans. I was able to get their new live
album signed by Falcore, Oen, Rainbow, and Chibi. The latter three also
autographed the photos I had taken with them last year and they were pretty
nice about it.
Not that anyone really cares, but these are the photos my friend took. If you view
the full version, be warned that I'm in the photos too.
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M. Falcore |
Chibi |
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Happy Birthday
Friday night was the Birthday Massacre/Mindless Self Indulgence show.
Due to various circumstances and events, my friends and I made it to
the venue just in time to see the last 3 minutes of TBM's set.
I made an attempt to see The Birthday Massacre last August in new York
but that attempt failed due to prior commitments. So for two years in a
row I tried to see them, and for two years in a row I failed. Sorta.
After seeing the last 3 minutes of the set and being very disappointed, I went
over to the merchandise booth to buy a souvenir T-shirt. My friend James joined
me and we, mostly James because of his gregarious nature, started a
conversation with the guy at the counter, whose name was Zimmy. We told him
what had happened and asked if there was any chance of catching the band as
their equipment was being packed up.
He told us their gear had already be packed, but if we hung out after the show
they'd be coming out to meet the fans. So we hung out after the show.
After the crowd dissipated, we went back into the venue's main room. Sure
enough, several members of The Birthday Massacre were standing around, signing
autographs, and talking to the fans. James and I went up to O-En first. He was
very friendly and talked with us for ten or fifteen minutes. I told him about
missing the show two years running and he gave me his sympathies and thanked me
for trying to get to the shows. I asked him if he had any idea when they'd be
in the area again and he gave me a general idea of when to expect them to be
back. He was nice enough to sign my copy of Violet and let us take a
photograph.
Next we went over and talked with Chibi. She was also very friendly although we
didn't speak to her for quite as long as we did O-En. She signed Violet
and took a photo with me and thanked us for coming to see them, even though we
missed the set.
The last member of the band I got to see was Rainbow. Like O-En and Chibi, he
too was very friendly. We talked to him for several minutes and I collected
another autograph and photo.
All three of them were very friendly with every one and they all seemed to
genuinely care about their fans. I had heard from some one who had met them
before that they were some of the nicest people you could ever meet. O-En,
Chibi, and Rainbow confirmed that on Friday night. Now that I've met them, I
can't wait for the next opportunity to finally catch their set.
Not that anyone really cares, but these are the photos James took. If you view
the full version, be warned that I'm in the photos too.
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