Feels Like The First Time

Last Saturday my band Acid Uprising played its very first show at the Cobalt Cafe in Canoga Park, CA. There was a decent crowd moshing the whole time, we played tight and kicked ass, nothing got stolen or broken, and nobody got arrested. It was great. Everything went off without a hitch. It did seem weird to me, however, because I've played in a lot of bands and inevitably our first show was always a disaster. After the jump I will share with you some of my more memorable (or forgettable) first shows.

In the early 90's I was playing drums for a band called Dead Locked. We were kind of a hardcore/metal crossover band that was somewhere between Agnostic Front and Suicidal Tendencies. We would eventual get a pretty big following in our hometown of Richmond, VA but our beginnings were quite humble. Our first show was to be at a club called The Metro, which was a pretty big venue. We had just loaded all our gear when the power went out. After a while the club told us they couldn't get the lights back on and the show was cancelled. In the dark, we hauled all our shit back out. Oh, did I mention the stage was on the second floor and the only way up and down was a steel fire escape? Our bass player found a coffee shop around the corner that was willing to let us play, so went went over and set up. Unfortunately, there were only about 3 people in the place and once we started playing, two of them left. The remaining guy pulled a chair up right in front of us and we played a full set to him. It might have been okay if we were jamming some folk music, but we playing ripping hardcore. He did clap after every song, but it was disheartening.

In the late 80's I made the switch from singer to drummer. My first experience behind the kit was a hardcore band called Equal Opportunity Destroyer. We had played a few parties before, but our first real gig came when we got the chance to play at the DC Space in Washington DC. The first problem arose during soundcheck. I never though about it, but I had never played drums with shoes on. We always jammed in my Dad's basement and I taught myself how to play in bare feet. With shoes on, I couldn't keep time. It felt weird to me. I ended up having to take off my shoes and socks and felt like a complete retard. We stared playing and quickly the second problem reaered it's ugly head. Our singer was terrible. It was the first time we ever played with a decent PA and the first time we ever really heard him. Despite the fact that we'd played our songs a million times, our singer couldn't sing along with the songs. It turned out that he had an extreme case of "whiteman syndrome" and had absolutely no rhytm whatsoever. We played the show and I was mortified at how bad we were, but the icing on the shit cake was still to come. We had brought a ton of friends and packed the place. We were actually looking at a decent pay day. However, the club owner had let someone he thought was with us run the door. I don't know who it was, but he took off with all the money.

My first and worst first show came when I was singing for a punk band known as Head First. We had a lot going against us. I lived in Virginia and the rest of the band lived in Maryland, so we rarely practiced. We got offered a slot at this alternative high school in Arlington, VA. It wasn't exactly a dance, nor was it a battle of the bands, so I'm assuming it was a show. We were to open for Nirvana and Foo Fighters Dave Grohl's punk band. We were already pretty un-rehearsed when our guitarist quit. I had a friend that played guitar to take his place, but he never actually practiced with us. On the way to the show, we were in two cars. We got to a stoplight and the guys behind us smashed right into our bumper and we smashed into the car in front of us. Nobody was hurt but the cars were messed up. Barely drivable, we carried on. None of us knew where this place was so we drove around like a bunch of idiots. Eventually we got directions at a gas station and got to the show an hour late.

The nightmare was just beginning. This was my first time on stage and I was petrified. As I stated, out new guitarist didn't know any of our songs, so before each one, our bass player had to teach him. Meanwhile, I'm standing up there looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Needless to say we were not tight. At some point, the bass player got sick of teaching the songs and he and the guitarist figured out that the both knew how to play "Heaven And Hell". I love Sabbath and that is one of my favorite songs, but we were a punk band and I really didn't want to play it. Against my protests the band start into it. I just sat down on the drum riser, refusing to sing. When it was over I stood up, thank the utterly confused crowd, and walked off. That was our fist and last performance. After the gig, I met this girl and we started dating. She turned out to be a complete psychopath and made the next year of my life a living hell. But hey, you have to start somewhere, and I did get to share a stage with Dave Grohl.