Edgefest, September 13, 2008

Trey, Tommy and I arrived in Birmingham 2 hours early, Central time, so we had time to explore a bit, grab coffee and take in some local antiques while the Matthew’s crew got things in order.Ventured back to the club and waited as all of the bands started to arrive to load in and assimilate, comparing equipment, exploring all 3 floors of Matthew’s as they echoed with sound. During discussions with Justin and Todd from Feeding Fingers, the double-doors suddenly fly open and in sprints a blur of hair and glasses, “Where the F*ck is he!” Turns out, this is the festival promoter Coyote J! When the dust clears, we walk over to express gratitude for having us; turns out he’s a very lovely guy as we discuss the venue and line-up situation. Trey and I decide to walk about and try to find the local music store, and take in a bit of historic downtown Birmingham. This city is covered with great old vacant buildings, but sad in it’s neglect; we come across the science center, where the local skate kids are doing tricks…”Hey man, where’s the music store?” ”Huh?” It’s a bad sign when even the local kids don’t know where the music store is. We make our way back to Matthew’s and meet up with Roman who has made the drive from ATL. and been given merch detail for all of the bands. We find out that Coyote J has arranged for us a hotel room at The Highland, which is about 1 mile away according to Justin; a relief since we hadn’t found a place to stay yet.. So, Trey, Tommy and I make what turns out to be a solid 2.5 mile journey, across the UAB campus, past new condos and late-night cocktail lounges, and directly across the street from the music and record stores! We check in and ride the cigar box sized elevator to the room for showers and change, then taxi back to the venue where people are starting to gather. First band up is Misfortune 500 who, with a stand-in bass player deliver a solid set from beyond the police barricade. Next up is Black Tie Dynasty, who, making the long drive from Texas, play an melodic and spirited set. Then upstairs to transport drums downstairs as Feeding Fingers set-up and start an impressive set of mostly new material. Soon we’re up and I notice Trey has moved that ridiculous barricade from in front of the stage. After a quick set up (thanks Matthews crew), we start with Confusion, which set’s the tempo for what turns out to be a very powerful set; close New Rose and 2 broken sticks, a toppled cymbal stand and shouts for an encore! Baby J was very complementary before he and Kristeen Young took the stage, who sound very reminiscent of Kate Bush. Got to mingle with some old friends and new before IAMX went on and closed out the night on a fashionably high note. We say our goodbyes, sign some autographs, and proceed to take the party back to the hotel for PBR, pizza, and linguini ala room key; finally crash around 6:00 am to the sound of dropping picks and heavy shoes. Up to grab the still functioning and walk down to join the locals, along with an entire girls soccer team from Illinois for breakfast at the Pancake House for a recap of the nights missing socks and hangover remedies.
Soundtrack: Rolling Stones – Citadel