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Poppy (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, September 4, 2025)

Posted in Montclair, NJ, MSPaint, Poppy, UnityTX, Wellmont Theater on September 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 4, 2025] Poppy

Five months ago I saw Poppy play at the Fillmore.  I didn’t realize it was only five months ago, but it makes sense that this is still the same tour.  On the way to the show it started raining and as I drove around Montclair looking for a handicapped spot, I was sure I’d be really late.  Then one showed up in front of the library.  But right after I got out of the car the skies opened up and I got soaked.   Good grief.

Last time I wrote

I didn’t know how crowded it would be (somewhat), nor how enthusiastic the crowd would be (very).

And it was the same tonight.  The show definitely wasn’t sold out, but the crowd was really intense–two young girls sat in front of me and apologized saying they were going to stand a lot–which they did.

Seated?  Yes.  I had GA pit tickets, but they kindly shuffled me to the ADA seated section which was great for the first two bands, but behind too many tall people for Poppy so I wound up standing as well.

Before the show started, a giant keyhole appeared on the screen above the stage and an eye (Poppy’s I assume) looked out at us.

And then the masked band came out on stage, followed by Poppy who was wearing a white outfit with longish pants that looked like old fashioned knickers.

The setup was different from last time.  Last time Poppy was off to the side somewhat, but this time she was right up front, stalking the stage and being pretty cool.

But the songs were more or less the same.  Like last time she opened with “have you had enough?” which I once again thought sounds a ton like Garbage, even the heavy part sounds like Garbage, but with a more metal than alt sound.  Although there is a lot of absolute screaming at the end which is uniquely Poppy.

I love the insanity of BLOODMONEY with her singing “beg for forgiveness from Jesus the Christ” over and over while the band played all manner of weird sounds.   For V.A.N. (violence against nature) the opening was quiet with Poppy’s gentlest vocals (including a whispered line), until the band bashed out the chords.  Poppy sang really fast lyrics with ease.  I have just learned that this song was written by Bad Omens with the intention of Poppy singing it. (more…)

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UnityTX (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, September 4, 2025) [POPPY]

Posted in Montclair, NJ, MSPaint, Poppy, UnityTX, Wellmont Theater on September 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 4, 2025] UnityTX

I was under the impression that MSPaint was the only opening band for this show (and I thought I might get home by like 11).  Then this afternoon I found out that UnityTX was also opening.  I’d never heard of them.  I listened to a bit of a song and heard that they were very heavy and rather screamy.  So I was ready with earplugs in.

And then they came out on stage and proceeded to rip the roof off the place.  Even though I didn’t know them, their sound was so much more alive than MSPaint’s.  Was it because there was a guitarist instead of a synth?  Or maybe it was because lead singer Jay Webster had stage presence galore.

He got people to do a circle pit, he got the audience to sing along and to even have a right side/left side “battle.”

We were on the side of bassist Kendrick Nicholson whose low end was amazing.  Kendrick also added some intense backing vocals.   I couldn’t really see guitarist Ricky Cova until he bounced around the stage, but his sharp and heavy guitar sound was fantastic.

I’ll be a little prudish and say there were too many f words in the songs–but It was more just overuse that made the lyrics seem less powerful.

But like Rage Against the Machine, they repeated parts a lot, which made it easy to sing along to. (more…)

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MSPaint (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, September 4, 2025) [POPPY]

Posted in Montclair, NJ, MSPaint, Poppy, UnityTX, Wellmont Theater on September 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 4, 2025] MSPaint

I was under the impression that MSPaint was the only opening band for this show (UnityTX was added later).  I listened to them and was mildly intrigued.

When I arrived at the Wellmont, the parking sucked and it was raining really hard.  By the time I got into the building, I think MSPaint was just about to start.  When I entered the foyer, the nice lady there told me to stand by the side and she’d get someone to help me to the ADA section (I didn’t know they had one).  But it was pretty chaotic an took awhile for them to get me to my seat.  By the time I was seated MSPaint was about half way done.

So MSPaint is a kind of metal/punk band that has NO GUITAR PLAYER (gasp!).  They have bass (Randy Riley) drums (Quinn Mackey) and electronics (Nick Panella) with vocals by Deedee.

Deedee’s delivery was kind of like Rage Against the Machine–the same tone and same sloganeering.  It kind of worked but something felt a little flat in the execution.  Riley was going pretty nuts on the bass and I rather liked the electronics that Panella was laying down, but it just didn’t do anything for me.  It was loud but didn’t feel “full” like the two instruments weren’t blending.  And, I felt like the vocals were maybe too loud, superceding the music.

I heard about three full songs but nothing really stuck with me.

All of which is kind of a shame because the album is pretty solid and feels fuller.  Maybe I was just suffering from weather sadness to appreciate their set.

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Silversun Pickups / Girl Tones (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, August 23, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Girl Tones, Montclair, NJ, Silversun Pickups, Wellmont Theater on August 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 23, 2025] Silversun Pickups

I saw Silversun PIckups at this venue last year.  Even though they are from the West Coast, they sure seem to play NY/NJ/PA a lot.  Which is great!

I really enjoyed their show last year, and was excited to see them again.  Then we wound up scheduling our vacation and this show was right in the middle of it.  I was able to sell my ticket (at a big loss, but it’s better than nothing).

Setlist tells me they played the exact same set (with a couple fewer songs!) with one cover that was different.  I wouldn’t have minded the same setlist, but it certainly lets me know I didn’t miss anything too major.  But I’d certainly see them again.

Girl Tones is a duo of sisters Kenzie and Laila Shultz.  Both classically trained musicians, Kenzie “transitioned from cello to guitar and Laila from piano to drums in an effort to electrify sentient beings from this galaxy to the next.”  They “explore every corner of rock ‘n’ roll, flawlessly mastering everything from punk to indie while still maintaining their signature fiery impact.”

The first part of their EP is simple (guitar and drums) delicate pop with the vocals being high and airy.  But the second half of the EP rocks pretty riffing hard and almost sounds like a different band.

I’m curious to see what they’re like live.

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Demetri Martin: The Quick Draw Tour (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, June 20, 2025)

Posted in Demetri Martin, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on June 20, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 20, 2025] Demetri Martin

I realized recently that when I think of comedians that I want to see, nearly all of them are British (or from Australia or New Zealand).  This is the Taskmaster effect.  In fact w saw English comedian Sarah Millican just two days before this.

There really aren’t that many American comedians who I want to see.  But Demetri Martin is one of them.

I love his deadpan style and the fact that he includes drawings (and songs) in his act.

He has played the Wellmont before (we couldn’t go in 2022) so I was happy he came back.

The premise of this show was that he wouldn’t have the drawings prepared ahead of time as he usually does.  Rather, he would draw them and talk about them while he drew (and drew quickly, you see).

There were so many drawings and jokes, it’s impossible to remember most of them because we were laughing so hard.  It’s also foolish to try to describe the drawings because they are quick, funny sketches.

There was one bit of improv that we enjoyed quite a lot.  He made a joke about Taylor Ham and it turned into a Taylor Ham vs Pork Roll argument that he wasn’t prepared for (If you’re going to bring up pork roll, be sure you have material about it!). (more…)

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Ice Nine Kills: Silver Screamathon. Night 2: Welcome to Horrowood (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, May 25, 2025)

Posted in Dark Divine, Hail the Sun, Ice Nine Kills, Melrose Avenue, Montclair, NJ, The Funeral Portrait, The Word Alive, TX2, Wellmont Theater on May 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 25, 2025] Ice Nine Kills: Night 2

Two nights of 4 band metal shows is a lot.  So I am glad that we blew off the openers in night one.  I could have probably done with blowing some of them off tonight as well, but I enjoyed being closer to the stage, and that’s all that matters.

I knew that Nights 1 and 2 were going to be different (duh), but I was impressed at how much they changed from Night 1 to 2.  They didn’t rearrange the stage, but they changed the set dressing, making it a very different show.

The bass drum head went from circus themed to a bloody IX.  Instead of the glowing eyes under the drums, there was a banner that read Welcome to Horrorwood.  And for tonight, Spencer’s skeleton mic stand was front and center.  And the backdrop was changed from the Jason mask to the Horrorwood scene.

As always, they played Nick Cave’s Red Right Hand and then the intro to Horrorwood played over the speakers.

Like with The American Nightmare, the opening song Welcome to Horrorwood is super fun and catchy. (more…)

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Hail the Sun (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, May 25, 2025) [ICE NINE KILLS Silver Screamathon Day 2]

Posted in Dark Divine, Hail the Sun, Ice Nine Kills, Melrose Avenue, Montclair, NJ, The Funeral Portrait, The Word Alive, TX2, Wellmont Theater on May 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 25, 2025] Hail the Sun

Hail the Sun was the third opening band and they played for about 30 minutes.

Their sound was very different from the other two, being a lot more technical and almost proggy.  But they still rocked hard and lead singer Donovan Melero had a strong soaring voice.

Although their older songs like Parasitic Cleanse had a bit more screamo elements to it.

But songs like the truly soaring Tithe were pretty cool.  Melero told us about how long they had been playing and then he played drums and sang on Human Target Practice.  I wondered what the other drummer did during these songs. (more…)

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TX2 (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, May 25, 2025) [ICE NINE KILLS Silver Screamathon Day 2]

Posted in Dark Divine, Hail the Sun, Ice Nine Kills, Melrose Avenue, Montclair, NJ, The Funeral Portrait, The Word Alive, TX2, Wellmont Theater on May 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 25, 2025] Ice Nine Kills: Night 2

I am all about seeing opening bands, but I know many people aren’t so much.  And yet, I also find that at metal shows, the opening bands can be samey or just too much.  And yet and yet, if you arrive too late, you wind up being really far back.  So, for tonight’s show,we arrived early enough to see all three openers.

For this show, my son’s friends also had tickets, although they were upstairs and we were in the pit. Because yes, we were early enough to get in the pit (although still not close).

After Dark Divine came TX2.  I had never heard of TX2,but my son had and he and his friends told me all about how this band was a weird poser institution.  Evidently the lead singer Evan Thomas, is something of (if social media is to be believed) a jackass, a rip off artist and a bandwagon jumper.  But INK liked them enough to have them on tour AND Spencer has sung on one of his songs.

So I didn’t expect to like them.  And I didn’t really.  I found Thomas to be super annoying.  He reminded me of Corey Feldman at his most tryhard.  He berated the audience (90% of whom were older than him) into cheering more loudly and starting a mosh pit.  And none oft his behavior is weird for a band leader, but I always find it weird from an opening band, especially one as new as them–like he hasn’t earned it yet.

On the other hand, I thought his band was great.  Bassist Corky Howard kicked ass and I had a lot of fun watching guitarist Cam Rostami who was closest to us.

The band are young and are clearly having fun.  Thomas wore kneepads and slid around on his knees.  And yes, I don’t buy his emo/angst for a second.  He’s clearly a rich kid play acting.  And he’s overacting for sure.  But some of his songs were really catchy and the crowd was really into it.

And by the end of the night even Thomas won me over with his outspoken support of the LGBTQ+ community, so I give him much respect for that at least.

SETLIST

Break Stuff [Limp Bizkit recording]

  1. Infamous ‰
  2. Black Wedding §
  3. Vendetta ∞
  4. HOSTAGE (they will not erase us) ‰
  5. Swing At Me ♥
  6. Vampire By Rumor ⊗
  7. Mad ♥
  8. I Would Hate Me Too ©

 

‰ single (2025)
∞ single (2024)
♥ Cruel World EP (2024)
§ Ghost of LA EP (2023)
© Say You’re Insecure (Without Saying It) (2023)
⊗ Drop Dead EP (2022)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screamathon (NJ) Night 2 Screamathon (NJ) Night 1
Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2 The Silver Scream
Opening Night… [recording] $$ The American Nightmare $  [A Nightmare on Elm Street]
Welcome to Horrorwood $$ Thank God It’s Friday $ [Friday the 13th]
A Rash Decision $$ [Cabin Fever] Stabbing in the Dark $ [Halloween]
Assault & Batteries $$ [Child’s Play] SAVAGES $ [The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]
The Shower Scene $$ [Psycho] The Jig Is Up $ [Saw]
Funeral Derangements $$ [Pet Sematary] A Grave Mistake $ [The Crow]
Rainy Day $$ [Resident Evil] Rocking the Boat $ [Jaws]
Hip to Be Scared $$ [American Psycho]  Enjoy Your Slay $ [The Shining]
Take Your Pick $$ [My Bloody Valentine] Freak Flag $ [The Devil’s Rejects]
The Box $$ [Hellrasier] The World In My Hands $ [Edward Scissorhands]
F.L.Y. $$ [The Fly] Merry Axe-Mas $ [Silent Night, Deadly Night]
Würst Vacation $$ [Hostel] Love Bites $ [An American Werewolf in London]
Ex-Mørtis $$ [The Evil Dead] T is the End $ [It]
Farewell II Flesh $$ [Candyman]
(Track was interrupted during the bridge due to an injury in the crowd, then resumed after a delay.)		 encore
encore Meat & Greet ♥ [Silence of the Lambs]
The Nature of the Beast ß [Animal Farm] The Greatest Story Ever Told ♦
 Communion of the Cursed ß [The Exorcist] Work of Art §
Work of Art §
 Note: Reel Big Fish played on multiple songs on both nights


§ single (2024)
♥ Welcome to Horrorwood: Under Fire edition (2023)
$$ The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood (2021)
$ The Silver Scream (2018)
ß Every Trick in the Book (2015)
⊗ The Predator Becomes the Prey (2014)
♦ Safe is Just a Shadow (2010)

2023 Reading  2022 Trilogy of Terror 2019 TLA
Hip to Be Scared $$ [American Psycho]  Opening Night… [recording] $$ Thank God It’s Friday $ [Friday the 13th]
Rainy Day $$ [Resident Evil] Welcome to Horrorwood $$ The Jig Is Up $ [Saw]
Meat & Greet ♥ [Silence of the Lambs] Würst Vacation $$ [Hostel] SAVAGES $ [The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]
Ex-Mørtis $$ [The Evil Dead] Hip to Be Scared $$ [American Psycho] The Nature of the Beast ß [Animal Farm]
Rocking the Boat $ [Jaws ] Stabbing in the Dark $ [Halloween] The World In My Hands $ [Edward Scissorhands]
Stabbing in the Dark $ [Halloween] Rainy Day $$ [Resident Evil] Communion of the Cursed ß [The Exorcist]
The Fastest Way to a Girl’s Heart Is Through Her Ribcage ⊗ IT Is the End $ [IT] A Grave Mistake $ [The Crow]
IT Is the End $ [IT] Take Your Pick $$ [My Bloody Valentine] Your Number’s Up $ [Scream]
Würst Vacation $$ [Hostel] Ex-Mørtis $$ [The Evil Dead] Rocking the Boat $ [Jaws ]
Funeral Derangements $$ [Pet Sematary] The Shower Scene $$ [Psycho] Merry Axe-Mas $ [Silent Night, Deadly Night]
Your Number’s Up $ [Scream] Funeral Derangements $$ [Pet Sematary] Thriller (Michael Jackson cover)
The American Nightmare $  [A Nightmare on Elm Street] The American Nightmare $  [A Nightmare on Elm Street] Hell in the Hallways ß [Carrie]
The Shower Scene $$ [Psycho] Stabbing in the Dark $ [Halloween]
Welcome to Horrorwood $$ The Fastest Way to a Girl’s Heart Is Through Her Ribcage ⊗
Love Bites $ [An American Werewolf in London]
Tess‐timony ß [Tess of the d’Urbervilles]
Me, Myself & Hyde ß [The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]
The American Nightmare $ [A Nightmare on Elm Street]
encore
IT is the End $ [It]

 

 

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Dark Divine (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, May 25, 2025) [ICE NINE KILLS Silver Screamathon Day 2]

Posted in Dark Divine, Hail the Sun, Ice Nine Kills, Melrose Avenue, Montclair, NJ, The Funeral Portrait, The Word Alive, TX2, Wellmont Theater on May 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 25, 2025] Dark Divine

I am all about seeing opening bands, but I know many people aren’t so much.  And yet, I also find that at metal shows, the opening bands can be samey or just too much.  And yet and yet, if you arrive too late, you wind up being really far back.  So, for tonight’s show,we arrived early enough to see all three openers.

For this show, my son’s friends also had tickets, although they were upstairs and we were in the pit. Because yes, we were early enough to get in the pit (although still not close).

I hadn’t heard of any of these three opening bands.

Dark Divine was up first and they played about 25 minutes.  The most notable thing to me about this band was that the guitarist and bassist were wearing corpse paint, but the singer wasn’t.

They sound a lot like Ice Nine Kills, with a bit more synth thrown in–but the vocals are really pretty close.

Overall the set was fun and the band was engaging.  Although I don’t need to see them again.

  1. The Reaper ⊗
  2. Dancing Dead ⊗
  3. Make Me Disappear ‰
  4. Deadly Fun ⊗
  5. Burn The Witch ⊕
  6. Cold ⊗
  7. Halloweentown ♠

‰ single (2025)
⊗ Deadly Fun (2023)
⊕ Deadly Fun (deluxe) (2024)
♠ Halloweentown (2022)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screamathon (NJ) Night 2 Screamathon (NJ) Night 1
Welcome to Horrorwood: The Silver Scream 2 The Silver Scream
Opening Night… [recording] $$ The American Nightmare $  [A Nightmare on Elm Street]
Welcome to Horrorwood $$ Thank God It’s Friday $ [Friday the 13th]
A Rash Decision $$ [Cabin Fever] Stabbing in the Dark $ [Halloween]
Assault & Batteries $$ [Child’s Play] SAVAGES $ [The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]
The Shower Scene $$ [Psycho] The Jig Is Up $ [Saw]
Funeral Derangements $$ [Pet Sematary] A Grave Mistake $ [The Crow]
Rainy Day $$ [Resident Evil] Rocking the Boat $ [Jaws]
Hip to Be Scared $$ [American Psycho]  Enjoy Your Slay $ [The Shining]
Take Your Pick $$ [My Bloody Valentine] Freak Flag $ [The Devil’s Rejects]
The Box $$ [Hellrasier] The World In My Hands $ [Edward Scissorhands]
F.L.Y. $$ [The Fly] Merry Axe-Mas $ [Silent Night, Deadly Night]
Würst Vacation $$ [Hostel] Love Bites $ [An American Werewolf in London]
Ex-Mørtis $$ [The Evil Dead] T is the End $ [It]
Farewell II Flesh $$ [Candyman]
(Track was interrupted during the bridge due to an injury in the crowd, then resumed after a delay.)		 encore
encore Meat & Greet ♥ [Silence of the Lambs]
The Nature of the Beast ß [Animal Farm] The Greatest Story Ever Told ♦
 Communion of the Cursed ß [The Exorcist] Work of Art §
Work of Art §
 Note: Reel Big Fish played on multiple songs on both nights


§ single (2024)
♥ Welcome to Horrorwood: Under Fire edition (2023)
$$ The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood (2021)
$ The Silver Scream (2018)
ß Every Trick in the Book (2015)
⊗ The Predator Becomes the Prey (2014)
♦ Safe is Just a Shadow (2010)

2023 Reading  2022 Trilogy of Terror 2019 TLA
Hip to Be Scared $$ [American Psycho]  Opening Night… [recording] $$ Thank God It’s Friday $ [Friday the 13th]
Rainy Day $$ [Resident Evil] Welcome to Horrorwood $$ The Jig Is Up $ [Saw]
Meat & Greet ♥ [Silence of the Lambs] Würst Vacation $$ [Hostel] SAVAGES $ [The Texas Chain Saw Massacre]
Ex-Mørtis $$ [The Evil Dead] Hip to Be Scared $$ [American Psycho] The Nature of the Beast ß [Animal Farm]
Rocking the Boat $ [Jaws ] Stabbing in the Dark $ [Halloween] The World In My Hands $ [Edward Scissorhands]
Stabbing in the Dark $ [Halloween] Rainy Day $$ [Resident Evil] Communion of the Cursed ß [The Exorcist]
The Fastest Way to a Girl’s Heart Is Through Her Ribcage ⊗ IT Is the End $ [IT] A Grave Mistake $ [The Crow]
IT Is the End $ [IT] Take Your Pick $$ [My Bloody Valentine] Your Number’s Up $ [Scream]
Würst Vacation $$ [Hostel] Ex-Mørtis $$ [The Evil Dead] Rocking the Boat $ [Jaws ]
Funeral Derangements $$ [Pet Sematary] The Shower Scene $$ [Psycho] Merry Axe-Mas $ [Silent Night, Deadly Night]
Your Number’s Up $ [Scream] Funeral Derangements $$ [Pet Sematary] Thriller (Michael Jackson cover)
The American Nightmare $  [A Nightmare on Elm Street] The American Nightmare $  [A Nightmare on Elm Street] Hell in the Hallways ß [Carrie]
The Shower Scene $$ [Psycho] Stabbing in the Dark $ [Halloween]
Welcome to Horrorwood $$ The Fastest Way to a Girl’s Heart Is Through Her Ribcage ⊗
Love Bites $ [An American Werewolf in London]
Tess‐timony ß [Tess of the d’Urbervilles]
Me, Myself & Hyde ß [The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]
The American Nightmare $ [A Nightmare on Elm Street]
encore
IT is the End $ [It]

 

 

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Ice Nine Kills: Silver Screamathon. Night 1: The Silver Scream (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, May 24, 2025)

Posted in Dark Divine, Hail the Sun, Ice Nine Kills, Melrose Avenue, Montclair, NJ, The Funeral Portrait, The Word Alive, TX2, Wellmont Theater on May 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 24, 2025] Ice Nine Kills: Night 1

My son and I have seen Ice Nine Kills three times and while their shows don’t differ all that much, the theatrics of the spectacle are always wonderful.

And here was a chance to see any of the songs that we hadn’t already seen before, because each night of the Silver Screamathon featured one of their albums played in its entirety.

The first night was The Silver Scream–their first foray into singing about horror movies.  The stage was set up in a very cool way with a giant head behind the drumset (a combo of Jason from Friday the 13th and Michael Myers from Halloween) with a big IX on their foreheads.  There was also a large neon IX that changed colors throughout the show.   The drum head looked like a circus with red and white stripes in a circular pattern.

After the previous band we waited until Nick Cave’s Red Right Hand played over the speakers.  And soon after, the band came out on stage and wasted no time jumping into The American Nightmare.  Despite my best efforts, I wound up being near a pole so I missed some stuff that happened on the left side of the stage and Spencer does love to use the whole stage.  I moved around a bit and eventually was okay with where I was.  But for the most part I could see fine and the band sounded great. (more…)

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