I sit at a desk for 8 – 10 hours a day, so I listen to ALOT of music. It had been a while since I listened to a Bad Religion album. When I was in high school Bad Religion was one of my favorite bands, along with AFI. One thing that I always liked about Bad Religion was how thought out and intelligent they lyrics were (same reason I like iron maiden so much).

The other day at work, I threw in "recipe for hate". Amazing. The flow of the songs and the emotion and meaning behind the songs swept me up. I ended up listening to every bad religion album over the last 2 days at work.

As I listened, I kept track of some of the lyrics that I didnt understand the meaning of. Here is a short sample:

• sheaves
• maelstrom
• quintessential
• provisions
• sartorii
• paradigm
• anomalies
• affinity
• stratified
• aberrations
• automatons
• sequestering
• antithetic
• porticos
• sagacious
• opulent
• heed
• pseudo
• malevolent
• utopia
• disposition
• superlatives
• altruistically
• hewn
• recompense
• pretension
• enshroud
• populace
• garner
• mirth

Yes, a punk rock band using "antithetic" and "opulent" in the proper way in a song. Needless to say, dictionary.com has been my friend lately.

I love the fact that Bad Religion, mainly Greg Graffin doesnt dumb things down just because he is in a punk rock band. I really respect Bad Religion for that. I might not agree to everything that he sings about, but I respect them very much. If you havent listened to Bad Religion, I suggest that you do your self a favor, and listen to the music, and read the lyrics, you just might learn something.

"10 million dollars on a losing campaign
20 million starving and writhing in pain
big strong people unwilling to give
small in vision and perspective
one in five kids below the poverty line
one population runnin' out of time

…This is just a punk rock song,
written for the people who can see
somethings wrong…"

On Monday I went to The Showcase Theatre in Corona California to see xDEATHSTARx, and Embrace Today. I got there before the doors opened and hung out with everyone, and caught up with some old friends outside until xDEATHSTARx took the stage.

I havent seen xDEATHSTARx play a decent venue since I left the band 6 months ago, so I was excited. It was strange to not be on the stage at showcase, but cool at the same time. They opened up with 2 new songs that I didnt know, they were fast, heavy and all around good. I moshed the entire set. Its really different when you are on the other side of the music that you helped write, and going up for the sing-a-longs that you wrote. I did the guest vocals for Represent, and that really made me miss being in the band. Damn me for having a career that makes it hard to tour. All in all it was a great time, good kids on the floor dancing with me, and good friends on the stage.

After xDSX, Embrace Today went on. Talk about good. I love their music, their message, and the guys in general. The best part of the set for me was when they covered firestorm. It sucked that only about 10 kids at the show knew the words. What the hell happened to kids knowing who Earth Crisis is? "Firestorm" is the "Stairway to Heaven" of straight edge hardcore!

After Embrace Today was done, Massive Matt introduced me to the peacock brothers, and I interviewed them for a new podcast that Im going to start. We talked for about all sorts of things, from politics, to religion, to education. It was a really deep conversation. I learned a lot about those guys that I never knew, like how they were valedictorian and salutatorian of their high school, received full ride scholarships to college, but dropped out to be in embrace today. After all of that. I checked my mp3 recorder (my IEpod)… it didnt record any of it! stupid device! grrrrr! Im sure I will get a chance to talk to those guys again. They were awesome. Probably the best dudes I have met in a really long time.

Saturday I went to chain reaction in Anaheim California. Cave-In was playing. We got there early because we thought it would sell out. The show was only about half capacity, about 120 people or so, which was really cool.

The first band Lorane Drive, I did not like at all. I was given their cd to review a while back, I couldnt handle it. Seeing them live made it even worse. They FAKED an encore! Opening bands dont get encores. It was lame.

Second up was Doom Riders. They ruled. Straight party music. Good times for sure. The singer reminded me of Andrew W.K. a bit. The sound was SOOOOO loud that I had to go into the bathroom and pack my ears with toilet paper. It was that loud.

Next was Cave-In. If you dont know about Cave-In, you dont know about their colorful past and music styles. Cave-Ins first album was full of heavy break downs, mosh parts and screams. Their later albums are really spacey indie rock. Thier newer album has brought them back to the hardcore scene with heavier music. At their shows you get a nice mix of indie and hardcore kids.

Cave-In took the stage sporting some amazing facial hair. Everyone had beards but the drummer who had a hessian ass mustache going on. I loved it. They are amazing musicians who put on a great show. After 3 songs Little Ryan started to heckle them to play "juggernaut" (their heaviest song). The band thought it was funny because they dont normally play it. A few songs went by, then they played "Moral Eclipse", a heavy song. Only a few measures into the song, and the place was going nuts. Myself included. Cave-in is probably the only band that can play music a song that will made me want to cry, then one song later make me wont to rip someones head off. They played a lot of good songs. "Jupiter" is one of my favorite songs so Im glad they played that one. Ryan continued to heckle them between songs to play juggernaut. They finished the set without playing it. The house lights came on, and the show was over. About 10 of us kept screaming at them to play "Juggernaut". They finally came back out and were still surprised that we wanted to hear it. The lights went out again, and the started playing. When the first break down hit, it felt like a bomb wet off. The floor instantly opened all the way up. Front to back, side to side, no place was safe. Bodys were flying, kids were moshing, it was amazing. I dont think many people realize that Cave-In used to play amazingly heavy songs. I also dont understand why Cave-In doesnt normally include many of their heavier songs in their set. Its obvious that people like them and appreciate them still. It was a really good show. Im glad I went.

Jimmy Eat Worlds album "Clarity" came out early 1999, I was in college, I had just lost my girlfriend, most of my friends had moved away. It was a lonely time for me, but a good time. I really related to this album and played it over and over. Track 10, "For me this is heaven" was good enough for Amy and I to use it as the first dance at our wedding.

The last time I saw Jimmy Eat World play was in 2001, at the Glasshouse in Pomona Ca. It was one of those shows that you still talk about if you were lucky enough to get a ticket.

I was really excited to hear that J.E.W. was going to be playing Glasshouse again. They could sell out a stadium if they wanted to. Long story short, the show sold out in 2 minutes through ticket master, I didnt get tickets. I knew Amy wanted to go, so I bought some off of eBay.

The show was last Friday. It had been a long time since I had been to an emo/indie show, especially at glasshouse. The first thing we did was check out the merch table. There was a huge sign "CASH ONLY". This should have served as my first warning that the crowd at the show was going to be full of lames

quick side note:
shows are not concerts, concerts are not shows. Concerts have assigned seats, and you cant get near the bands. Punk bands and all the bands that play some form of derived punk music (emo/screamo/hardcore/etc.) dont play concerts, they play shows. 99% of the time there are no credit cards or ATMS at shows. Its cash and carry only. If someone says "I went to a so and so concert", you know they arnt into the scene surrounding the music.

Amy wanted a hoodie, until we saw they price was $40! shirts were $25!, and cds were $15! CDs at shows should be $10 thats they way it has been, and should be. I told the merch guy I could get the cd for cheaper then that at best buy. He didnt have an argument.

Inside the venue, we hung out… another CASH ONLY sign was by the snack bar in the back. Thee place slowly began to fill up with people, then the opening band went on, Jade Shadder. They wernt that good, but they are friends with J.E.W. so they got the show. The drummer of that band was the only redeeming thing. The guy went off, and was really fun to watch.

By the time that Jimmy took the stage, the place was packed with 1000+ people. They opened up with "For me this is heaven", Amy and I were happy. They played really well, then again, everything they touch turns to gold. The crowd was really non-responsive to the older songs, but lost their minds during the songs that got radio play. During those songs I saw some thing that should not be part of a Jimmy Eat World show, including but not limited to:

• metal horns thrown in constently
• moshing / kids trying to mosh
• crowd surfing
• constent screaming of "you fucking rock! WOOOOOO!" between each song

Jimmy played for almost 2 hours, tons of energy. It was a really good set. They are amazing musicians, and great song writers. I would gladly pay the money to see them again. They will probably never play the Glasshouse again, but I hope they do. It would be even better to see them again in a super small club (I saw them at the barn in riverside circa 98).

The show also made me realize that I just dont like seeing bands play live, but I like the atmosphere that the "scene" around a genre. Im glad to say that I got to see Jimmy Eat World before they blew up. Its not the bands fault. Im happy they are doing well for themselves.

Jimmy Eat World will always hold a special place in my heart.