radiantbaby | Jul. 19th, 2003

happiness!

i am still finding myself beaming from the hella great show i was privilidged to catch last night. yes, i did get myself to wander out and catch the woggles show down at the earl in east atlanta and, boy, am i happy that i did.

of course, it was almost inevitable that i went. when i saw that the subsonics were on the bill with them, i knew that it was going to be good. actually, the first time i ever saw the woggles, i was at a subsonics show at the scrap bar (anyone remember that place?) back in 1994 or so and the woggles came on as an opening act and gave me religion. they seem to have that effect on people, it seems that anyone you bring to their shows instantly becomes a ravenous fan.

also, i couldn't miss the evening as it was a tribute to the late montague (the recently deceased, long-time guitarist). i was a bit nervous how things were going to sound without him, but the new guitarist certainly had chops and though he seemed like he was still adjusting to the woggles usual stage antics, he held it together pretty well. anyway, all the proceeds of the show went to the american diabetes foundation, which was cool.

okay, so anyway, i got there about 10:00ish and met up with

cyanidefish. we talked a bit about her recent trip to see the duran duran reunion in cali (i wish i could've gone meself, but twas not to be), which she promises to wrote about in full detail on her lj in the near future, and caught up on old times as we had not seen each other in about a year (in fact, it was at the the last time i saw the woggles - funny). then we made our way to stage right to secure a good spot for the evening and soon the 45's graced the stage.

with the 45's was my total dork moment of the evening. i had asked

cyanidefish earlier about them and if they were good as i was under the impression that i hadn't heard them. so, anyway, they come on and i get to thinking they really sound familiar. in fact they sound like this one band i used to play a lot...the cd had a blue cover...oh, what was their name? oh...the 45's! *slaps forehead* the best part was right after i made my realization, they launched into some of my favorites from said cd. i just laughed at my foolishness. its good to make yourself laugh. anyway, they put on a great, great show.

soon after came the subsonics, old favorites of mine (in fact, often touted as my favorite band throughout most of my 20s). they were of course amazing as usual, buffi stealing the show as always with her amazing drum technique. i laughed a bit more to myself as i remembered the little crush i used to harbor for singer clay back when i was young. he was always mr. aloof though. i used to continually make a fool out of myself in his presence when he used to be a regular customer at the record/book store i used to work at. anyway, in true subsonics fashion, they go through bassists like water, but last night we were privilidged enough to catch the woggles' buzz hagstrom (also buffi's husband) doing the duties.

while waiting for the woggles, i was happily reunited with my old friend james freeman whom i hadn't seen in about two years. it was so odd, because during the 45's set, i was remembering when he and i used to have these "garage rock theme days" when i was his manager at the aforementioned record/book store and the 45's was one of the bands we would play. i also had the thought of "god, i wonder what ever happened to him, i should try and look him up" and wham! there he was. weird. we traded numbers and have sworn to hang out with one another. he said he's now playing in the "pirate surf band" he'd always spoken of starting and also said that he would teach me how to play my guitar (woo-hoo

barmaid1, we are getting closer to the dream!). i was so happy to see him, i kept hugging him like a dork. it really made my night to see him (especially when he said "oh my god nicole, you look so good, i mean you look really good" as he hadn't seen me since my weight-loss).

then, what i was excitedly waiting for, the woggles finally graced the stage. at first i was a little teary-eyed about the void montague left, but i put that aside and just danced my ass off. it was the most fun i'd had in a long time. i shimmied and twisted so much, my feet hurt like hell now, but it was so worth it! they played many new songs i hadn't heard yet (the evening was also acting as a release party for the new disc ragged, but right) and they were all great. of course, they also played all of my old favorites and again, as always, made me find religion.

afterward, i went to the merch booth and picked up the new disc as well as the live at the star bar disc i'd been procrastinating about buying. i always prefer to buy the discs at the actual shows though when it comes to smaller bands. there is something infinitely more gratifying handing either a bandmate themselves or one of their friends money you could've spent at tower records. eliminates the middle-man.

well, that was the night in a nutshell. hope it all made sense, it was not a fancy review.