phil collins, a mullet, and a warbling seagull...

due to non-profit information technology, i have been blocked from communicating with the outside world during the day because all things went wrong with all computers here. needless to say, i am a couple of days late on this review... show review: Icons of the Underground Dekalb Event Center went to see: Second Shift unfortunate enough to see: Midnight Ritual in an attempt to fill an otherwise unexciting friday night with good music, we (me, wife, 2 good friends) decided to take a trip out to the dekalb event center to see second shift play a last second show. we looked up the directions and started on our way. 30 minutes, phil collins' greatest hits, and several loops around a strip mall that included a hispanic butcher later, we found the entrance to the dekalb event center, or atlanta live! as it is apparently also known. we parked with all the other cars and made our way to the box office window. having looked up the show online, we were expecting to pay the advertised price of $10 to get in the door, so we were all a little shocked to be asked for $16 a piece. "that's not what it says on the website, the site says $10", i said. "that's the advance ticket price", replied the guy behind the window. to which we replied, "ok, have a nice night", and turned to walk away. i had not even finshed my complete 180 before the "manager" (i assume this because he seemed to have some sort of authority to make deals) yells, "whoa, whoa, whoa. where ya goin?". "away", we reply. "why? what will it take?", he asks. at this point i am completely taken aback, having never negotiated, bargained, or bartered my way into a show before. thinking that the bands need to get paid, i always pay what i'm asked, so i am left stammering in my steps while my friend regains his composure quickly enough to state what should have been obvious, "we just thought it was $10". replies the manager, "alright, we'll let you in for that. i can't believe you were just gonna walk away..." (as if it were the most absurd thing ever). so we pay and in we go, or so i thought. in a night of concert firsts for me, i was patted down. now, i don't know what kind of shows i normally go to, but that has never happened to me before. it wasn't intrusive, just odd. i hope you'll forgive the extensive background and description that is going into this review, but i'm finding it very difficult to portray exactly how strange this night was. the space itself was enormous, not like in an auditorium/hall/theatre type of way but in a hotel conference center/ballroom kind of way. the walls were covered with white drapes with music notes projected onto them, with a bar lining each side wall and a bar all the way along the back wall (and based on the service, 1 bartender for the entire place). up front was the stage, set back into the wall, about 10 feet off the ground, a very grandiose positioning. but based on my pat down, it must have been that high out of necessity (very much different than the vibe at 10 high). in one corner of the room, there was a bed up on a stage with palm trees and a sign that read "Photos: $5.00", not even really sure where to begin with that. then dotted sporadically about the room were tall tables, with tall couches around them, with white tablecloths and candles. again, very odd vibe for a second shift show. we find a table to perch at, and begin looking around for any familiar faces, or even a familiar style of dress. we order some drinks and listen to dj sky, who put together a very interesting mix of old-school hip-hop that kept us fairly entertained for quite a while. oh, that and the drunk migdet looking fellow with the mullet who almost got beat up by every guy in the place for staring and then standing too close (6 inches at most) to the ladies that they were with.... fun. "wassa mattah, you godda prahblem wif me?", "no, just go back to your table", "wassa problem..." (stumble, fall). what felt like 2 hours later, the first band came on... midnight ritual. as they took the stage, my spidey-sense was tingling that we might be in danger. the lead singer (female) was wearing a black leather mini-skirt with a white faux-fur vest and then matching white faux-fir leg warmers, the guitarist was wearing a purple velvet jacket, and the bassist had on a sleevless "spam" t-shirt. now, i'm not a fashion critic, but none of this adds up to anything good. normally any manner of dress can be forgiven if the music is right, unfortunately, there was very little redemption once they started playing. the music was a very weak stab at an indie-garage feel and the singer sounded like she was trying to imitate karen-o, but failing with the whole singing thing, plus karen-o just has an attitude and stage presence that you cannot duplicate. i wish i could say something positive, i usually try to, but there was just nothing. the faked attitude mixed with the bad music made them very unlikeable. they couldn't even give their music away, they tried, most people left it sitting on their tables. after a break to switch out equipment, second shift took the stage. the negatives: the sound system was obviously geared toward a more urban sound and at times the bass and kick drum were drowning out all other instruments, including the vocals. the height of the stage and the set up of the space did not lend itself toward a large amount of crowd participation which has a certain effect on a band in that they cannot feed off crowd energy as easily as they normally could, that and the crowd was standing 20 ft away from the stage and there were only 20 of them, everyone else remained seated. the positives: every time i see baker and the guys perform, i am more and more impressed with how tight and solid they sound. they are performers and the music plays out well to a diverse audience. despite a lackluster audience, they put energy and effort into putting on a good show. the upcoming gig at the roxy on march 31st should be a barnstormer. second shift left the stage and we left the dekalb event center....and listened to more phil collins. then we called it a night, a very strange, eventful, but ultimately satisfying night....and, thanks to a colorful cast of characters and second shift, worth every penny of my negotiated entry fee. .beans.