Neurosonic In Augusta

What a weekend I had! Actually what a Friday I had. Saturday was spent working, nursing a hangover, and Christmas shopping via Amazon dot com. Even in flannel PJs, sitting on the couch drinking Earl Grey, I can still spend a few hundred bucks. Ah, but what are you going to do? The original Grinch was on TBS and that always gets me in the Christmas spirit.

So Friday. I really wasn’t planning on going out but you know how it goes. My buddy text me with two words that changed the course of my evening; “Beer and Rock Show?” If you ever want anything from me you can dangle those two words in front of me and I will do your bidding.

“Bill, I want you to eat the neighbor’s cat.”

“What? Get the fuck out of here! No way!”

“Beer and rock show?”

“Get me some Frank’s Red Hot sauce and I’ll fire up the Weber grill.”

So I went to MelloMushroom to meet my buddy and pre-drink a few beers when two guys sat down next to me that literally oozed hard rock. From the sleeve tattoos to the jet black hair, I knew these guys had to be playing the same venue I was going to. Just like the jackass I am, I couldn’t let these guys order a drink before I asked the typical idiotic question, “Are you guys in a band?” Luckily for me they didn’t give me the middle finger to the forehead and politely responded with a yes. Turns out they are Jason Darr and Jacen Ekstrom from the infamous Canadian band Neurosonic. Now I’m permanently stuck in The Clash era of punk/rock so I felt a little guilty when they were firing out certain bands that I had no idea of but I am not so out of the loop when they told me about being on tour with Korn and The Deftones with The Family Values Tour. That one I did know. I didn’t want to chew their ear off while they had dinner with the two hundred questions but they were cool enough to chat and really it ended up being just a few dudes talking about rock and roll.

This picture is a little grainy but you get the idea. They were cool enough to shoot the shit and take a picture so now onto the show! Actually I stuck around Mello for a few more brews and then went. I want to be as accurate as possible because as the night progresses, things get a little fogged.

Holy shit. Right when I got to The Mission (the venue Neurosonic played) I turned the corner and I immediately recognized on of the guys on the tour. It was Brian from X-Entertainment. If anyone knows me they know I am a regular to the X-E blog and one of my favorite things to do is read other people’s profiles to see what is going on in their lives. I guess I pay attention to that because in order for people to comment on X-E, they have to have something in common with me. With that said, I went right up to him and said, “Are you Brian?” There was a little awkwardness when he said, “Yeah?” Then I explained I was Bill from X-Entertainment and everything was copacetic. For what ever reason, he was apart of the X-E family and I felt compelled to make sure he was taken care of so I went out and got him dinner. Hey, when you are in my neck of the woods I’ll at least get you dinner. It’s a southern thing I suppose.

Well, soon Neurosonic took the stage and I will say they kicked ass. No, that’s an understatement. They were shockingly good. Kind of like jumping up on a bar-stool naked only to accidentally sit on your balls. No, that’s never happened to me! I just think that would be surprising. But seriously, these guys are unbelievable and they are going to be unstoppable in the next few years. I was really lucky to meet them and even after the show I had the pleasure of hanging out with them again. Here’s a little taste of their talent.

I’m not going to go in too much detail about the performance because I am writing an article for an online magazine I sometimes contribute to. I’ll post the link when it is published. It usually takes a couple of months to get submitted, edited and published but one of the editors shot me a call and she promised to have it in the December issue for the year in review. I hope it does Neurosonic proud. They deserve it.

Well, soon I had to get going because I know when it is time to say when. Actually the girlfriend called and I had to meet her up at another bar. So I made my way out after saying my goodbyes and went to go to hang with her. I could tell the beers were kicking in because before I left the bartender ran after me and gave me my sweater that I had left behind the bar. I forgot I had ask to keep it back there. Another sign was the fact I took this picture of a McNugget on the wine shelf of the bar.

I was able to hang in there for another hour or so before my thoughts drifted to a warm bed, Nick@Nite, and old pizza. I was ready to hit the hay so I said a second round of goodbyes and the girlfriend and I went to get into the car.

So I forgot where I parked the car. This was the only crap part of the night and it was a little embarrassing to walk up and down the street hitting the automatic car lock waiting for a familiar beep. Long story short I found it. Pride was dented but the car was found so everything was once again right with the world. What a night.

Oh yeah. It’s Veterans Day so as a vet I wish all the other ones a happy day and thank you. Rangers Lead The Way!