My brother bought tickets to this show & I agreed to drive. The roads were clear but the weather was bitter & I had to white-knuckle the way back thanks to fog.

The tickets said doors were at 6:30, the door said doors were at 7. We arrived around 6 and decided to find a bar to pregame. The closest bar was called Hogwash & as both Hasan Piker & Bilmuri loving Eastern Washingtonians, you know my bro & I were happy to patronize it. But tbh, the atmosphere was actually quite hipster & they had a BLM sign up on the bar & it ended up being a really nice, warm place to land for an hour or so. Nate got tots & we each got a drink & the tab was only $22 before tip. I spent that much on a single round of drinks at The Hawthorne.

We came in during Himiko Cloud’s set & I had to rock a piss which was unfortunate because the venue bathrooms were single occupancy & whoever was in there was deep in the business. After a few songs, I ended up using the men’s room. Clean as fuck for a men’s room I must say. But because of all that I ended up missing most of Himiko Cloud’s set, but it’s cool because they’re actually local to my area & I suppose I’ll probably see them again at some point.

The Color 8 steps up with a sax player front & center & I was stoked. But their range & musicianship was beyond my expectations. Heavy metal grooves, spitfire rap interludes, sweet-throated love songs — they refused to stick to one thing & that is perhaps my favorite thing about a band. I’ve since listened through their spotify tracks quite a bit & love them more with every listen. Please give them a try for real.

The next band was Strawberry Girls & this was the third time I’ve seen them this year. Each show was absolutely flawless. They are such a fun band to dance to & the energy up on stage is absolutely electric. Their lead guitarist, Zac Garren, is such a mind-blowing performer. Dude is playing these elaborate guitar parts & throwing himself around, high kicking, & never seems to miss a single note.

I use earplugs religiously at shows because I started going out to live shows at 14 & spent the first decade not giving a fuck about my hearing & it had a real effect. But it caused me not to be able to hear the heckle that caused them all pause toward the end. After the set my brother said it was someone saying something about Kurt Travis. & let me say this — respectfully, fuck Carl Travis fans. I know there was some beef Travis brought to twitter with Ben Rosett, Strawberry Girls’ drummer, & I honestly don’t care what their business disagreement is — it’s not something that should have been public & def not something that should ever be a hassle at a show. I wasn’t about to take sides on a business disagreement but if we’re heckling, only one of these dudes is publically cosigning the Tilian/DGD shirtless circus by saying nothing while remaining in a band with Sergio & Will so… #teamben

Just saying… Also their new album Prussian Gloom slaps.

Anyway, we primarily went for The Fall of Troy & I lasted three painstaking songs in the front — interrupted with arguments over the setlist (the playlist for Manipulator), false starts of wrong songs, & constant re-tuning. I love TFOT & I’m always rooting for them but something seemed to be off with Thomas. I ended up in the back sitting down by the time they got into Problem!? & we ducked out during Seattlantis.

My brother & I started going to TFOT shows back in the OG Manipulator days & while we were stoked for the show, the band seemed to be having trouble & we had a very long, very foggy drive back to central WA.

I’m not mad tho & still would go to any show they play. I will love & support these guys forever, no matter what they do. One of my best memories ever of going out to shows was In the Unlikely Event era. Andrew Forsman spent like 10 minutes shooting the shit with my brother at the merch table talking about music & touring & the tiny city of Entiat. Bro had been depressed as hell & he really looked up to those guys & it put him in such a better mood. I was so grateful & have never forgotten it.

Anyway, Manipulator is iconic & I am suspicious of anyone who can’t appreciate it’s brilliance.