After the moving experience I had at the Purple Underground, my friend introduced me to a whole lot more new music. I really fell in love with Snapcase and learned from him that they were going to be playing at the Emerson Theater with By The Grace Of God, and Anti-Flag. We set out to see this show and it too was quite a night.
This was about a week after I really ate some asphalt skateboarding and my left knee was still partially scabbed over and leaking puss. So obviously I wore shorts for this outing.
While in line, I was introduced to a lot of Jim's friends. They were all very cool people, as one would expect. One of his female friends laid her hand on my chest after getting my name and I had never felt such an instant calm before. At this point, I had an extreme aversion to people touching me so Jim jumped in real quick and stopped her. Thing was, I didn't want her to stop but I couldn't say that without sounding like a creep. I know nothing about her beyond that night.
We got in and I found that the Emerson was an old theater stripped of all furniture and painted black. Jim's band, EIC, had played on this stage and it did not seem to phase him that he has stood in the same place that Snapcase will be standing. By The Grace Of God went on and they were your typical hardcore band - hulking shirtless dudes screaming, and screechy guitars. Being new to Straight Edge, I enjoyed them. Then Anti-Flag went on and all the punkers jumped around and really got into it. Their extremely opposite political stance intrigued me greatly and they put a lot of energy into their show. Their last song, "A New Kind of Army," played with be-mohawked and tattooed skinny people jumped all over the stage was an electrifying performance. Finally Snapcase went on and it was completely awesome. They played "Ambition Now" and to see one of my newest favorite songs live at the second concert I've ever been to really was one of the best times in my life.
Also, let it be known that I had to give a speech for Speech class that day but I skipped it to go to the show. As a result, I failed the class and had to take it again. It was one of two classes I would outright fail during all my years in college. But I think the experience was definitely worth it.
For a while, I went to the Emerson every single Friday night when I lived in Greenwood. Some shows were great, like the Suicide Machines in which a girl I was seeing at the time danced around in a bra and a necktie all the way through their set. EIC broke up and became Jim Fix and I had seen them, unfortunately they were on right before one of very worst bands I have ever seen went on. Piebald was that band and I can not stress enough how much I hated them. All the dancing around stopped and everyone sat along the outer walls of the building just watching. I left just a couple songs into their set. I have been there for New Year's Eve with Sloppy Seconds with friends. I have seen other friend's bands perform on this same stage, and the very odd performance of Cool Hand Luke in which the band played with their backs to you and the drummer is also the singer.
As mentioned previously, I got out of the scene. People became very political. I had a number of arguments over the tattoos on my chest and arms because they were not Straight Edge enough. The same people also ruled their entire existences by irony: the hair, the clothing, the sense of humor, and the taste for music, all were their because of irony. I was swimming in it and was just sick of it. Nothing was enjoyed on their merit. I don't even really know what my last show was there. I know that I stopped going long before I went to IU and was kind of shocked to learn that it had shut down sometime while I was in Bloomington. And I know very little of what anybody from that time of my life are doing these days which was kind of odd because they were my life. I had a very clear and clean cut from that group.
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