so we wrapped up the show at Mr Ts Bowl last night, show number nine in the history of Monolidic. our first time at Mr Ts, the place was cool, i dug it, it's got atmosphere. it's in Highland Park, in the 1970s sometime, and i guess it used to be an old bowling alley because the now-abandoned lanes and vintage equipment are still there, hidden behind a partition of curtains. we met some of the friendly guys from the Dumps, a band on tour from Georgia that played that night, before we started setting up.

we were the openers and kicked things off about fifteen minutes earlier than planned since there were three other bands on the bill. a few stragglers in the audience, mostly members from the other bands. started a little shakey -- i still cant get over the initial anxiety as soon as i get on the stage. maybe it's nerves, maybe it's getting old and infirm. we had our first (or was it second?) false start -- the awkward moment at the start of a song when someone isnt ready or plays the wrong note and the performance crashes one beat in and everyone freezes and spins around and looks at each other sheepishly. it's never an auspicious beginning.

ouch. we took some other knocks, my confidence was a little shaken, but soldiered through the rest of the set. later, a couple of people said it didnt sound too terrible from the audience... so theres some consolation. of course, it's not all traumatic as long as you learn something -- placement is key. make sure the drumset is firmly anchored to the floor and isnt slipping around. dont stick the guitar amp in front of the kick drum and crank it up. make sure the bass amp puts out enough thump. youd think a lot of this stuff would be self-evident but it's like playing with fire: you dont really appreciate how bad it is until youve suffered third-degree burns over seventy percent of your body. but thats cool, no problem, slap on some aloe-vera and throw yourself back in.

thanks to everyone who came out, thanks to the nice guys at Mr Ts Bowl for the opportunity to play, and thanks to the other bands: Million Kids, The Dumps, and Antigone. good luck on the road back home.

in any case, it's back to practice! Monolidic marches on. venceremos.