You know what sucks? When you’re losing your hair, you’re only 31 years old, you’re whiter than a bed-sheet factory, and you stand out in the sun all day. Yes. Some of us are at the age where we must start putting sun block on our bald spots. But that’s neither here nor there. Instead, let’s recap Saturday with our never-annual list of five things we learned from the day’s festivities. Because sometimes there’s a battle of the bands, and sometimes you need to be reminded that Sticktime is only one word. Let’s go!
1. Wow, were we honored to host Giraffes? Giraffes!. As we alluded to earlier this morning, those guys can play. It was as though time stopped for an hour and everyone just lost themselves in whatever sounds were coming from the stage. You can’t not pay attention to those guys whenever they perform. It’s magnetic. Couple that with the always-intriguing and ever-so-great greatness of Time Columns and Kabob-O-Taj, and what you had was a night of music that anyone who was there ought to remember for a long time to come. Can’t say enough about the pure musicianship that was in that room Saturday night. We are so, so thankful those dudes were kind enough to choose a place like 200 East to play.
2. A battle to the death. OK, well not really. But you get it. A huge, huge thanks to Special Delivery, Freddie Long, Sticktime, Hard Swimmin’ Fish and The Few for stopping by to make their case as Frederick’s Best Of The Best (and an especially honest apology to The Few for having to cut their set a few minutes short – it’s a long story, fellas, but we hope you don’t hate us!). Remember: You can still vote for whomever you want this week, but voting will be closed before you know it. Oh, and did we mention that if you vote, you’re entered into a drawing to win $500?!? Look at that – everyone wins!
3. Don’t forget the art! Ever. Really. Honestly. Don’t forget the art. There’s an amazing gallery in that front room that you really ought to check out each and every time you walk into that building. Special on Saturday was a henna artist, some super neat glass art (that may or may not be designed for other recreational uses), and a nice man who came in and live-painted. We encourage everyone who has an artistic side to reach out. We’d love to help out as many local projects as we can, so, as Bill Withers would say, use us up. It’s been a joy to see so many different representations of so much local art in the past month. Let’s keep it up!
4. Getting by with a little help … . We said this the last time, but it’s worth repeating again: Gosh, it’s heart-warming to see how tightly knit this music community can be. In the crowd Saturday night, we saw members of Jack Funk, The Knolly Moles, Heavy Lights, Seaknuckle, Big Hoax, Silent Old Mtns. and more. Andrew from the Mtns. and Joe from Seaknuckle helped keep the bar organized. Luke from Big Hoax stuck around to help clean up. All the bands were so respectful of the venue. Nobody accidentally called 911 from the women’s bathroom this time. And, of course, there was silly string. Words don’t express how thankful we are for all of it. Which, of course, leads us to …
5. You guys are the best. It still blows our collective mind to see the amount of support that exists for the local music scene here in Frederick, Maryland. Both shows have been amazing from a musical standpoint, sure, but the one thing that is unwavering in its presence is the energy that hundreds of people in that room can bring. There’s such an acute feeling of … something. Something that’s indescribable. But it’s infectious. And it doesn’t ever happen without the help of people like you showing up to support the cause (assuming that a) anyone is even reading this in the first place, and b) you showed up to begin with, of course). So, as we said before, HOLY MOTHER OF ART THANK YOU. Next up is Saturday, Sept. 5. We’re going to throw a block party and showcase as much local hip-hop talent as humanly possible. We’ll have more details soon, but for now … how’s that sound? You down? Labor Day weekend? See you there? Let’s hope so.
