Oh god, I've caught the flu. Sometimes watching your diet, taking vitamins, drinking water and doing everything in your power to keep your immune system in top performance cannot keep you out of harm's way. Such was the case, as after playing Band Mom for a night, I woke to find my throat sore and my head the size of a palpitating elephant's heart.

Susan was very kind to put us up for the night, and when you're on the road you really can't afford to be very picky about the places you stay. Anything with a roof and decent heating is going to be better than bunking four people up in the already somewhat-claustrophobic van. However, as we were readying ourselves for bed, Susan was tellings us about her times on the road with a friends' band and was going on about how nasty she though hide-a-beds were and how she'd take a carpeted floor over one any day. I disagreed with this, but not wanting to be an ungrateful guest, I decided there was no reason to parry her opinion. I slept in a sleeping bag on a hardwood floor. Upon waking, I was trying to find something under the couch, and guess what kind of couch it turned out to be? Thankfully I had slept alright, but I left questioning humanity once again.

As the day progressed, my cold turned to flu, and by the time we arrived at the place we were to play, I was severely immersed in throbbing pain. Despite being wrapped in multiple layers of clothes and hot to the touch, I was shivering cold. Our hosts at the venue were very hostipitable and made us food before the show, and Logan played the Talentmaker with the Fullereens for a while. I laid down on the couch and remained there until it came time for us to play. Across from me was a book on a shelf that in bold letters read "FRANCIS A. SCHAEFFER". In my delirium I found it half-heartedly amusing that if the "SC" were crossed off, it would read "FRANC IS A HAEFFER" ... like a cow.

From the couch, and through serious medication both bands sounded wonderful. The Fullereens played first and sport a sort of "new dated" sound. Maybe that's why one of their albums is called "Better Dating Through Technology". They're a late-fifties band that somehow got a hold of mp3 compression. They're a time capsule band for sure, and I hear that they don't listen to any modern music and haven't even heard the Beatles, besides Twist and Shout. They're big into Elvis Costello though and all this comes across in their music. They're a VERY tight band and have lots of tasteful backup vocals and three-part harmonies which I also hear were inspired by our very own Logan Whitehurst's material on mp3.com. If you're into the super-catchy high school prom dance kind of music, check them out. I especially liked their song that I at first thought was called “Titty Sex” but turned out to be “Pity Sex” (which I guess is more tasteful and funnier actually). Von Braun was up second and they were on the emo tip for real. I really enjoyed them, but my only complaint (as is my usual complaint with bands when I have any) was regarding the between-song banter. Being emo is one thing, but saying things like “I guess this song is about the hole in my heart” or “this song doesn’t have any real meaning behind it” just doesn’t sit right with me. They were a cool band besides that and super nice guys to boot.

When it came our time to play, I was feeling worse than ever, and had no idea if I could sing a note, but we set up minimal equipment and settled to play an “opium set” of all our ballads. I was still shivering and wrapped in layers. The set actually came off wonderfully and we managed to pull off 5 or 6 songs without a hitch. We lulled the small crowd into a mournful delirium and left them there. I then wrapped up my cords and waited for what seemed like hours to leave.

Johnny from the venue was kind enough to put us up for the night, and I retreated to the bathtub to soak my head for a bit. Johnny’s roommates were away for spring break and so we had real beds to sleep in. Oh, make it stop ...

Judah