The Canal Street Tavern: December 05, 1996
The club is in Dayton where Heinrich Malachi resides, so we had to emigrate to his neck of the woods which is a change from other shows where he's had to come to us. We were all excited about playing this uncharted territory, for it's always nice to play our tunes to new, honest crowd.
Life in the Circus, a local Dayton band, got things groovin' with their time- and mood-changin' tunes. Next it was our turn to "turn this mutha out", and boy did we ever. We started off with some sweet rockers that captured the attention and favor of the crowd and progressed through the rest of our set with energy. E.O.S., also Dayton based, capped the night off with rock 'n' roll savvy while we indulged in fine beer drinkin' and cheap cigar smokin'. We visited a half gay/half straight dance club which proved to be fine entertainment to end a night before turning in.
We played well and turned some people on to our flavor - a small victory
but a victory nonetheless. We accomplished our momentary goal, but that
small snack didn't curve our insatiable appetite for rock n' roll stardom.
I have to admit it, I was pretty nervous about playing at Canal Street Tavern in Dayton. It's so much different playing in Youngstown, because your friends always come to support your music, no matter how terrible it may be (my former band Over Your Head is the best example). I don't mean that in a bad way, don't get me wrong, but I do think that bands who play mainly in their home towns stunt themselves creatively, and Pickle is no exception. If you play in front of your friends for too long, you no longer have anything to prove with your music.
At Canal Street, I brought some of my friends from Wright State, some of whom were familiar with Pickle. But the atmosphere was totally different. We were playing with two exceptional bands, Life in the Circus and E.O.S., and we were playing in a city which gave birth to the likes of Guided By Voices and The Breeders. So as a result, Pickle had to prove to everyone that good rock 'n' roll doesn't neccesarily have to come from Dayton - if that makes any sense.
I think we proved it. We played with the most passion we've had in a
while, and it made us feel pretty good about ourselves. It was really
fun, and I hope we can play there again.
Heinrich
It was a long haul from our home base to Dayton, and I wasn't sure how we were going to perform, based on the fact that we hadn't practiced in about three weeks because of conflicting work schedules. This is nothing unusual. (At least for us.)
I was hoping that we would have an good show and maybe get asked backed
to the Canal St. It's a pretty neat club, with probably one of the nicest
staff's I have ever met. We were billed in the middle slot of the night and
it turned out to be a fun-filled night. Our show was pretty solid and we
generated more onstage energy than we have in a while. Life In The Circus
and EOS were both really neat bands that I found much different than the
bands that we tend to swap bills with. It was a really pleasant change.
Hopefully we will be back in Dayton before to long.
Mato