When i heard that Saving Abel was coming in concert I really wasn’t planning on going at first. I have seen them before when they played Mudd Fest with Puddle of Mudd as the head liner. They were good the first time I saw them but to be honest I only know their popular song Addicted. The reason I decided to go see them this time was because a local band called Gravel was playing. If you bought your tickets from them you only paid $15 a ticket and you got a free Gravel t-shirt. For that price it was a no brainer to go see them again as well as have a night out with Jess and we not only saw Gravel and Saving Abel we got to see a couple of other local bands. I should also mention that when we bought our tickets from Gravel their bass player jay Sin hand deliveried the tickets and let me do a 420 video with him.
The day of the show, Jess and I headed out earlier and grabbed some dinner. We weren’t worried about getting on the rail so we figured we would have dinner at a sit down restaurant then head to the show. When we got to the venue which was Sunshine Studios there was about 25 people already in line. I actually was expecting there to be more people as we got there about 20 minutes before doors. Right after we got there and in line a lot more people did show up. While we were waiting in line Jess had gone in to use the restroom and when she came back she told me there was writing in the women’s bathroom saying some pretty serious stuff about one of the bands. The bathroom walls have lots of writing on them but this one looked very fresh she said. I still don’t know if the allegations are true so I wont mention the band or the allegations. I will talk more about it shortly but I will come back to that. When they finally let us in we walked in and up to the rail just right off center. I was surprised we got the spot we did but happy.
The first band that played was a local band called Distant Warning. This was my first time seeing them or even hearing about them. They played 6 songs total and had a good heavy beat to them. The songs were good, but they lacked the energy to go with the music. The singer was good but only stood in one place. Though the crowd seems to like them I think we would have all gotten into their music a little more if they just had a little more energy. Dont get me wrong they werent a bad band as I said I liked the music, just wish they had more energy on stage.
The 2nd band to play was Gravel, which I was a little shocked as I thought they normally were the band to play before the head liner. This was only my 2nd time seeing Gravel live. I think they were 2 songs in when the bass player Jay Sin noticed Jess and I. Once he did notice us he threw his pick at me. It was shortly after that the guitarist/singer Troy noticed us as well. Gravel did a great job of getting the crowd pumped up. It was clear there were a lot of Gravel fan there. I will of course be seeing them again when they play with Steel Panther so Im excited for that.
The 3rd band is the band I mentioned earlier that had some rumors about them. Let me just say a few things about them and their set. This was actually my 2nd time seeing this band. The first time I had no idea about these allegation. Before they hit the stage we saw one of our friends who came up to talk to us and also was telling us about the allegation and that they were true and people were posting links to prove it which I didnt look or for myself. Our friend was telling us most people there planned to either walk out during their set or turn their back on them. I dont know how many people if any actually walked out during their set but I will say that all the people on the rail stood there and never cheered for this band. The crowd behind us, there was a couple of girls who were yelling and getting into their music but for the most part it was like no one there was giving them much actknowlegement.
Once all the local bands were done it was time for the head liner, Saving Abel. I mentioned that I had seen them before but this time they had their original singer Jared Weeks. He came out with a lot of energy and you could tell the band was in sync and enjoying themselves and enjoying playing together again. They played a new song which I didnt catch the name of. their new song sounded good and makes me wonder if they will be putting out a new album soon? They also did a couple of cover songs, there was actually only one of them I knew which was Flag Pole Sitta from Harvey Danger. The other was a Matchbox song which I wasnt familiar with. The rest of their songs I didnt know but they did a good job performing them and keeping the crowd engaged. The singer talked to the crowd several time. They of course waited until their final song to play Addicted. At the end of their set I was surpised they didnt throw out any picks or drum sticks in the crowd. The lead singer did throw out one of the set list which i managed to catch. He was just going to throw it out int he crowd but he saw me throw up my hands right away andhe threw it my way, which was cool. I think they did an all and all good job and Jess and I enjoyed the show.
On our way out of the venue we saw Troy from Gravel so we stopped to say hi. We talked to him for a few minutes and then before we left I grabbed a pic of the 3 of us. I told him that I looked forward to seeing them again when they play with Steel Panther and told him maybe we would see him before doors open since we are planning on getting there early for that show. Seriously if you get a chance i encourage you all to check out Gravel as they are a band that is on the rise and will be well known at some point.
Be sure to check out my YouTube channel!
Follow me on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dans420chronicles
Twitter: @dan_chronicles
Instagram: Dan’s 420 Chronicles
