w/Big Coffin Hunters

In my mind any gig booked on the Saturday after Thanksgiving will not be big in terms of draw – I assume everyone will still be either out of town or in a turkey coma – but when Big Coffin Hunters asked us to share the bill I had no qualms about it. (Extra stage time is never a bad thing.) Another plus side was that Pub 33 would be the prime place to try out a new idea: two short sets as opposed to one long one. Since our songs are so long and crammed with detail I have been a bit concerned about listener fatigue of late, and the idea was/is to give the fans a bit of an intermission. Much to my pleasant surprise, when we strapped in at Pub 33 that night there was a decent sized crowd with some unfamiliar faces. Generally speaking our two-set idea achieved it goal, but maybe next time we might make each mini-set one song longer. So, we won over some new fans and sold them some merch, and Big Coffin Hunters (who we haven’t shared a bill with since last year) put on a great set ending with a somewhat amusing “Breaking the Law”. Tim and Matt have the best guitar tones in town (clear and creamy with not a lot of gain but still very metal), and Tim’s technique is absolutely dazzling.

Looking back on the past year we didn’t realize until now what a good gig Pub 33 and Lewiston in general has been for us. It’s a nice low-key place where we can debut new material or ideas and make easy chit-chat with the locals, who are all very nice and attentive. The money isn’t great but it’s always there and the load-in/load-out is easy. Here’s to The Pub!