First we thought about going to check out The Armies of Compassion, a band from Massachusetts that I met through MySpace. They were playing at Encino Garden Grill. Then we got online and looked at Encino Garden Grill's menu. $13.00 for an appetizer of stuffed mushrooms! $18.00 for a pork chop!! Way too pricey for our pocketbooks!
Then we remembered that Alter Ego was playing at Hooligan's on I-35. Much better choice! Got a huge philly steak sandwich for like 5 bucks and got my socks rocked off by Alter Ego. Well ok, I wasn't wearing socks, but if I was...well you get my point. They rocked! And they even remembered that I had asked to hear Seven Nation Army back when we saw them at Broadway BrewHaus and played it with "This one's for Rowan"! Thanks guys!!
(By the way, it was very upsetting to Staci that Animal kept falling over on the drums. Maybe you guys should chain him up there or something.)
So we ate our food, stayed for one set, chatted a little with Steve then headed out to do some serious barhopping.
Well that didn't work out too well. And it's all these guys fault:
That's Papa Wood. And the reason they messed up our plans is that they're just too damn good! They had me as soon as they played Alice in Chains "Man in the Box". It was also nice to hear someone do something by The Toadies besides "Possum Kingdom". Not that I don't love that song, but they did have other songs! Papa Wood did a great job with "I Come from the Water". Then we thought it a cool coincidence when they did Living Colour's "Cult of Personality" cuz right before we left the house we were listening to "Love Rears Its Ugly Head" and on the drive we were reminiscing about seeing Living Colour at that bar that used to be where Academy is now (couldn't for the life of us remember the name of that club...does anyone know?)
But here's where they really caught me: they played "War Pigs"! And did an awesome job of it, too! I was like, "um Staci...can we just stay here?" And "hey, maybe he can fill in for Ozzy at Ozzfest if Ozzy's voice is still cracking up!"
They played a great mix of songs, from the standard rock cover band numbers like Tool "Sober" and Rage Against the Machine "Killing in the Name Of" (that one always gets us out on the dance floor!) to more contemporary songs by Los Lonely Boys and The Killers to the REALLY rockin' old school stuff like Metallica "Enter Sandman" and Danzig "Mother". Bless you guys!
As you all know if you've read the post on Covers vs Originals, I love cover bands as long as they do a good job, and Papa Wood definitely fits in that category! Nathan, the singer, was very impressive...great voice, full of energy, really pours himself into it. Dave and Todd on guitar blew us away, riffing back and forth. Eric pounding out the bass rhythms. The drummer, Fred, really showed his talent on War Pigs. Oh, and they have really cool lights too! I tried getting a picture of the light show, but it didn't come out...oh well, I guess you'll have to go see them yourself! According to their website, they're playing at Clicks at West Ave and Blanco on the 27th (this coming Saturday). Go check 'em out!
(added note: the name of the club where Academy is now and where we once saw Living Colour perform was Rock Wave. Thanks Fred!)