New Years At The Iron Post

What a great night for friends and music! The Iron Post was a great venue for the event, as well, given the ample amount of open floor space, unencumbered by tables or booths. Most importantly, the free-flowing PBR!!! I walked up to the bar, happily ready to pay a buck a glass like I was used to only to have the 'tender say those magic words... "The beer is free tonight." Sweet Hay-zeus! I dropped a $2 tip and let the rock and roll commence...

People were, for the most part, really friendly. The only exception being some huge red-headed guy that would push through people like he owned the place. A big "fuck you" to that guy! Otherwise, the night kicked off with artist/former "Deadweight & The Lost Cause drummer Matt Puckett telling me he liked my shirt and SkyScraper's local scribner of rock, Doug Hoepker, raising aloft his commerative PBR glass with the orange "I" on it in tribute to a television interview with U of I's coach Bruce Webber. He swore this glass would be his favorite container of beverages for at least the next 24 to 48 hours. Needless to say, that glass would see many more refills as the night marched on. The master of ceremonies, Seth, told me his resolution in '06 would be to continue helping make Champaign-Urbana a great place for art and entertainment... and to that I salute him. By that point he had already made possible the 4 beers and 3 bands I had seen and it wasn't even '06 yet! Hiram of Shipwreck slapped me five and not only complimented my shirt, but has the same one. We were both glad we didn't show up to the ball in the same gear (my the possible embarassment!). Steve of the Living Blue came by and said hello to me and the signif as we exchanged New Years greetings and well-wishing while in line for the nectar of the gods. The Beauty Shop busted out an old favorite of mine that I hadn't heard for ages..."I Got Issues," and their bassist Ariane echoed Mr. Puckett's sentiments on my attire for the evening, as did Jake Flescheli while we waxed on the year's end. I saw Santanu of Triple Whip and wondered why they weren't playing, and thought the same when Luke Walker and Matt Puckett were chatting. BRING BACK DEADWEIGHT & THE LOST CAUSE!!! They were a blast to watch back in '02-'03. I didn't see Todd doing his crazy dance and wondered where in the world he was for the big local get-down. I did however see Adam Schmitt without whom none of this shit would be recorded... many bows to a friendly and talented guy we are lucky to have in the scene. I also saw Rob McColley and thought it was he who was best dressed, and not yours truly. Tristan gets a close second. Jeff from Exile remembered suddenly that he needed to re-order more Headlights EP's as the band took the stage with new tunes. It was an upbeat set with Erin looking giddy with excitement and playing with abandon. Thems a band on the rise! A Living Blue set that tore the eardrums of the unfamiliar, a countdown, and a PBR toast saw in '06. Then my friend Joe Bradley rocked out my drive home (well my lady was driving, I was a lil tipsy) with Idlewild's "Mistake Pageant" at my request and he and his cool daddy-o dropped a bowling ball up the WPXN studios while my lady and I popped a cork on some champagne and cranked up Jimi Hendrix playing Aud Lang Syne live at the Fillmore East. We watched a bit 'o Seinfeld like we did on last New Year's Day and passed out. Except there's no free breakfast this NYD morning... dammit!

Welcome 2006! FUCK OFF 2005!!!! I've had enough of your bad luck already.