I didn't actually get to go to this show but I've always kept the flyer. I almost never keep flyers for shows I didn't go to, but this was Better Than a Thousand's first show, so it's some real history here. I didn't have a car for the first few years that I was at college so I was at the mercy of the very few punk friends I went to school with to give me rides to shows. I think Scott Peters, who is involved with Baltimore's Dead Venues blog, was my last hope for a ride to this show, but it was the same day as UMBC's annual outdoor festival known as Quadmania, and I think he was more interested in seeing Nerf Herder and getting trashed on campus than driving to DC for a bunch of hardcore bands. Epic fail, in my eyes anyway. I remember being told that a good chunk of BT1K's setlist was classic Youth of Today songs. This also would have been one of my last chances to catch a show at the legendary Safari Club, which I never did since I had no transportation.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
April 26th, 1997: Damnation AD, Floorpunch, Hands Tied, Better Than a Thousand, Envy @ Safari Club, Washington, DC
I didn't actually get to go to this show but I've always kept the flyer. I almost never keep flyers for shows I didn't go to, but this was Better Than a Thousand's first show, so it's some real history here. I didn't have a car for the first few years that I was at college so I was at the mercy of the very few punk friends I went to school with to give me rides to shows. I think Scott Peters, who is involved with Baltimore's Dead Venues blog, was my last hope for a ride to this show, but it was the same day as UMBC's annual outdoor festival known as Quadmania, and I think he was more interested in seeing Nerf Herder and getting trashed on campus than driving to DC for a bunch of hardcore bands. Epic fail, in my eyes anyway. I remember being told that a good chunk of BT1K's setlist was classic Youth of Today songs. This also would have been one of my last chances to catch a show at the legendary Safari Club, which I never did since I had no transportation.
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funny coincidence (because i was still in high school and lived nowhere near UMBC) ... im pretty sure i too went to quadmania instead of this show. i think there also may have been a laff in spit show that night too, which is why i was in baltimore ... but i could just be making that up to save face.
i also did some quick googling, also on the quadmania bill were redman, the toasters, george clinton, and bloodhound gang.
i only remember seeing toasters and redman, i think we left early.
Well, BT1000 only did one YOT song at the end of their set(maybe 2 at most), but it was fun watching all of the people that had obviously gotten a leaked copy of the BT1000 songs... because everyone up front was singing along word-for-word(the record wasn't out yet). From what I remember, it didn't start on-time, even though the flyer put a LOT of emphasis on it doing so. It was a fun show, though it was lacking that special Safari Club feeling that was lost when the club closed at the start of the 90's. The cheap giant stuff animals were all gone, the bathroom was not broken off the wall, and the place was pretty dirty, looking more like an empty warehouse room... and it didn't say 'The Safari Club' anywhere on the building either. It had had it's time as "The Chamber Of Sound", as well. It's not a 'snob' factor, rather just having so many fond memories of place that was (at this point) falling apart. In the same way that Twisters in Richmond is not Twisters anymore, with all of the name changes & interior changes... it may be the same building... but not the same thing that the name originally represented.
Thanks Dave!
Alex - yeah, I remember being a bit intrigued to watch George Clinton cuz every pot smoking hippie on campus was freaking out about them (when did PCU come out?) but they played for sooooooooooooo long. I watched for about 30 mins and that was all I could handle. I remember Redman sounding like shit. Hip Hop doesn't generally sound all that great at an outdoor event.
As Dave said, everyone knew the material. I remember Jon Hennessee telling me how just about every DC kid in the area had come down to the studio to help record back ups. Ken Olden had given me a tape of the songs a while before the show. It was almost a kind of magical moment during the first song when everyone sang along "I know, I know, I know, I know..." at the break.
- Jason Powell
http://vimeo.com/2442834
Haha, way to call me out on that one. To be fair, I think the high-school hippie in me wanted to see P-Funk (who, you're right, were kind of terrible.)
It's not like we never got to see Damnation again, though...
I went to that Quadmania too, as I did most years since it was free and UMBC was right near where I lived. I think I had just gotten my driver's license and I wasn't allowed to drive out of Baltimore. George Clinton was obnoxious to see live.
This was the first show we sold Floorpunch demos. I sold every one I brought; must have been about 75 copies. FP were great covering Malfunction. Great show that included a fight with the bouncers.
Great. Now I'm even more bummed I missed that show. Thanks for input Brett.
This show was at the peak of my love for Youth Of Today and I could not wait to see Ray without Shelter. We got a hold of the demo for the lp and knew Rev was going to be there taking photos for the record. They opened up with an instrumental and Ray was nowhere to be found he then ran out hood up and I was so excited I grabbed the person in front of me and yelled "SHIT YES"!! Fun fact James Barry did not have a copy of the demo and when he saw a camera ready to shoot he would open his mouth and finger point and sure enough he was the only one we knew that made it on the cover.
Whoa... I totally got my DC shows mixed up. The one I mentioned above was in November of 1995. I'm pretty sure Damnation played, which is why I got all confused.
Oh yeah, I guess that would make more sense time-wise.
This show was a lot of fun. I remember being a little disappointed that Circle Storm didn't play when they were listed on the flyer I had. I think I was one of maybe ten people that were into that band.
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