July 15th, 1998: Unconquered, Clear, Countervail, 12 Ounces @ Hal Daddy's, Baltimore, MD

Two metallic straightedge bands, one metallic not-straightedge band, and one very-not-straightedge dirty punk band. What a bill! When we were doing shows at the Supreme Imperial we would have to call up our contact in the reggae band that rented it out and used it as their practice space / hang out spot to let him know what time we'd need to open up and get set up. The guy we dealt with was really reliable and friendly and we never had any trouble with doing shows through him. Then they went on tour for 6 weeks and had a friend of theirs take care of opening up the space for us. This worked out for a few shows but then things started getting flaky. Sometimes we would get there and he wouldn't be there yet and we'd have to call him up and it would turn out he totally forgot about us. This show was one of those times when we showed up to the Supreme Imperial to find all the doors locked and no one around to let us in. We called up their friend but got no answer. We waited around an hour or so and then decided it was time to start scrambling for a new venue. I think it was Julian, who did a zine that I forget the name of and the occasional show at Hal Daddy's, a dive bar/venue in east Baltimore, who got a hold of someone there and let us move the show there on a moment's notice. I tell the bands that we've got a new venue and give them directions and we head over there. Once we get there, Unconquered, who were a borderline hardline band from Reno, NV, realize the place is a bar and say they're not playing a show at a bar. Clear, who were also a straightedge band, out of the notoriously hardline town of Salt Lake City, UT, decided they were happy to play a show and spread their message in a bar, rather than preach to the converted. I think Unconquered hung around outside during the show, but can't remember for sure. Both bands crashed at my place that night and while the Clear dudes were totally down to earth and cool to hang out with, the Unconquered dudes just hung out by themselves and didn't say much. Countervail were a band that seemed to tour a lot but never really got off the ground much. The 12 Ounces guys were some dirty ass punks but very friendly and played well. Interesting show for sure. Flyer by yours truly. Oh, and the guy who was supposed to open up the Supreme Imperial for us...turns out he got arrested for drug possession. More on that to come...