I finally did it. My first intentional rock show. I'd been to one before, but I had stumbled onto that. It was in Savannah, Georgia; at a bar along the boardwalk. So random.
This time it was in North Carolina! At the Neighborhood Theatre and the main features were: Messa and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats. Unc Cid (as I like to call them) was the main draw for me. I'd gotten into rock music seriously about 5 months ago and Uncle Acid was one of the top bands I listened to.
The night before I made offerings to Hecate and Eshu. A homemade baked banana bread for the Witch and ginger snaps with Honeybun Donuts for Eshu. Delectable treats for the crossroad entities: if I say so myself.
North Carolina had a good track record for me and it looked like the trend was gonna continue. Add in the fact that the show was in September (my birth month) and I was sold! I bought the tickets at least a month in advance.
My plan was to leave around 2 pm (at the latest) and a request by my mom saw me waiting for a specialist. She said I had until 12 so I played piano as I waited. I read Psalm 13 as well. Needless to say, no one came, so I skee-daddled. Despite my early start my supposed 3 hour trip turned into an almost 7 hour one!
I got to the hotel around 6:18 pm after leaving around 12:30! It's a cliche, but the traffic was horrible. Plus, I stopped for about 45 minutes, at a gas station, after two hours of driving. Once I got to Charlotte I hastily checked into the hotel.
Or so I thought.
Come to find out: you have to put down a deposit IN ADDITION to the room fee. I didn't have another $75 so I asked for a refund on the spot. I got a receipt and hurried off to the show. My haste would prove neglible as the line was short and everyone was chill.
I spoke to a couple of people and even managed to get into a deep convo about music tastes. When the door opened (around 8pm) my mate and I had inadvertently been standing at the FRONT of the line. We fell back a few places and got in soon enough.
Neighborhood Theatre is spacious, but not in a way of an orchestra. You could tell the size would help to bounce reverb all over the walls. I was excited. I could see the set on the stage. The drums brimming in an eerie green hue. I decided to get a drink and saw that my phone was on 3%. I elected to get my wallet and some cash.
I'm no elephant, when it comes to parking, so this was a good exercise for me to remember my place. I'd written it down as I walked away initially: 35th Street. The Neighborhood Theatre was on 36th Street. I retrieved my wallet and returned to the theatre. Lo and behold they didn't take cash. Luckily, I had a card and bought me a sweet tea infused with 5mg of THC.
I went to the floor and leaned on a railing. A fellow metalhead showed up not long after and asked if I was "excited". I was. Very much so. I noticed his shirt read "Die Spitz" an unknown at the time. By this point I was telling people about the Wilmington-native band Toke.
Metal scenes are unironically a great place to learn new metal. Besides Die Spitz I learned about Black Angels and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. There was an assortment of interesting figures (too many to go into) yet I did get a new friend on Instagram.
Follow me btw: afcomics10.
The show began right around 8 and Messa performed. And performed they did! The quartet was a symphony of echoing vocals hung up on bragadocious riffs and chords.
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