Witch Mountain were up first with a set plagued with problems. The soundman that was working at the Satyricon this particular evening seemed to have no idea how to mix heavy rock music. Witch Mountain`s first 2 or 3 songs just sounded horrible even though they were obviously playing the songs right on the mark. Then Dave`s bass head blew. Luckily, Danny from the Suplecs was kind enough to lend Dave his head so that Witch Mountain could finish their set.. Their last few songs sounded much better but I was bummed that the guys in the other bands weren`t able to see The Mountain playing at the "peak" of their form. Of course, I`ve seen Witch Mountain dozens of times now so the rest of the audience were probably not as critical as I.

Up next were the "band of the night" for me: Dixie Witch. I`ve had their demo CD for months now and I even went so far as to record it to cassette tape for listening in the van. Even though the demo CD has pretty poor sound quality and the levels are way too low I still love listening to it. The songs just "shine" though the lackluster recording. The demo CD will soon be a thing of the past though since I`ve got several copies of Dixie Witch`s debut full length album "Into the Sun" on the way to me right now! (Into the Sun is available for pre-order in our All That`s Heavy Online Music Store right now! Make sure you get your copy and pre-order it now!)

Dixie Witch is unique in many ways compared to most other "stoner rock" bands. First off, their drummer (Trinidad) does most of the singing - and he pulls it off in stellar style even though he`s an absolute wild man behind the kit! Second - Trinidad is extremely personable while on stage - introducing the songs with detail, talking about the tour so far, talking about the scene etc - very cool. The highlight of the entire evening for me was when he did a shout-out to StonerRock.com and thanked us for "our continued positivity and support" - that made me feel very warm and fuzzy inside! Thanks Trinidad!

Oh.. And their music was unique too. Not completely original mind you, but played with such soul and such a completely distinct and ferocious fuzzed out 70`s groove that it`s hard to call it derivative of anything else in particular. IE: They rocked FUCKING HARD and they obviously LOVED PLAYING their songs! The last two songs "Makin` Time" and "Into the Sun" were stand-out tunes in every way and my two favourite songs of the entire eve. I can`t wait to hear these on their new album, with the new production!

Up next were the Suplecs - featuring ex-Eyehategod member Danny Nick, although, the Suplecs have been a band long before he was part of Eyehategod and have always been his main focus. Their album "Wrestling With My Lady Friend" was not reviewed favourably by Robwrong. In his review he related them quite heavily to Fu Manchu and Danny was not too pleased about this. Luckily we`re all mature adults and this fact did not stop us from talking extensively with Danny and getting along with him really well. Cool! And.. Compared to the mind-blowing and totally-not-like-fu-manchu-at-all set they put on all hatchets were permanently burried. The Suplecs are southern rock at its very finest. Mixing Skynyrd groove with heavy doses of psychedelic effects and fuzzed out 70s rock perfection, they left me believing that the Suplecs are indeed high above the pack of Fu Manchu imitators in their own realm of soulful heaviness. And their on stage energy (especially Danny Nick) was immense! Trinidad from Dixie Witch got on stage and sang a song with them too - a cover I believe - but I can`t remember the exact details through the clouded haze of my drunken splendor. One thing is perfectly clear though: Suplecs FUCKING RULE LIVE! They`ve also got a new full length album coming out soon that will surely put them on the map as far as their recorded material goes! (Wresteling With My Lady Friend is available in our All That`s Heavy Online Music Store - buy it and decide for yourself..)

Headlining tonight were a band that I`ve been very anxious to see live for a long time: Alafuckingbama Thunderfuckingpussy! Their last album "Constellation" was easily one of my favourite albums of 2000 and I still love it after a year of owning it. Constellation saw Alabama Thunder Pussy launching into a league completely of their own in the "stoner rock" scene by including piano based songs and even ballady type songs (that actually rule! even if you hate ballady type songs, which I definitely do!). Think southern rock with Elton John quality songs. Smokin` stuff! I was also especially looking forward to seeing Alabama Thunder Pussy because at least two of their members post regularly in the StonerRock.com Community Discussion Forums under the names Big Shirley and Virgil Tate. I`ve also gotten to know them rather well via email and bmail. Meeting them in person was a blast and proved, once again, that most everyone in this scene, band or fan, is a genuine person into this for the love of THE ROCK and nothing more, nothing less!

Unfortunately, Alabama Thunderpussy`s set fell victim to the poor mixing abilities of this night`s wanker soundman. Although, that`s not to say that they didn`t rawk hard, their sound was just too muddy and it was hard to distinguish the vocals and individual instruments amongst the wall of sound. Another fact that contributed to this sensation was that they played a shitload of new songs from their upcoming full length album - due to be released on Man`s Ruin sometime in the not-so distant future. It`s already recorded and ready to go! However, they did play some songs that I was very familiar with and I still found it hard to "hear" them properly. Their stage performance wholly made up for the lacking sound quality though. They`re a five piece with a very energetic, non-instrument-playing vocalist who was all over the tiny stage at The Satyricon. Also, and again I can`t recall the particulars of this, Danny Nick got on stage and sang a song with them. The tiny stage at the Satyricon was definitely full with 6 dudes on stage, rockin` out hard at one time! Kick ass! (Constellation and other Alabama Thunder Pussy CDs are available for purchase in our All That`s Heavy Online Music Store)

I had so much fun that by the end of the night I was completely blotto! I spent nearly an hour councelling some dude that I had never met before on the abuse he`d suffered from his father throughout his whole life. (Deep stuff) Drunken councelling mind you, I`m sure you`ve been there! haha - Classic. Halfway through the councelling session he got pissed off at me (he was drunker than I) for one reason or another and "called me out" for a fight - hahaaaa - shit... I explained to him that I couldn`t fight to save my life and he let me off the hook and the councelling session resumed. Shortly thereafter the lights were turned on and we were kicked out. I resumed my, probably incoherant by this time, drunken ramblings into one of the Alabama Thunder Pussy guy`s ears while they were loading up and then proceeded to get completely lost stumbling around downtown Portland trying to find some goddamned food! Everything was fucking closed except for some 24hr store that was like 20 blocks away. I got completely lost on the way back, even though it should have just been a straight walk of 20 some blocks down one street back to the Van parked near the Satyricon. After wandering aimlessly for about 45 minutes I asked directions and found my way back to the van where I slept. Waking up the next morning in stifling heat with an evil headache was not a happy occasion. But, such is life. Right?