Starting off 2014 with a tour, Fight Cloud and Night Idea, both from Richmond VA, had the goal of spreading their tuneage across Florida and Georgia. And to put it simply, it was a success.
Starting off 2014 with a tour, Fight Cloud and Night Idea, both from Richmond VA, had the goal of spreading their tuneage across Florida and Georgia. And to put it simply, it was a success. A big jar of success, filled with:
*new sights and sounds
*super cool bartenders
*a metal Monday made mathy
*Sweetwater Brewing Company’s 420 IPA (damn good!)
*incredibly hospitable people
*a very low riding Toyota Sienna and a crammed Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Cast:
Fight Cloud is Justin Stuit (guitar/vocals), Miles Blunt (drums), Mitch Clem (guitar) [not the cartoonist–ed], and Paul McDonald (bass). Night Idea is Carter Burton (guitar/vocals), Ethan Johnstone (drums), Reid LaPierre (guitar), and Joey Anderson (bass).
It began with a New Years Eve show at the home of Carter, Reid, and Ethan. Kicking the tour off in Richmond only made sense for these two bands, as they wanted to entertain their hometown crowd. Fight Cloud managed to sneak in another house show the night before they left too.
1st stop: Savannah, GA; Friday Jan. 3rd
The Hang Fire Bar was a prime first stop for NI and FC. The guys were very happy to find out about drinking in public down in Savannah (so was I). They played with Wet Socks, a kickass, pumped up garage rock band. Shout out to Jen, who is from Hong Kong and currently a student at the Savannah College for Art and Design, for letting us crash at her place. The NI guys stayed at some nice guy’s house named Ross. Heather, Warren, and the other bartenders were quite welcoming towards us; the bands look forward to seeing them again in the future.
2nd stop: Lakeland, FL; Saturday Jan. 4th
Evolution Records is a sweet store/venue combo. Never have there been so many drum sets in such a small space. Tour highlight: a high school band opened up at this show, which is cool because Fight Cloud has been a band since high school (though they have lost and gained a few members since then). Pilgrimage was the headliner and they deserve some props because they have a very solid fan base (including fans that joined Matt, their guitarist/vocalist, at the mic). They were even good enough to buy a cassette from. Our shout out for Lakeland goes to Matt, Karen, and José for allowing us into their home for the night, and the stellar waffles in the morning.
3rd stop: Tampa, FL; Sunday Jan 5th
The Hub was the spot in Tampa for a surprisingly lively show on a Sunday night. On a side note, Tampa has this super cool riverside park and a train that runs right down the middle of the street. As Fight Club began playing “Tom, I Am Standing Here Today” (one of their new songs), the train came rolling down the tracks right outside The Hub. Kind of an unusual sight, to say the least. Joey’s Grandma Ginny was our savior after this show by letting nine dudes stay at her lovely home in Holiday, FL. And, she made toast paired with sliced oranges for us in the morning.
4th stop: Jacksonville, FL; Monday Jan 6th
The Shanty Town Pub appeared an unlikely spot at first glance. It honestly seemed like a biker bar from the outside. It ended up being artsy and punk on the inside, with about seven supersized portraits of animal and insect heads (e.g. a fox and a praying mantis). Out back was a blissfully warm bonfire which seemed to make it easier to talk to strangers. It was Metal Monday, and of course Night Cloud morphed it into Math-Metal Monday. The nine of us found a place to stay late into the night at the home of Sadie, Sierra, and Shea; we love them for their character and hospitality.
5th stop: Carrollton, GA; Wednesday Jan 7th
Kim from Hot Mess Bookings invited us to stay at her place for two nights of the tour. She helped the bands get a couple of the gigs, and they owe her for that. The Alley Cat in Carrollton was honestly a very cool restaurant. Brian, the owner, calls some of his food Asian Fusion. What that is, who knows? At this show, Fight Cloud and Night Idea met some members of another band called Baby Baby. Some of their influences come from math rock, but they don’t play math rock. This stood in contrast to Fight Cloud and Night Idea, two math rock bands influenced by music that is often very different from math rock.
6th stop: Atlanta, GA; Thursday Jan 8th
The Star Bar was the first fully mic’d show of the tour, the biggest venue, and the best attended. It was also the most appropriate bill for our two touring RVA bands. Two other, older, mathy bands played: Hello Cobra and The Purkinje Shift. Hello Cobra was very talented with a Speedy Gonzales drummer (Clayton, their guitarist, was our host at Kim’s house, which is also where Hello Cobra practices). The Purkinje Shift was actually a band from 1996 – 2000, disbanded, and recently reformed. They definitely have some older math rock influence from the likes of Don Caballero. With their slicked-back hair and tailored suits, they impressed us a great deal. Another unique attribute of this show was the presence of John Harn from Math Rock News. We had no idea that he was coming out to the show, but both Fight Cloud and Night Idea were very glad to see him. Our resting place that night was with members from another band that Night Idea has played with in the past, Little Tybee. A few of them attended the show. Josh Martin and Pat Brooks (guitarist and drummer) hosted Fight Cloud. Brock Scott and Nirvana Kelly (guitarist/vocalist and violinist) hosted Night Idea.
7th stop: Macon, GA; Friday Jan. 9th
Billy’s Clubhouse was a pretty low key end to the tour. The two bands had a great time playin’ some pool and darts to wrap up the tour. Just after midnight, the two gangs hit the road back to RVA. The end of the tour was very foggy, which provided for a scary trip out of Georgia. We took some country highways and couldn’t see more than 20 yards in front of the van at some points. Mitch drove through most of that dense stuff, then Paul took over, turned into a monster, and drove for like 7 hours straight.
On behalf of all the members of both bands, we would like to thank the people that were so incredibly hospitable and gracious enough to allow us to stay in their homes. Without people like this in the world, humanity would surely be lost… and this tour would have been a lot less cozy, intimate, and affordable.
By Dan Zimmerman, Here And There Music
