I went to see Katagory V/Slough Feg last night in Salt Lake City. I lucked out and got free tickets, though the modest $7 I surely would've paid otherwise. Picked up a copy of Atavism while I was there since I've been meaning to anyway. I have a feeling Slough Feg won't be coming back to Utah any time soon. Here's my understanding of what happened:
They were supposed to play at Burt's Tiki Lounge, which is actually a pretty decent venue, with padded seating along the sides and plenty of standing room. Plus, they have a lot of people who come there just to drink, so there would've been a decent crowd there. However, somebody double-booked the venue. Slough Feg, understandably, didn't want to play until 2 or 3 AM then have to head out to Denver or wherever they were going next (a 12 hour drive). So, Dustin from Katagory V worked with some folks and got their show moved to Club Halo, which is a much smaller and worse venue (no raised stage, barely any seats). But at least they would get done earlier. So, there ended up being 20 people max at the show, Katagory V played about 45 minutes, and Slough Feg played just under an hour, then abruptly left the stage. It looked like Scalzi was pissed. The sound was terrible; the instruments were way too loud, so much so that my ears are still ringing. And you could hardly hear his voice in the mix at all.
Anyhoo, they played some great stuff, though only one song from Atavism, which surprised me. About 1/2 of the show was from Traveller. A couple thoughts: why did we have to wait 45 minutes after Katagory V was ready before they started playing? Slough Feg dudes were still bringing crap in from the van, but they would've easily finished before Katagory V finished their set. The show started an hour after the posted time, that's an hour I could've been sleeping and maybe actually been to work on time today. It seems pretty common with small venues to have excruciatingly long pointless waiting times, when everything is ready, but they don't start the show. Why? Also, why do bands play so damned loud? If you're in a small bar, you don't need to be loud enough to fill a stadium. The show would've been much more enjoyable if the instruments were turned down to about 1/2 of their volume. I should really get earplugs for concerts, but I keep forgetting. And what the hell is with double-booking a venue? The venues should know better. Nobody wants to stay up til 3:00 if they have work in the morning.
They were supposed to play at Burt's Tiki Lounge, which is actually a pretty decent venue, with padded seating along the sides and plenty of standing room. Plus, they have a lot of people who come there just to drink, so there would've been a decent crowd there. However, somebody double-booked the venue. Slough Feg, understandably, didn't want to play until 2 or 3 AM then have to head out to Denver or wherever they were going next (a 12 hour drive). So, Dustin from Katagory V worked with some folks and got their show moved to Club Halo, which is a much smaller and worse venue (no raised stage, barely any seats). But at least they would get done earlier. So, there ended up being 20 people max at the show, Katagory V played about 45 minutes, and Slough Feg played just under an hour, then abruptly left the stage. It looked like Scalzi was pissed. The sound was terrible; the instruments were way too loud, so much so that my ears are still ringing. And you could hardly hear his voice in the mix at all.
Anyhoo, they played some great stuff, though only one song from Atavism, which surprised me. About 1/2 of the show was from Traveller. A couple thoughts: why did we have to wait 45 minutes after Katagory V was ready before they started playing? Slough Feg dudes were still bringing crap in from the van, but they would've easily finished before Katagory V finished their set. The show started an hour after the posted time, that's an hour I could've been sleeping and maybe actually been to work on time today. It seems pretty common with small venues to have excruciatingly long pointless waiting times, when everything is ready, but they don't start the show. Why? Also, why do bands play so damned loud? If you're in a small bar, you don't need to be loud enough to fill a stadium. The show would've been much more enjoyable if the instruments were turned down to about 1/2 of their volume. I should really get earplugs for concerts, but I keep forgetting. And what the hell is with double-booking a venue? The venues should know better. Nobody wants to stay up til 3:00 if they have work in the morning.
