The Everafters/100 Watt Opera/the Cult-ivators

The Everafters (birthday boy Joey is guitarist far right)

100 Watt Opera

Tony and friend watch lil bro perform

The Cult-ivators

a motley crew

Denny's solo rocked

a birthday hug

"Nothing touches me the ways these people do"-Backyard Babies lyric

Four friends: Angi, Crystal, Lance, and myself, left Atlanta at around 3 PM. We spent four hours talking, laughing, taking photo's, and listening to the likes of Steadlur, Poison, Vain, Lynam, Jason Mraz, Kik Tracee, Bombshell Crush, Pink, and more. I drove 'cos riding is 99.9% of the time a nightmare for me. We got to our hotel with plenty of time to rest, shower, eat, and primp. I called Denny (formerly of Bombshell Crush) to see what time the shindig started, and we got to the club at a perfect time.

On the way in, one of my favourite platforms that I've had for three years, decided to call it quits, so I hobbled back to the car so Lance and I could force the other one into early retirement. After that small and amusing fiasco, we went in, and I started giving the love to my Nashvillain friends/acquaintances. I made introductions, and we milled into the music room just in time to catch birthday boy Joey O's band The Everafters hitting the stage. It was nice to see Joey play again (I haven't seen him on stage in about 1 1/2 years) Better still, it was nice to finally see my MySpace friends in concert-especially after having been bombarded for so long by the lead singer's many daily posts of 'help promote our band!' (Hey, hot Jaux, does this review count?!) Anyway, they were really good-mixing a healthy does of rock, alternative, and metal. Their stage presence was energetic, and the humourous antics (heightened by alcohol and happy birthday sentiments) were charming. In short, they were having fun, and pulling everyone in with them. This show also doubled as a fond bon voyage to their guitarist Aljon.

Up next was another Nashville local band: 100 Watt Opera, which includes Cody Higbee (former Bombshell Crush bassist Tony's little brother) on bass. This was my second time seeing them, and I think this time might have been even more impressive. Cody obviously inherited the Higbee talent (along with charm and good looks). Guitarist Jesse Floyd's guitar talents could only be compared to the size of his hair: awesomely huge. Their song "Something" caught my attention-I obviously picked it out as a favourite the last time I saw them (or was it from MySpace?)

Closing out the evening was something that started out as a band and turned into an explosion of friends all over the stage. "The Cult-ivators", which consisted of 3 former Bombshell Crush members (well, four when Joey O got up): Denny Smith, Tony Higbee, and Billy Baker and 100 Watt Opera singer William Baugh performed several Cult tunes for all to enjoy. They also pulled a BC tune ("Green") out. Then, Joey O and various other musicians started storming the stage at different intervals-an act that caused chaos, but also proved amusing, and was an homage to the camaraderie of everyone involved in the night's events. A MASSIVE highlight of the night was more of a sentimental (to me, anyway) glory than anything else. The four ex Bombshell boys Denny, Tony (who for my first viewing pleasure took frontman position), Billy, and Joey O, plus Tony's lil brother Cody all rocked out a killer version of AC/DC's "If you Want Blood". I was just excited to be watching that line-up, plus a crowning addition of blood brotherly love. I was proud, and moved ALMOST moved to tears-until Denny broke into a too-much-rock-for-one-hand guitar solo. Then, the fun of the night, the rock 'n' roll, and the plethora of alcohol took over and I became swollen with happiness, and got lost in the mood. The show ended with a rockin' cover of Kiss's "Deuce".

After the show, we took the traditional pictures of band members with The Rockbox, I got my first photo's ever taken with me and Tony and me and Denny, and I used my inebriation as a front for making the joke "Is (girlfriend) into three-somes?!"

This show, which was more of a conjunction of close friends and family, was, to summarize, the most fun I've had at a show in a long time. It may have been Joey O's birthday, but he was far from being the only one who had a blast.