Costume
Party @ Club 412- Friday, July 9
There were
originally supposed to be nine bands (with half-hour sets), but several
canceled. Club 412 is inside Christ Fellowship Baptist Church on Brown
Blvd. in Arlington, a block from Ballpark Way. I found out that it was
originally in a church in Fort Worth, but when that church closed, they
had to relocate. Because it was a special event, it was supposed to
start at 5:30 (which is why several bands canceled), but it didn't
really start until 7:30.
This church really tries to reach out
to the younger crowd- they have a skateboard ramp back behind the
church, and video games. They have two giant TV screens on either side
of the sanctuary, and tonight it was hooked up to the video game
system, so we could watch people play (I found it comical that kids
were shooting people in the game inside a church). Only a handful of
people showed up... this time.
220 was a two-man
act- violin and acoustic guitar. The violinist was incredible! He
played both with a stick and like a guitar. He also had his own
several-minute-long solo to show off just how good he was, and then the
acoustics came in, blending just beautifully. Oh, you would have loved
it! It was very passionate music, all of it serious- except for "Nutty
Monkey," a song they did for a commercial for Nutty Monkey Custard.
Up next was
Greyskull- a Christian punk act. They were definitely a punk act- they
screwed around with the pa the whole way through the set, they talked
about posers, and nobody could hear the vocals- three ways to tell if a
band is punk. They also had that 'I don't care what you think about me'
kind of attitude- complete with the hanging vowels and the
'woah-woah's.' They were pretty good for a punk band (though you don't
have to be very good to be a good punk band- all you need is energy,
and lots of it! A punk show is like an explosion... of music). Their
music was short and sweet. The best part of the night was when they got
a 5-man mosh pit going... inside a church! Oh, that is definitely
something worth seeing!
The Stories of
London showed up in drag, and I really wanted to hear them (everyone
said they were the best band), but it took them forever to set up.
After waiting a half-hour and seeing that they weren't even half-way
done, I just said "Screw it." It wasn't just that- I got a little
uncomfortable surrounded by all of these relig-oids. Thank God they
didn't try to conver me! That is why I doubt they will ever get a
really large crowd- very few rockers and punk rockers will even step
foot in a church. I do have to give the church props for reaching out
to the youth though.
-Grady Smith, Ftworthmusic.com Editor
Club 412
