We make a choice. We make it every day...

...To get up in the morning. To bear away.

We don't really have a choice today. The (not so) trusty double decker air mattress Jason and I have been sharing has sprung a leak. This requires us to get up about once every hour and half to "top it off." The comedy of it all is keeping us going. Insentient giggling every time we wake up and fire up the pump. Immediate release of my bowels is not quite the necessity it was yesterday so I am able to ignore the fact that my back is touching the floor and sleep through it. Jason however, may or may not have had to take a plastic bag and napkins and head out back. I vaguely remember him muttering something about "all this Mexican food" and asking for the key to the shed. Eventually we get up and shower, after my sister takes off for the day. My brother and his girlfriend pick us up and we head back to the same place for breakfast as yesterday. Weird. After some fajitas, its off to Waterloo Park for the second day of Fun Fest. I think we're moving even a little slower today than we were yesterday. We get to the stage near the end (thankfully) of Complete Control's set. Pretty generic punk rock. CH3 is next. More of the same. I love punk but I'm pretty much over this kind of stuff. Seems to be a whole bunch of the same people here from yesterday and from last nights MCD show too. We go over to the quirky hip-hop and indie dance rock stage. People are bugging out to some DJ. Great place to people watch. There is a dude with long curly hair and really short shorts on. He's wearing a hot pink shirt that says Pool Boy on it. He's doing some really strange hippie dance. Funny. There is a vendor here selling old western shirts that have been embroidered with new designs. My favorite is a shirt with, on one side, a baseball player taking a big swing, and on the other side, another baseball player getting his head decapitated by the ball. Back at the punk/metal stage The Saints are on. I think they were supposed to be punk but its more like blues and classic rock. Not good. Old timers Youth Brigade finally come on. Other than the movie Another State of Mind, I have never seen them. I am quite impressed. I probably wouldn't go see these guys if they were headlining their own tour but I respect them for staying in the game so long and sticking to their guns. A band both Jason and I have been very excited to see plays next. Poison Idea from Portland, OR. I have the album from '86; King of Punk. Everybody knows these guys were a bunch of fat-asses. Truthfully only one of them is, these days. Original guitarist Pig Champion is dead, so that leaves just lead vocalist, Jerry A as the resident heavy weight. This fest is chock full of these old fucking bands. Again, I'm not sure how many guys here are original members. They kind of get off to a slow start but definitely pick it up fast. Jerry A seems to be having a pretty good time. He says several times that he has the ghost of Bill Hicks inside him. He must have the set list in his pocket because he keeps pulling out a crumpled piece of paper and looking at it between songs. Not the best band in the world to look at but they definitely rock it, hardstyle. Man, that was sweet. River Boat Gamblers are up now. No thanks. Time to take a breather and do some more people watching. Fucking Skeletonwitch shirts all over the place again. Fair amount of skinheads again as well. That tall bearded photographer is everywhere too. Saw him last night at the Mohawk too. Lots of gorgeous girls here in Texas. I recall that being the case last time I was here a couple years ago. Nice to see that hasn't changed. We grab slices of pizza and head back to the stage. I am curious to see what Lifetime is like. All I ever hear about these guys is that they are pioneers in the melodic emocore genre or whatever. Well, at least I can say I saw them now. That's about it. I may have enjoyed this in the 90s. Maybe. Not now. Kids love 'em though. I'll take Jawbreaker if I'm in the mood for this kinda stuff. Against Me! is coming up. Although I'm afraid to tell Jason, for fear of being called a pussy, I admit I am looking forward to seeing them. I have seen Against Me! a few years ago on the Warped Tour. I remember thinking at that time, not knowing anything about them, that I felt like I had missed out on something. The energy on stage was over the top and the kids were rabid for them. Still it never occurred to me to go out and get any of their stuff. Lately all I seem to hear about them is that their hardcore fans are claiming sell-out and slashing their tires at tour stops and stuff. There is also the story of band leader Tom Gabel's violent attack of a former fan or something. Whatever, I'm not really worried about all that shit. I've heard the new album and I didn't think it was all that bad as far as melodic punk goes. Dang man, these dudes really have a ton of energy and they are all screaming at the top of their lungs. Tom has a really strong voice and its translating well from the stage. Everyone is jumping on stage and tons of people are singing along. There are a lot of people (old fans probably) that are clearly trying to act like they aren't into it. Funny. Stage hands are literally pushing kids off the stage. Good fuckin' show. I'm gonna check the public library when I get back to Mpls and see if I cant play a little catch up on these guys. I gotta mention this one dude. He's this big bellied, bearded man that has been on the side of the stage all day, as he is now. He's been obnoxiously singing along to all the bands and its fucking distracting me. I can't stand guys like this that think they're part of the show. Dude, I realize you're having a good time and you want us to know it, but shit man, you're fucking irritating as hell! Excitement in the air now. Murder City Devils are up next. They are going to blow this place up. Good time to grab some beers. Wouldn't seem right any other way. They open up with Dancehall and then on to Idle hands. My initial reaction is that they, like all of us that were there, are a little slower to start than last night. Doesn't take long though, and they are again on fire. At one point I actually say, out loud, "Holy fuckin shit!" Spencer seems a little speechless for a moment; repeating "This is nice, this is nice" over a few times. Later he jokes "I saw Against Me! and I decided to grow a beard." That makes me laugh. People are stage diving and dancing on stage. Gabe is making sure everyone is ok. Spencer gets a construction hard hat from someone in the audience, promising he will give it back. He wears it during 18 Wheels. Gabe does a stage dive during the last song. After a complete set they leave the stage. I am totally satisfied at this point. Considering they played about the same number as last night, I'm guessing that they don't know anymore songs anyway. The audience however, isn't taking no for an answer. Leslie and Spencer come out to explain to us that they don't know anymore songs. They decide that maybe they will play Idle Hands again. This is very comical. The banter between these two and us is ridiculous. They clearly don't know what to do but the crowd keeps demanding more. Finally the rest of the band joins them on stage and they huddle up quick for a discussion. It started off a little rocky but they pulled out One Vision Of May and Fields Of Fire. Fucking amazing! I am worn out. Thank you! Later we took the bikes back down town and had ceremonious final drinks at Emo's. What a weekend.