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GONER FEST 6 28.09.

Goner Fest 6 was an amazing, interesting, terrifying, fun, annoying, exhausting, and exciting trip I will never forget.

Apparently, just about everyone woke up the morning of, or by the end of the first day felt sick. It hit me like a tidal wave on the drive up. Andy wasn’t feeling well since the night before we left. The running joke of the weekend was Huntsville has swine flu in Memphis. But it didn’t really get in the way of fun until one night (horrifying details below) so overall it was a blast! I guess the best way to tackle this is day by day, with pictures! I’ll go ahead and say that I didn’t get photos of every band and I’ll put the ones I did get behind a cut.

Thursday September 24th

Justin came by around noon to pick us up and we headed up to Memphis via Hwy 72 Alternate. It was a boring drive, but with good company (Justin, Sammy, Josh, Andy and me). When we got to Memphis we met up with Nichole, Travis, David, and Ellis at Payne’s BBQ and then we all headed up to Goner Records for the first show. It was packed so I didn’t get any photos during the show. In fact, a lot of people were outside cause it was a beautiful day and there was way more room.

Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6

In between shows there was a few hours of down time in which we all just hung out at the hotel and relaxed before heading up to the Hi Tone.

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6
Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Fresh & Onlys

Goner Fest 6

Reatards

Goner Fest 6

me and Nico

Friday September 25

The night ended around 3am and the next morning was a bit hellish. I only drank a couple of beers the night before, but I could tell the swine sinus flu shit wasn’t letting up. Phillip gave us Mucinex DM to take, if we wanted. I held off cause I’m weird about meds…I don’t even like taking an advil if I have a headache. Andy felt worse then I did so he took one and held on to the one I didn’t take for later. Eventually we made it to Soul Fish Cafe for a delicious lunch. Andy and I split a fried catfish basket with hushpuppies, mac and cheese, and fries. My eyes were way bigger than my stomach, so we had quite a bit of leftovers.

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

After lunch, David, Ellis, Andy and I went to a few thrift stores and Shangri-La, a local record store. I’m on the hunt for the Nancy and Lee lp, but no luck at any of the stores we’ve recently visited.

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

The day show started around 2:45pm at the Buccaneer with Shitty Beach Boys, but we didn’t get there until around 3:30pm. There was free beer (while it lasted) so that was cool. The only band I got photos of was Thomas Function.

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6

Zach borrowed my camera and snapped these shots…a confused Ben, and me!

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

I love this one of TT

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

After taking a nap at the hotel during the downtime between shows, Andy said he was feeling sicker. Before we left for the evening show (at the Hi Tone), he took the other Mucinex, hoping he’d feel better. Neither of us felt like drinking, so we just planned on taking it easy that night. We all got there a bit late, as Yussuf Jerusalem (who is on tour with Thomas Function) had already started. The crowd was already pretty thick, and I didn’t want to force my way through, so we just hung out in the back.

Goner Fest 6

Yussuf Jerusalem

After they played, Andy wanted to get some fresh air on the back patio. He said he was starting to feel nauseous, and thought maybe he was hungry. He got a banana from the gas station next door, but a little more than half way through, he got up cause he was afraid he was going to get sick. David, Josh, and I were talking right next to the alley way Andy was standing in. I looked over at him and was about to get up and see if he just wanted to walk back to the hotel when all of a sudden he ran his hands through his hair and then completely fell out….face first onto the concrete. We all three screamed out Andy’s name and ran over to him. I thought he was dead. He was lying in a position that looked like it was missing the chalk line around his body. Panic took over me and I started crying and muttering his name and ‘please’ over and over again. I turned him over to see that his eyes were rolled back in his head and dirt was covering his face…up his nose and in his mouth. I got off as much as I could while trying to find out if he was breathing. Josh was on the phone with 911 and David was helping me get Andy to come to. He started making this gurgling noise and I was afraid he was starting to seizure. Josh reached in his back pocket to get out his wallet (to stick in his mouth) while David and I were trying to sit him up. The noise only got louder as we were still trying to get him to come out of this state he’s in. All of a sudden he starts sneezing (7 times to be exact) and then immediately vomits. Thankfully, David and I had him propped up so everything came out ok and there was no choking. During his second ‘purge’ Andy came to. He continued to get sick, but in between each one he was looking at us like we were crazy for being so concerned for him throwing up. He had no idea what had happened. Josh asked if he wanted to go to the hospital and Andy said no. I told Josh to tell the 911 operator that we’d drive him if there were any more problems. I waited until Andy stopped getting sick to tell him exactly what happened. I could tell he was still out of it and I didn’t want to make a huge deal about it right then and there. Even though he was only out for a few minutes, it felt like eternity. It felt like my heart had stopped until he came to. David gave us a ride back to the hotel room so Andy could rest. After he cleaned up we laid in bed together eye to eye and had a few tears while we told each other how much we love the other. I let him rest while I tried to keep myself awake so I could continue to check on him…I’d lightly tap him, make sure he’d wake up and be responsive, and then let him resume his slumber. Typing this out makes it feel more like a dream than reality, but that’s because I’m trying so hard to keep the image and sound of him falling to the ground out of my head. It will never completely go away, but if I can keep it from haunting me, then that’s all I can ask for.

Obviously, we missed several bands that played that night (Earthmen & Strangers, Intelligence, Davila 666, Thee Oh Sees, and Compulsive Gamblers) but it didn’t really matter. After getting home and reading up more on Mucinex DM and seeing the side effects (we didn’t have that information when it was handed to us) I think Andy’s terrifying moment had something to do with it.

Saturday September 26

Andy popped up around 9am feeling MUCH better. In fact, he was quite chipper! We were all up and about shortly thereafter and decided we all needed some good old fashioned breakfast foods, at Bob’s Barksdale Restaurant.

Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6

Andy’s battle wounds from the night before…and the store front for Bob’s. But yeah, I’ll admit Andy’s cuts made him look like a bad ass 🙂

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Before heading to the day show, David, Ellis, Andy and I went to a couple of vintage and music stores. The show was at Murphy’s and had an indoor and outdoor stage. We didn’t get there until after the first band had played, but that was ok.

Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Gentlemen Jesse and His Men

One of the main bands I really wanted to see live, Hunx and His Punx played on the indoor stage at Murphy’s and it was just as crazy as I hoped it would be. The show was insane!

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Hunx and his Punx

I actually got a shot of Jay Reatard pouring ice over Seth’s dick while he jerked it off for a few seconds. It’s on flickr, but to where only I can see it…it’s pretty hilarious though. Andy’s going to put a censor bar with ‘Hunx and His Punx’ written on it. Then, I’m going to email it to Seth. He’s on the cover of all of their singles…and his crotch is on their new lp, so I think this would be right up his alley haha. OH! Speaking of their new album, this was one of the albums we were hoping to pick up for ourselves and for the store but they were sold out. Apparently, he only got 25 copies because FedEx lost a few boxes and couldn’t find them before they had to go on tour. Damn!

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

We headed back to the hotel (haha someone changed the marquee!) for a short break and dinner at Central BBQ before the last six bands at the Hi Tone. Man, I couldn’t imagine cleaning up some of the rooms in that hotel after the weekend. It was booked to capacity, and just about every band and anyone who was lucky enough to get a room in time (us! yay!) was staying there.

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

The Magic Kids

Goner Fest 6

Sonic Chicken 4

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6 Goner Fest 6

Box Elders

Although there were quite a few assholes that tried to ruin Nobunny’s set (pulling down Justin’s underwear, stage diving, trying to grab the mic, trying to rip off Marcus’ bunny tail, etc), it was still great to see them! MUCH different than when they played in our store. Justin seemed pretty upset with everything that was happening (oh, cause there was some malfunctions with the mic) and after the show he went straight to the van. The other guys in the band said they probably wouldn’t see him for a while. I don’t blame Justin at all. Goner Fest is a big deal, and if some assholes are making a mockery of you, it has to suck. Especially if this was someone’s first time hearing or seeing Nobunny. I’m glad he played in our store though. Seriously, that show was perfect, and they are still telling us how much fun it was…so to have great experiences like that, and then a shit night like Saturday, I can see where it’s frustrating. I only got a couple of photos cause it was so chaotic up front.

Goner Fest 6

Goner Fest 6

So Goner Fest…you kicked my ass. I’m bruised, tired, and sore but I wouldn’t have it any other way! Thanks for getting such great bands together for a wild ass weekend!

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