metal karaoke
dcdaveThis weekend I decided that I’d had enough of simply entertaining myself through food, so Friday night the wife and I headed out to the Brass Mug.
The Brass Mug is a consummate dive bar on Fowler Av. You might know them as the place that advertises “Metal Karaoke” on Tuesdays. That’s right, metal karaoke. Apparently you can even bring your own CD’s and just sing along. Rad.
But on Friday, we got to see a trio of local bands: The Pale Horse, Ghost Town Gridlock and Farewell to Finley. I’ve never actually heard of any of them before, but I’m not from here and they’re local bands. Needless to say, we had a good time, met some great people and rocked out.
Although a fun time was had by all, we were incredibly offended by the moron with the “I Shot Martin Luther King” t-shirt. I will save futher opining on that particular subject, as it wouldn’t be fit to post. You can fill in the blanks for me.
Tags: 366, music, tampa
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June 27th, 2006 at 8:29 am
It’s possible his shirt was a social commentary… that by failing to act upon his teachings, we’re all guilty of killing him.
Considering the context, though, I doubt it.
June 27th, 2006 at 8:42 am
I remember Brass Mug attracting a lot of skins at different times in its history. To his credit maybe he was commenting on the suspician that james earl ray did not act alone in his murder.
but I doubt it.
btw get used to hearing bands you have never heard of at the Brass mug. they are welcoming to anybody from high schoolers forming their first rock bands to old timers. The biggest show i remember them ever hosting was Green Day before they released Dookie, a show that I missed because I was only into metal back then. I heard that Green Day was paid in beer but I think that story was bs.
June 27th, 2006 at 9:48 am
Aryan Nazi-wannabes love heavy metal, no surprise there. We need to challenge all these human stains who think racism is either funny or OK. Just remember, there are more of ALL OF US than there are of them.
June 27th, 2006 at 11:14 am
I can certainly attest to the Brass Mug being quite welcoming - even I’ve played there a few times. I’ve never seen any overt or subtle racism, but then again I don’t play in a metal band.
The closest I’ll get to a brush with greatness was playing at the Brass Mug before a band called Klik, which was named the #1 unsigned band in American by Rolling Stone. But Rolling Stone isn’t all that relevant anymore, and I didn’t really like the band. Unless you think the only problem with Evanescence is they needed one more girl in the band, you won’t either.
June 27th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
The Brass Mug was home to my all-time favorite piece of bathroom graffiti:
“I f*@ked your mother!”
(below in a different handwriting)
“Go home Dad, you’re drunk.”
June 27th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
p.s. screw the guy with the i shot mlk shirt.
June 28th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Wow, an article about the Mug on here is refreshing to see. I have many fond memories of that place. They give a lot of bands their breaks. It’s a great place to catch an indie or unsigned band.
The coolest thing about the Brass Mug is that they soldier on… I have seen many often great venues come and go in the last 15 years. The Rock-It club, the Stone Lounge, the Ritz and Masquerade, and many more I’m forgetting were great places to see a show, yet none of them are around.
As for the racist shirt, I have not seen anything overtly racist about the Mug…. But there’s always one bad apple.
June 28th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
True dat, Bryan. Brass Mug is great and always has been, wouldn’t want anybody thinking it’s “that” kind of hangout. Like I said, more of them than us!
June 28th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Crap, I meant us than them.
June 28th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
yeah, i really like the mug, don’t get me wrong. i was just commenting on the gentleman’s unseemly choice of garments. i didn’t mean to imply that it reflected poorly on the entire establishment.
June 29th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
This is Gali from Farewell To Finley, weighing in on the event.
I think the context on this is being missed just a little bit. The guy was a head above everybody else that was in the crowd. He was way above average on the muscle scale, covered in tattoos, and wore a bandana that matched the racist shirt.
In my humble opinion, it seemed like the guy just wanted to make the point that nobody would mess with him. I mean, it’s like when people wear shirts that say, “Your girlfriend fucks like a champ”.
Those people didn’t really sleep with your girlfriend; it’s about that mentality of “I’ll say what I want, ’cause you won’t do anything about it”.
Of course saying you shot a beloved historical figure who was unjustly assassinated is way worse than saying you slept with someone’s girl. But I hope you get my point anyway.
What most people didn’t see was that the lead singer of The Comedy of Error (yep, there was a fourth band that played that night), who would weigh in at about the same as a sixth grader… if it weren’t for the weight of his immense balls… started The Comedy of Error’s set by saying, “I just wanted to say… I love Martin Luther King. I mean a lot”.
It was fantastic.
What broke my heart more than seeing that shirt was seeing the reaction on the faces of the people MLK fought for. Yep, that’s right. There weren’t just pale faces in the crowd that night.
It was gut wrenching.
Some people just don’t think.
Gali
Vocals, Farewell To Finley