So Johnson and I went to see Hollywood Undead and Framing Hanley last night.

The Norva is a really nice venue. It’s right on the edge of being too big for my tastes  but pulls off the bigness nicely. There’s a second level that’s only available to VIPs that purchase a membership for a year which is kind of a cool idea if you’re seriously into music.  I didn’t move around much since we got there a little late and wanted to hold on to our place in front of the sound guy. One tip that I will pass on is that I got my tickets through Ticketmaster (discussion of which is going to come in a later post) and had them held at Will Call. So when we got there, I’m guessing there were 300 people in line but the Will Call line had maybe 5. So we got in that line and saved probably 15 minutes in line.

Framing Hanley was pretty good. I’m really only familiar with their cover of Lil Wayne’s Lollipop although I’ve heard several of their other songs. Judging from the crowd response that was the song that most people were familiar with. They went on at about 8:50 and did a set that lasted until just about 10.

Hollywood Undead came on some time after 10:30 ( I forgot to look. Shoot me). They opened, as always, with Hollywood Undead (the song). They kicked ass just like they did at the Lincoln. Maybe it was me but the energy level didn’t seem as high as it had in Raleigh even though the crowd last night was probably 5 times the size (it was a sold out show last night). It’s possible that my perception is based on the size of the Norva though since we were significantly farther from the stage than we could have been in the Lincoln. To be that far from the stage at the Lincoln, you’d have to be in the street and possibly the parking deck. The funniest moment was when they did Bitches. There was a youngish girl next to us with her dad and they both just stood there looking really uncomfortable for the whole song.

Definitely worth the trip.

Johnson and I are at The Norva in Va Beach to catch Framing Hanley & HU. We only caught the last song of the opening act and I’ll have to find out their name because they were pretty good.

UPDATE: The opening band was Sonny from Virginia Beach. As a side note, If you’re starting a band one of the things you should do is come up with a search friendly name. Names like Sonny and Bob, while witty, are not really conducive to people finding your website after they’ve seen you at a show.

Framing Hanley is setting up now. More later.

I went to see Framing Hanley last night in Jacksonville.  It’s a two and a half hour drive down there and we got started a little late so we made it about 8:45. Doors were supposed to be at 8 but when we got there a pretty long line was still winding it’s way out the door.

I hadn’t ever been to a show in Jacksonville before and the routine outside was my first clue that we weren’t in Kansas anymore. There was one security guy working his way up the line checking IDs, then a little while later there were 2 guys with those metal detector wand things checking people for weapons (I’ve never once seen that happen in Raleigh outside of shit going on at Walnut Creek of course I guess Jacksonville is full of Marines). Through the gates to the courtyard and there’s another guy doing security letting people in the front door 2 at a time. Inside, you give your tickets to the girl and she checked them against something and made some marks on a piece of paper. Let me say, though, that the TSA should really come down and take a look at how they run things at Hooligan’s. Then maybe it wouldn’t take 2 hours to board a plane.

Inside, Hooligan’s is divided into 3 sections. Left is the pool tables. I never went in there but I’m guessing there were maybe 6 tables. Center room is the main bar with some tables and booths and the bathrooms. Right side is the large concert space. The stage is pretty good sized and there’s room for probably 500 people (if they’re really friendly) with 2 bar-lets at the back (cash only, limited selection).

Anyhow, bob from Washington, DC opened. They were already on stage when we got there so I only heard a couple of songs. They seemed like a really competent Alternative band. Maybe that’s not fair. They were good. I wasn’t overwhelmed but it may have been because of a 2 and a half hour car ride followed by freezing outside for another half hour. From what I heard they reminded me of kind of an edgier version of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Maybe I’ll catch them at Lincoln when they play with Airiel Down.

Next up was a band whose name I don’t remember that started with a V (something like Voodoo – again, see my previous posts about bands pimping their shit). They aren’t listed in any of the listings for last night that I can find. Too bad, they were pretty good.

Then came Almost Kings from Atlanta. I think they were probably my favorite. They did this kinda hip hop based rock thing with some definite Southern Rock undertones. Take a listen on myspace you’ll see what I mean. Very high energy and catchy tunes. On Like That is a definite winner. We got one of their CDs . I’m glad I caught them at Hooligan’s because that looks like it’s as close to Raleigh as they’re coming anytime soon.

After a waaaaay too long setup, Framing Hanley came on. We wound up leaving after they did like 4 songs because it was 12:30 and we had a 2 and a half hour drive home. They were good. Of course we missed their single Lollipop — I’m sure it was the last song they played. I was pretty drunk by this point (Important safety tip – if you’re planning on drinking at night you should definitely eat something after breakfast). It’s hard to tell but they didn’t seem to have the energy level all the way to 11. It may have just been Almost Kings putting on an exceptional show though.

At any rate, Jacksonville should be proud of having a place like Hooligan’s – it rivals anything you can find in Raleigh. The alcohol was reasonable ($3.50 for a Highland Oatmeal Porter, $3.50 for a Yuengling Lager), the barstaff brought their A game (at the bar-let in the back room the bartender knew what I wanted the second time I came up – she rocked). They concert space was large and free of visual obstructions and there didn’t seem to be any chokepoints except the door to the main bar. They had security everywhere but they weren’t  overt about it. I did feel a little bad for the dude they threw out who lost his shirt. He was sitting outside arguing with one of the bouncers with no shirt on and it was probably 20 degrees by then. Another thing I thought was cool, is that at a couple of points security brought people who were obviously regulars to the front of the line. It’s good to see that sort of thing rewarded.

BTW, I took pictures but my blackberry zoom is fucked up again so they’re unusable. I guess I’m going to have to get a real camera at some point.

One last thing: Hooligan’s, your myspace page bites. Hire a professional to take care of it. I can make recommendations if you need some.