Monday February 14th, 2000 at The Grand Emporium in Kansas City, MO
Fetish Obsession, Lushbox & Pure Kane.

Lushbox Lushbox Lushbox Lushbox [more]

After going to a show 93 nights in a row I thought I'd skip this one. After all, it was Valentines Day and Vanessa and I hadn't spent a night at home since last Valentines Day so I thought it'd be nice. However after tucking her into bed at 10pm I headed out to The Grand Emporium anyway.

Unfortunately I missed Pure Kane entirely so I can't comment on that but I did get there in time to help Lushbox load their gear onto the stage. Looking around, the club was completely packed. I've never seen so many folks at the Grand Emporium on a Monday night!

Despite the popular pre-show rumour, when the members of Lushbox climbed on stage, Wil was not wearing lingerie, nor was anyone else in the band. Brianne had changed things up a bit from her normal tomboy and tennis shoe style and actually dressed up. Must have been a lucky night for someone. Maybe it was a lucky night for us as well, seeing Wil in a French Maid's uniform may have caused permanent ocular damage.

From the moment the band looked out at the packed club and began their first song until the final strains of their last, they owned the club. Lushbox always feeds off the energy of the crowd and for this show everything was going right. The band began the set with Steven Rides The Short Bus which is always reserved for a closer but the juggled setlist was pretty much a requirement with the number of shows the band plays in the area each month. Every song seemed to elicit a bigger response from the audience than the last, whether it was an old favourite like Thin Walls, or a new one like Mannequin.

Although sound at The Grand Emporium isn't always the best, the mix for Lushbox was pretty solid with all three vocals coming through clear and complimentary. It is amazing how much Brit's vocals have added to the band's sound! Some nights everything goes perfect for a band, this one was pretty close.

Up next was supposed to be a fashion show from sleazy clothier Pricilla's, however the night's emcee announced that Pricilla's hadn't returned their phone calls for a week so they were substituting in a fashion show from Hot Topic. As I worked to drag Lushbox's gear through the audience and to the back of the club, I encountered a number of rude people whom I didn't recognize. The club wasn't really full of music fans or regulars it was full of generation X brand asshole yuppies who couldn't care less about the bands. Ick!

Double "ick" when I looked up and saw the silly fashion show happening on the stage. Hot Topic is a store for 16 year old Marilyn Manson fans from the rich suburbs, why were they bothering here? Finally the absurdity of it all got to me and I decided just to head home. It bothered me that I wouldn't get to see Fetish Obsession because the club was too full of people who didn't want to see Fetish Obsession. Read that again and let it sink in. Don't worry about it too much though because I was in bed before Midnight for the first time in a week, and that is better than just about anything Fetish Obsession could have thrown my way.