Surplus 1980-Crate; Oakland CA, 4/18/16

This show was bittersweet for me. Sweet, in that I felt like it was the tightest set that I've yet played with Surplus 1980. None of the discrete mistakes that occurred during our Hemlock Tavern show popped up, and it just felt rock-ingly crazy and powerful. I was able to hit some of the more subtle dynamics in the tunes, which are very important to Surplus guitarist Bill Wolter; I definitely see the band as being a loud Rock band, but have come to see the logic in Bill's conception of shaping sound and dynamics. Anyway, I felt like we achieved a good balance of the two last night. Bitter, in that we only played four songs! A five-band bill on a Monday night necessitated the brevity, so I totally understand and agree with it, but, damn I wanted to keep going! Oh, well, hopefully our next show will allow at least forty five minutes or so!

Below: Bill Wolter, Moe!, and glowin' plugs