Because Jason didn't have a camera, we had to scrounge around for photos. This is an edited version of a photo that appears on the Alkaline Trio website. It was taken by Matt Spezzano. Likewise, this photo of Hot Water Music was borrowed from the always worthwhile BandPhotography.com.

I’m never doing a favor for anybody ever again, because every time that I do, I get screwed over. Allow me to offer a case in point. On my way into the venue on this freezing cold Friday night, a large queue of people without tickets was forming outside, even though they knew their efforts were more than likely in vein. To make a long story short, I allowed a rather odd woman get into the club with one of my extra tickets. Once inside she disappeared without paying me for the ticket and I never saw her again, which may have actually been a good thing. If you are reading this, lady, you owe me ten bucks.

With that rather odd situation behind me, I entered the main room to watch Sean Na Na do his/their thing. Their set was brief and not very enthralling. The band cranked through a half-dozen or so jangly tunes which were at best moderately well received by the ranked masses of Hot Water Music and Alkaline Trio disciples. Then, during the last song of their set, I dropped my beer, which didn’t help matters any.

Next up came the pride of Gainesville, FL, the mighty and powerful Hot Water Music. Their ferocious set, which featured blazing twin guitars and dueling vocalists, was plagued by a myriad of sound problems. The band was super tight but their sound screeched from the PA as if they were a bad high school act. Ignoring the sound problems, the group torched the audience with four new songs and old favorites culled from their extensive back catalogue. The audience loved every minute of it, the devoted and sweaty HWM fans screaming out every single word as if they were praying. It was quite an amazing sight -- but then again, Hot Water Music is quite an amazing band. Tonight they more than proved themselves worthy of the praise so often bestowed upon them.

Then it was time for the evening’s headliners, the triumphant homecoming of the Alkaline Trio. The boys dispensed with the pleasantries and ripped straight into a raucous version of "My Friend Peter". And from there they rolled, sprinting through breakneck renditions of favorites like "Cringe", "San Francisco" and "Tuck Me In". Over the course of their set the band took two short breaks in order to allow the fabulous Har Mar Superstar take to the stage and wow the crowd with his unusual brand of white boy funk. After the second of these two minor interruptions, the band played two of bassist Dan Andriano’s songs ("You’ve Got so Far to Go" and "She Took Him to the Lake"), then closed their set with a tender-yet-buzzing reading of "Radio". They came, they saw, they kicked ass.

And when it was all over I set out into the night, almost satisfied enough to forget that that damn girl had really put one over on me.

Article by Jason Jackowiak.