At 8 o'clock sharp on Friday evening, Aftermath arrived at Walter's on Washington for a show he had long been awaiting, but he didn't get the memo: doors at 8:00; show at 9:30. Oh well... free Lone Star!

What we thought would be a punk-ish type of concert was surprising, albeit not badly, from the get go. First, The Burden took the stage and hardcore, southern rock greeted our ears. By the second song, everyone in the crowd, even those completely unfamiliar with the band's music, were bobbing their heads. And by the finale, a small mosh pit had begun. We stayed near the bar, near the free beer, saving our energy for B L A C K I E - God knows we would need it.

After The Burden, Aftermath watched two members of Ghost Town Electric begin to set up. Knowing the band is a three-piece, we couldn't help but think of our own band's performances and chuckle to ourselves. Whenever playing a gig, it seems as though one member of the band always somehow skirts his way out of helping set up (and that's not pointing fingers, because Aftermath has been guilty of it before, too). But the two began to play, and we realized that someone would be missing the show. In the middle of the set, bassist/stand-in guitarist Harrison Jacob mentioned that the GTE's guitarist wasn't able to make it to the show, but the crowd didn't seem to mind. And neither did we. The two performed fearlessly - virgin ears probably had no idea the band was missing a member - and finished out the night with a 15-minute long jam session.

B L A C K I E, who performed next, seems to have a new agenda, or at least a new spiel that sounds like that of a driven man.

"I ain't shit, and you ain't shit," B L A C K I E said to the crowd as well as a few members of The Burden, respectively. "But when we come together, we're something."