The show was at a small bar on the east side of Cleveland called the Grog Shop. 12 Rounds was opening for VAST. It wasn’t a huge turnout, but maybe about 30-35 people in the whole place. The majority was there to see 12 Rounds though, and many left soon after their set. They used a 4 piece band, sometimes with three guitars and more of the time with the additional guitarist moving to the keyboard. Claudia also played guitar on a couple numbers. I can’t remember the exact set, but all of the songs were from My Big Hero save one. The setlist (not in exact order, and maybe missing a song or two) : Something’s Burning, Sunshine, Come on in…, , My Big Hero, Bovine, and a sped up, guitar-ish version of Me Again. Mr. Johnson… and Where Fools Go were not played. The unknown song I assume is from Jitter Juice, but not having heard that disc, I can’t be sure. Pleasant Smell and Sunshine were my personal two favorites of the show, mainly because of how much emotion and energy Claudia put into both. They do have 12 Rounds t-shirts available with them, black shirts with the 12 Rounds logo (at the top of your page) in white. They also have a white version with a black logo. I went to pick up a black shirt after the show and Atticus Ross gave me one for free. :P I talked to him briefly, and he was very cool and personable. He asked if I liked the show, which i told him I did, and he said it was good to be so far away from home and find people liking your music. He also said most of the people over in England don’t really like them. :P I asked about Nothing, and he said Polydor wanted to re-sign them, but their time ran out, and Nothing came along and offered them a deal, and they couldn’t have hoped for more. He also asked if I was in a band, which I’m not, because I have *no* real musical talent whatsoever, to which he replied he didn’t have any either. There was also plenty of 12 Rounds promo posters all over the walls of the club, which I grabbed. They’re enlarged versions of the cover art to MBH. VAST played afterwards, and weren’t really that bad at all, but a couple of the songs seemed to blend into one another.
Definitely a good show, and I’d certainly pay to see’em again next time they come through.
Special thanks to Mike Novak