I made a quick update video on Wednesday December 20th, 2023 with regards to my purchase of a new Mac Mini installed with Final Cut Pro X. I have used these on the last few LIVE video projects I made (The December footage from oi show, The Uh Ohs, and the Ollie Mob Christmas). I used my iPhone 14 on all those videos as most of this update video as well but I captured a clip using my Canon Rebel T6s in order to test it and see how it worked with the computer and program. It worked fine. In fact, so far, Final Cut Pro X has proven to be much easier to work with than Final Cut Pro 7 had been. I would take the video files and have to import them through iMovie before working on them in Final Cut Pro before. I have been able to import all the files directly into Final Cut Pro X which lessens the time considerably. I also exporting the file is much quicker and simpler in Final Cut Pro X. I haven't had to use Compressor (or download it if it's not included) because the option to make a compressed video for YouTube or Facebook use is built into Final Cut Pro X.
I always resisted the move to Final Cut Pro X because it sort of felt "dumbed down" but I am finding the ease of operation to be quite refreshing. I'm sure as I learn the program and do more things such as music videos there will be a lot I will need to figure out but these simple projects I'm starting with have really been quite easy to create. I ran into a preference issue early on. The first few videos use a font I wasn't particularly happy with and the formatting wasn't coming together as I would have liked. I spent some time messing around with it then looked up my preferred font called Portago ITC and downloaded it. I also downloaded "Bones" while I was as it. I got both to work in Final Cut Pro X and can proceed with my preference in that regard. I had been using my old Macbook Pro to access Motion 4 for some of the title work due to Motion no longer working on my old Mac Mini. It seems I won't have to do that anymore with Final Cut Pro X.
The catalyst for finally upgrading was when I tried to import some music into my iPad and the old Mac Mini could not do the necessary software update to complete that task. I had to use Elphie's Macbook Air. I also have had to use Elphie's Macbook Air to import video from my iPhones for the last several years due to the old Mac Mini not being able to complete that task very well either. This was another complication I am glad to not have to deal with...and I'm sure Elphie is glad I don't have to ask to use her computer anymore, ha!
This project was the last thing I would get done in 2023...all the seasonal and holiday projects will be edited and completed in January probably. At that point, I will learn the process of adding the soundtracks and hopefully that will be relatively easy as well.
I will keep the old Mac Mini (late 2009 model) around...there is likely some use for it. I haven't attempted making a DVD yet with the new Mac Mini and it doesn't come with a CD/DVD drive. While I have the external DVD drive that I had used due to the internal drive on the old Mac Mini not really working right anymore, it is possible that it may not work with the new Mac Mini. If that is the case, that will be one of the uses of the old Mac Mini. Some of the photos and such that were in the old Mac Mini Photos app did not move over to the new Mac Mini so those photos may end up staying on that computer as well to store.
Skot Shaw approached me with another video idea for Leper which we got started on shooting in the middle of September 2023. The song this video would be for is called "I'm Not The Devil" off of the "Chasing Shadows" release and it's about not judging others on appearances or other differences.
The idea Skot had for settings for these shoots were in front of several churches around Chicago. His directive was to get as much detail on the art and architecture as I could while shooting the clips. Another idea he had was to use images from the art of Gustave Dore that depict the devil from Scripture as well as works such as Dante's Inferno or Paradise Lost. I found eight images that I felt worked and originally set them at the beginning of the video synced up to synth bass sounds. Skot suggested dropping them into spots throughout the video so I attempted to do that as well...adjusting the opacity to layer it over the exiting footage. I really ended up using one of the shots as the primary footage to work off of and then worked to sync the rest of the footage to that clip and later to the audio track. I messed around a bit with the settings until I was able to get the audio to be able to be "scrubbed" which allows me to visually see the levels of the audio and sync to that as well as attempting to read lips or guitar strumming patterns. All this was completed in a surprisingly low amount of time. I sent a first draft to Skot to make sure I was working the project in the right direction. After getting his approval, I worked on adjusting the appearance of the footage. I used the gradient colorize effect to bring the footage to a black and white appearance. I made some adjustments to ensure that the building architecture and art wasn't lost. I did this to each different clip as the lighting was different in each place where we captured footage. I then added in the old film effect to degrade the quality somewhat and also added in the vignette effect that seems to work well with the old film effect. I sent it to Skot for final approval. We discussed a few changes he'd like and worked out how to do them. Now it is available for all to see. Skot had an idea to shoot somewhere where there is a sunflower for him to cut, however, we never did get to that.
Footage filmed using a Canon Rebel T6s throughout Chicago. Title created using Motion 4 on a Macbook. Images by Gustave Doré found and downloaded from Google. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini. Filmed and edited by by Joel A. Swanson. Directed by Skot Shaw.
When the full festival announcement was made for Furnace Fest 2023, the inclusions of Ghoti Hook, Training For Utopia, and Ninety Pound Wuss pushed me over the edge on deciding to spring for the tickets. I bought them before a price hike would occur and I think I paid about the same price range as I did in 2021. There were a lot of great bands billed that I also wanted to see but those three were the catalyst to finally make the decision.
Elphie wasn't going to come on the trip this year so I booked a flight on Southwest Airlines to leave on Thursday and return on Monday morning so I'd only have one day off of work (and use a P.T.O.). I had talked to some friends about lodging possibilities but it seemed to fall through so then I got the idea of renting a vehicle to car camp in. This was the plan for a few months until Nate Allen reached out to me about going and seeing about lodging together. I told him what I had planned but that I could make changes easily enough. We talked some more and then I began searching out hotels that didn't cost too much but had the amenities we both could live with. We settled on the Quality Inn in Homewood, Alabama which was about a 15 minute drive to Sloss Furnaces where Furnace Fest would be held.
I saved the artist announcement graphics and hoped to do a similar thing as I did with my Audiofeed project for use as a promo video and intro to the whole project. I used the announcement graphics on each video clip of the artists positioned in the lower left corner along with date, song title (if I knew or could figure it out), and credit information. I ended up having to download an alternative version for Showbread because I couldn't find any graphic for them that matched the style of the others. I also made a couple for Marco Castro and Destroy Nate Allen to use for their performances during the Friday night after show that they threw by using one of the other graphics then copying/pasting a photo I took using my phone of them performing over the artist on the announcement then also pasting text over the artist's name. I took the polaroid style image on the My Only Passenger instagram to use as a graphic for their performance and in the promo project as well. I put together the intro project after editing through all the other footage for this project. I used "Step Up (I'm On It) by Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster as a soundtrack to the promo video as well as the beginning of the project as a whole.
I made two travel map animated clips to use for the flights to Birmingham and back to Chicago on Southwest Airlines using Google Maps and a graphic I found and downloaded of a Southwest Airlines jet. I used both during the travel sequences of this project.
Adding in the after party that Nate organized with Marco at True Story Brewing on Friday night and the the ZAO clip from Reggies on September 20th, 2023 in Chicago, I captured 47 clips or full performance videos from artists who played at Furnace Fest!
I think I am basically happy with how everything turned out. The Furnace Fest footage is all from my iPhone due to their camera restrictions and sometimes it was hard to get decent shots when taller folks ended up directly in front of me but I think I mostly got the best shots that I could. I really do try to not hold my phone over my head where I'd be likely blocking the view of someone who may be behind me. I try to also set myself up in a place where I'd not going to be a nuisance by trying to capture some footage. If I was at all a nuisance to anyone else or blocked the view for a few minutes, I am sorry.
That said, I think I am pretty well satisfied with this footage this year.
On Wednesday September 20th, 2023 I went to Reggies to see ZAO. It was like attending a Furnace Fest pre-show since my flight wouldn't arrive early enough to attend any of them in Birmingham. I only ended up capturing footage of ZAO performing "Croatoan" though the other acts were quite good as well. Capra ended up getting added last minute to Furnace Fest due to the unfortunate cancelation of Extol (which set off quite the reaction for one person in particular but was a disappointment to us all I think) and I believe the members of Your Spirit Dies were around the grounds for Furnace Fest as well.
After working at Cornerstone Community Outreach for the full day on Thursday September 21st, 2023, I drove home from work, ate dinner as I packed my bag the rest of the way, then walked to the CTA Orange line to catch a train to Midway Airport. Passing through the security check went fairly smoothly and I found my way to the gate. There were announcements about it being a full flight and folks needed to check their luggage as there wasn't enough space in the bins. It was indeed a full flight with quite a few folks headed to Furnace Fest as well and I opted to push my bag under the seat in front of me. I ended up with an aisle seat as the plane had filled up quite a bit already. I picked a seat by a rather large man and lucked out that the middle seat remained empty. During the flight, I watched football. The flight attendants never brought drinks...I suppose due to the turbulence. I'm not sure if the seatbelt signs ever turned off. Once on the ground in Birmingham at Birmingham Shuttleworth Airport, I reached out to Nate Allen to see if he was still at the venue where he had a show. It turned out that he was so I ordered an Uber and made my way to True Story Brewing Company and connected with Nate. I was too late for his show, unfortunately but he was working on setting up an after show for Friday night at the same spot. He had Caleb with him from Must Build Jacuzzi and he'd also be staying in the hotel with us. Marco Castro never made it to the show and was able to get a room with folks he was volunteering with during Furnace Fest. We drove over to the Quality Inn, passing by the Vulcan Statue, and after a few attempts to ring the bell, I finally got us checked in. We picked the entrance which was furthest from our room, ha! We got situated and got rest for the long weekend ahead.
On Friday September 22nd, 2023, Furnace Fest began! Nate and Caleb got up for the hotel's breakfast but I decided to sleep a bit longer. apparently it wasn't particularly good. We started heading to the Sloss Furnaces but decided to detour to an REI where Nate and I purchased hydration packs. While a bit expensive, they seem to have been good investments. We arrived and found a spot to park fairly close to Sloss Furnaces. It was in grass along the side of a road. My only concern was the train crossing as I recall in 2021, folks getting stuck waiting for quite a while on trains to pass. I put the intro project in this spot between our arrival in the area and our entry into Furnace Fest. I got a shot of Nate's bumper sticker as well, ha! We passed through the security check point at entry and I proceeded to seek out the UnOriginal Vinyl crew to get the exclusive Tooth And Nail Records pressings for this year which were Stavesacre's Friction, Songs From The Penalty Box Volume One, and Showbread's Age of Reptiles. I had Otto Jensen requesting I get him copies as well (and it worked out!). I ran into Jonathn Magee shortly after entering the grounds and we chatted for a bit before I continued my hunt for the UnOriginal Vinyl Crew. I also ran into John Derry from England then Chris Smith prior to finding the UnOriginal Vinyl Crew and getting my OBIs and some for Otto as well! At this point I decided to find the Hopesfall table and get The Satellite Years vinyl as well. While they were sold out, Equal Vision Records had some at their table which happened to be the next one over so I bought it as well as Arbiter and got a free Equal Vision Records T-shirt as well as a bag to carry it all in. I met back up with Nate to get his car keys and took the merch to his car so I didn't have to carry it all day and returned to the grounds. I went to the water hoses and figured out how to fill up the hydration pack. It took a minute to figure things out with it, ha! While there, I found Sean Huncherick who had just returned from Europe and Sarah Maloney as they left the Shed.
The first band I caught after all the merch dealing and seeing friends was Orthodox in the Shed. Plug Your Holes sponsored that stage again. They played a good set and I captured some footage toward the end of the set.
The Undertaking was playing the Main Stage sponsored by Baked Brothers. I captured "No Friends" and also captured some footage of the turf laid out in an attempt to alleviate the dust as well as the sign for the kid's mosh pit. I also captured a couple clips of the pond and fountain.
At Baked Brothers Main Stage, Showbread played again...they still aren't a band, they say. After their set, I decided to walk around to see the food options for this year and consider what I might get for dinner. I ran into Kaylynn and her dad in a shaded area near the food and caught up with them for a bit.
Project 86 also played at Baked Brothers Main Stage and I captured a new song called "Metatropolis." They were definitely showcasing a heavier feel and played a really good set! I decided at this point to eat a lobster roll from And Lobster. It was a bit smaller than I had hoped. I noticed a guy with a Leper patch on his vest...as it would turn out, Marco Castro knew him of course! His name was Aaron and I spoke a bit with him later that night when Marco made introductions.
https://youtu.be/olay9EVr6iU I headed back to the Shed to see Walls Of Jericho play on the Plug Your Holes stage. I captured "A Trigger Full Of Promises" from their set. It was definitely better seeing them in the Shed rather than on the Pond stage!
Gideon played next in The Shed on Plug Your Holes and I captured a song early in the set. Prior to the set, I captured a shot of the No Mosh sign hanging from a side wall above the ADA section.
I went back over to Baked Brothers to see some of the Throwdown set and captured "Hopeless." They made a joke about the older guys in the pit, ha! As I walked toward the Pond, I captured the Sloss water tower.
Ninety Pound Wuss played on the Monster stage at the Pond. They were one of the acts that tipped the scales for me to attend Furnace Fest this year. I thought they played a great set and sounded good. They also had guest vocals from Shaun from Middle Aged Queers and Josh Dies from Showbread. Ninety Pound Wuss ended the set with their re-worked version of "Something Must Break!" that they are calling "DeSantis Must Break!" The stage attire, the inclusion of Shaun of Middle Aged Queers, and the re-worked "DeSantis" lyrics of course brought certain reactions on the internet though I didn't see much of anything negative expressed at Furnace Fest. It was my first time seeing Ninety Pound Wuss and I am very glad I got the chance! I had ordered their vinyl before the festival figuring it would be one less line to worry about.
I headed over to the Shed and captured a shot of the moon shining above it. Hopesfall was playing the Plug Your Holes stage and I captured "Escape Pod For Intangibles" from there set. I also saw Jon Clark from Cincinnati. It had been some years! We chatted between bands and caught up on things. It was good to see him.
I stayed at Plug Your Holes stage in the Shed for the Norma Jean set. It was a great set...might have been one of the best I've seen from them! I captured "Anthems For Angry Brides."
I went back to Baked Brothers Main Stage to see some of Anberlin's set and captured "Someone Anyone." Stephen Christian mentioned several times how the set was historical for him. I thought they sounded good...it was a long time since I last watched an Anberlin set.
Returning to the Shed one last time for the night, I watched some of Hatebreed's Plug Your Holes stage set. I captured "Last Breath." After the set, while using a port-a-potty, I was surprised by the light! I also captured some of the ads and stickers in the port-a-potty.
MxPx closed the night on Baked Brothers Main Stage and I captured a collaboration with Jeff Suffering when they played "Fist Vs. Tact." It was another good show as MxPx typically does.
Nate Allen did indeed work out an after show at True Story Brewing where he played the night before. He got Marco Castro involved as well and Marco, the ultimate hype man, tried his best to get the word out. He did collect a group of folks from a BlindsideFurnace Fest chat group to come out. There was a Ms. Pacman game that Nate and I played. My allergies were getting to me pretty badly and affected my Pacman skills, unfortunately. The bar offered their hot dog menu so I ordered a Southern Belle which was pretty good. It had a BBQ slaw similar to R.O.'s in North Carolina.
Nate Allen played a Destroy Nate Allen set and I captured a story he told about his first band as well as the song "Asshole." It was his first show played while wearing shorts, apparently! We hung around a while and my allergies really began to act up. That part was no fun but it was a good night overall!
On Saturday September 23rd, 2023, on our way to the second day of Furnace Fest, we stopped for breakfast at a taco truck called Tacos Mami Nor. It was in a parking lot next to the hotel. I ended up getting three tacos and a Mexican coke. It was really good! Nate and Caleb got platters. We arrived and parked in the same general area we did the day before and upon entry, I got to work on collecting vinyl from Training For Utopia and Living Sacrifice for Otto and myself. The Living Sacrifice vinyl was a QR Code so I took a picture and sent it to Otto. I took the vinyl to Nate's car, having to maneuver around a train that had come to a stop across the street. I had to do the same coming back and captured a shot of Marco Castro hard at work at the gates, ha!
At the Monster Pond Stage, I watched Faülen play for a bit and captured "Snake Handler." They are a good and local metal band from Birmingham so it was cool to see something from the area!
Zulu was playing in the Shed on the Plug Your Holes stage. There was a lot of talk about them so I decided to check out their set. It was a good set. I enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun! I captured a short clip of walking from the Shed to the main stage.
Becoming The Archetype played on the Baked Brothers Main Stage. I captured "The Epigone" which opened the set. I think they played pretty much the same set as they did at Audiofeed. They didn't play any of the new music but a good selection of the older material. Between bands, I decided to find some shade to rest for a minute. Nate Allen was there along with the Magee's who set up a rest area. I was able to return Nate's keys to him.
High Vis played next on the Baked Brothers Main Stage and I decided to catch some of their set. They were recommended by Kyle Bawinkel. They had a bit of a shoegaze sound but definitely their original take on it. I watched a few songs.
Living Sacrifice was playing at the Shed on the Plug Your Holes stage. they had DJ do one of the older songs then ended the set collaborating with Demon Hunter to do a Pantera cover of "I'm Broken" which I captured.
ZAO was next up on Plug Your Holes stage in the Shed. As expected, Ryan Clark did guest vocals on "Skin Like Winter" which I captured. I for some reason didn't realize it was that song while capturing it and stopped part way through so I "borrowed" some footage someone else posted to fill in the gap.
Training For Utopia reunited after 24 years and played next on the Plug Your Holes Stage in the Shed and I was able to move up along the wall area to near where the ADA section was located for this set. I captured the entirety of the set. It was one of the highlights of the year as well as one of my anticipated sets as I had never had the opportunity to see them before.
I took a dinner break at this point and decided on Island Noodles. I figured it would be filling. While eating it in the shaded area, I saw Jon Clark again and got to talk a bit more with him. Unfortunately, I ended up missing Scowl who I would have liked to have watched.
I went over to the Monster Pond Stage to see Holy Name play. Holy Name was another that I highly anticipated and had hoped Audiofeed could get booked. This was their first official show in front of people rather than on the internet. They played mostly the same set, however, most of the guest vocalist were not there for various reasons. Ryan Clark did his and I thought about capturing it as well since I had captured the two other guest spots he did earlier in the day. I ended up capturing "Fall On Your Knees" and added in the opening prayer by Tommy Green. I thought it was a really good set and felt like the right space to pick up where Tommy left off with Sleeping Giant. In spirit, it was reminiscent of those Sleeping Giant sets as well.
I got into the Shed for the last song from Terror's set on the Plug Your Holes Stage. It ended up being "Keepers Of The Faith" naturally, and I was able to capture most of it.
I stuck around in the Shed and next up on the Plug Your Holes Stage was Youth Of Today. They definitely had the old school hardcore mentality and I felt the message they brought was good and positive. I captured "Break Down The Wall."
Gorilla Biscuits ended the night for the Plug Your Holes Stage in the Shed and I stuck around for that as well. I captured their final song, "Start Today" which was a lot of fun to watch. It was a good set overall as well.
Turnstile headlined the Baked Brothers Main Stage. I got a slice of pizza from the Pazzo truck just as they started their set. I hung toward the back of the crowd, It seemed like it might have been the biggest crowd of the weekend. I ended up capturing "Don't Play." I also captured some drones flying overhead during the Turnstile set. At the end of the night, Nate had helped someone who sustained a leg injury get across the tracks. As we left, he was still waiting on his ride so we ended up waiting with him. Another train came to cross the road as we waited.
On Sunday September 24th, 2023, we stopped at Sonic to get breakfast but we all ended up getting lunch food instead. We also stopped at the hotel where the Ninety Pound Wuss crew were staying so Nate could get a vinyl from them. It made me think I could have probably waited to get the vinyl from them as well rather than ordering it in advance. Oh well, As we drove, Nate's transmission seemed to be slipping which was concerning. Once we arrived at Sloss Furnaces for the final day of Furnace Fest, I once again went to seek out vinyl. This time it was from Further Seems Forever for the 20th anniversary of How To Start A Fire. Otto wanted a copy of this as well so I picked up two copies. I found Chris Smith again and remembered to give him the Australia magnet to give his daughter. I also encountered Eric Shirey handing out compilations from the Charon Collective so I snagged a couple of those. I wanted to see The Callous Daoboys so I went to the Shed before getting the keys from Nate to put the merch in the car.
The Callous Daoboys opened up the Shed for the day on the Plug Your Holes Stage. They had several funny pit calls including one about giving anyone with a dick the cheapest vasectomy in town! ha!
After taking the merch to the car, I got back on site in time to join the Sloss Furnaces Tour Kaylynn and her dad were about to go so I decided to join it too. It was interesting seeing the furnaces and other parts of the steel mill even though I am somewhat familiar with what the machinery looks like from working temporarily as security in a steel plant in Pennsylvania. The one in Pennsylvania where I worked was more modern as Sloss shut down production in the 1970s so there was a lot that was different as well. I enjoyed the tour.
After the Sloss Furnace Tour, I went to the Monster Pond Stage and watched some of the Silly Goose set. It was an interesting rap rock sound and I captured a song.
Valleyheart followed on the Monster Pond Stage. I had heard a few of their songs and found their pop rock style to be enjoyable. I captured one of their songs while hanging back in a shaded area.
I decided to take the break at this point to get some food. I picked up tacos from Tuff Love Provisions then a Bad Luck Burger Club burger to eat later. I remembered the tacos from Tuff Love Provisions being really good in 2021. I think I got something different this time than in 2021...while still really good, it definitely tasted different. Maybe it was chicken rather than steak?
I watched Trenches as I ate while they played the Monster Pond Stage. I captured "Eclipse." I remember seeing them years ago at Cornerstone probably around the time that they started.
I don't recall if I ever got to see The Insyderz before but I enjoyed their set at the Monster Pond Stage. I captured "Seeing Voices" from their set. I also saw Raye after the set was over as a train made its way passed the festival behind the stage and passed the gates.
Ghoti Hook played on the Monster Pond Stage. They opened and closed the set by telling the audience "You're Welcome." It was a fun set. The only other time I got to see Ghoti Hook was at Creation in 1999. They were yet another highlight for me and a set that drew me to come back to Furnace Fest. I captured the entire set.
I ate my Bad Luck Burger Club burger as I went to the Shed to see the end of the set by A Plea For Purging on the Plug Your Holes stage. I ended up only seeing the very end which included Andy farting into the mic. Apparently they tossed burgers as well because Andy runs Bad Luck Burger Club. I missed this part.
As Cities Burn played their last show during Furnace Fest on the Monster Pond Stage. I really wanted to capture "Contact" which they opened the set with...unfortunately I was slow on the draw of getting my phone ready so I ended up capturing "Empire" instead which was ok.
As Cities Burn became My Only Passenger during the set and played the final song of the set under that new moniker which also happened to be the name of the song that they played.
I headed over to the Shed to see some of the Strife set on the Plug Your Holes stage. I figured on continuing to see the old school hard core bands. I captured the song "Blistered" which closed out the set and I figured might be the most energetic as well. As I walked back over to the Monster Pond Stage, I saw someone in the little Birmingham Fire Department ambulance getting treatment for what appeared to be a head injury. I hope he's ok.
Further Seems Forever played on the Monster Pond Stage and I thought they may be doing an album play through for How To Start A Fire. That was not the case but I captured "The Sound" from their set. I watched part of the set before returning to the Shed.
Judge was playing on the Plug Your Holes stage in the Shed. It was another old school hardcore set and a lot of fun to watch. I captured the final song of this set called "Warriors."
I stuck around the Shed for the Prayer For Cleansing set on the Plug Your Holes Stage. I enjoyed them quite a bit. I ended up capturing their first song called "Feinbhas a Ghabhail."
I went to use the port-a-potties by the Pond and on my way back out, I captured a quick clip of Mae playing on the Monster Pond Stage through the fountain. I stuck around for a few songs and felt Mae sounded a lot better than they did in 2021. I captured "Skyline Drive."
Pennywise was playing the Baked Brothers Main Stage. I captured "Bro Hymn" because it seemed only appropriate. A massive dog pile ended up on the stage during the song!
I headed back over to the Shed to see Haste The Day playing on the Plug Your Holes Stage. Jimmy Ryan came out to do a few of the songs from when he was in the band and I ended up capturing "Blue 42." The crowd was pretty wild during this set! I assume with it being the very end, folks were letting out all the energy that they had left.
I captured the mass exodus from the Shed to the Main Stage after the Haste The Day set with Bane coming up to close the festival for 2023.
Bane closed out the festival on the Baked Brothers Main Stage. There were a lot of people on stage still...perhaps the entire dog pile from the Pennywise set! I captured the drones flying over the crowd again and I captured the final song called "Swan Song" from the set.
I began to make my way to the gate and decided to capture some footage as I walked to see how much longer my phone battery would last. I also captured the painted wall by the gates of the festival. Once we got everybody situated, and all the various photos that Marco wanted, we tried to go find some food somewhere. Things weren't quite working out so the group shrunk a bit and ended up at McDonald's and eating in the parking lot in downtown Birmingham.
09.25.2023
https://youtu.be/a95ucYAUoAM It was around 2 a.m. on Monday September 25th, 2023 when I got to Birmingham Shuttleworth Airport. Jeff who had been volunteering with Marco and also volunteers at Audiofeed hooked me up with the ride as Nate's car was being problematic. Thanks Jeff! It was dark and appeared to be closed but the doors opened so I went inside, used the restroom, changed clothes and prepared for flying. I plugged in my phone to get some charge and waited. I tried to sleep but that didn't really happen. Around 3am the lights came on and I moved to the security check area then I waited some more. I got in line to go through security and was instructed to put everything in the same tray. I passed through my screening by my belongings did not....it was apparently the vinyl records I purchased that set off the alarm. Once I was able to collect everything, I went to wait on the flight and tried to sleep again. I still didn't really get any sleep. I boarded and this time I was able to get a window seat. This time my row did fill up with a couple other Furnace Fest attendees. The flight apparently was bound to Denver after Chicago but thankfully those in my row all were getting out so I didn't have to ask anyone to move upon arrival at Midway. I got a couple clips of take off and landing this time.
Once in Chicago, I walked out to the CTA station to take the Orange line home. I got home, I felt terrible, ha! I debated going into work as I planned originally. I decided I'd take a shower and see how I felt after that. I also took a COVID-19 test since I had gotten increasingly congested as the festival went on. The test was negative and I felt a bit better after showering. I went to work and definitely felt the exhaustion. There was also a storm while driving the morning commute. A driver approaching behind me at a fairly high rate of speed lost control and hit the median on Lake Shore Drive. I could hear the contact and through I didn't feel anything, wondered if there was contact with my car. I found that there was no damage and arrived at work at 10am. I decided to check the footage from my CrossTour CR-900 dashcam to see what occurred with that car during the morning commute and made a short video out of it. It seems the driver was just going too fast for conditions and lost control on the wet pavement. Thankfully I was far enough ahead that as the car swerved, it did not hit me. I try to be conscious about maintaining my lane as much as possible, especially in the area where this occurred because of the curve and the other drivers. I included the clip into the video project.
I managed to get through the work day, though it was a struggle at times. I also managed to get home from work then after dinner while watching Monday Night Football, I finally was able to sleep! This wasn't the best option of returning from Furnace Fest but I didn't have much time off to use and wanted to preserve as much as I could for the approaching holidays.
Overall, my Furnace Fest 2023 experience was great! It was good seeing several friends for the first time in a long time and others who were just at Audiofeed as well. It was really fun seeing some bands I wasn't sure I'd ever get to see or see again! With the announcement that Furnace Fest will host its last event in 2024 and the dates seemingly to work out with other travel plans, I went ahead and bought my ticket for Furnace Fest 2024 and I believe it will be a great year as well!
There are a few other YouTube accounts I know of (and probably a lot more) that have some great content from Furnace Fest as well. If you're interested in seeing that other content and perhaps a different perspective of the Furnace Fest experience, check out the following:
This project begins just after Audiofeed ended and continues through the end of September when I leave for Furnace Fest. That will probably leave about a week of September to be part of the "Fall In Chicago 2023" project. There were a good number of shows attended throughout the summer after Audiofeed...including a couple unexpected events. Also a few odd road experiences and the purchase of a new vehicle for us.
07.06.2023 - 07.08.2023
After Audiofeed, I returned to work on Thursday July 6th, 2023. During my morning commute the low clouds over Chicago looked interesting so I took what was captured from the Crosstour CR-900 and sped it up by 1,000x as I passed downtown on Lake Shore Drive.
On Saturday July 8th, 2023, I attended the Major League Rugby Championship held at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois (just outside Chicago). The game was between the New England Free Jacks and San Diego Legion. The Free Jacks would win by one point, taking the championship. Before the game, Shaquille O'Neal had a DJ set as DJ Diesel. I captured the first five minutes or so of that set before going to find my seat. After the game was a show by the Dropkick Murphys. During the halftime, a guy asked me if I wanted to go on the field for the Dropkick Murphys set and I said "sure!" I was given a green wristband and directed to the general area to access the field after the game. When the game ended, I made my way to that general area and then down toward the field once I saw other people moving in that direction. It turns out, I probably really didn't need the wristband, however, I suppose I'd have not known that it was permissible to go on the field. I captured the beginning of the Dropkick Murphys set which included the intro, "Cadence To Arms," and "The Boys Are Back" and I also included a short clip at the end where the champion New England New Jacks were on stage with the Dropkick Murphys.
Hopefully next year, I'll get out to a few more games in Chicago.
After getting home, Elphie was wanting to go to West Fest '23 to see Nitzer Ebb perform. We got ourselves parked somewhat nearby and walked over to the area where the festival was happening on Chicago Avenue near Damen. The area was quite packed and we didn't have the best view however I did capture a clip from the show. There were folks hanging out of their windows to watch the show. I found a friend who was live streaming from near the front so we watched that for a while. Afterwards, we saw some friends and chatted a bit before heading home.
On Wednesday July 12th, 2023, as I arrived home from work, I got alerts on my phone about tornados in the area. The sky definitely had an unusual look to it, even though it had just been mostly clear as I drove. I captured some footage of the sky and soon, the tornado sirens began to sound. As I expected, the tornado didn't really come close to approaching us but did some damage not that far away. I assume it was surveying damage, but I captured some footage of a helicopter hovering in the distance where the storm had hit. While capturing that footage, more clouds rolled in and we got a second round. After that storm came through, I captured the rainbow and clouds once the storm had essentially left the area and was over Lake Michigan.
On Friday July 14th, 2023 6'10 was playing a show with the ska bands Green Room Rockers and The Operators at Reggies. It became something of an unofficial Ollie Mob BBQ pre-party. I picked up Kristina on my way home from work. She came by train and having planned to come a day early worked out for her to attend the show as well. It was a fun show and since it was on the Music Joint side of the venue, we got a great meal to eat while watching the show as well. I was able to capture 6'10 covering "Take On Me" during their set along with clips from both the Green Room Rockers and The Operators. The show went a bit long but it was a good night.
07.15.2023 - 07.21.2023 The next day, Saturday July 15th, 2023, we attended the Ollie Mob BBQ at Tobin's house. It was a good time just hanging out with friends. No live performances this year. Tobin had a friend named Joe cook up the meat and it was great!
On Friday July 21st, 2023, there were several unusual sights as I drove to and from work on Lake Shore Drive. In the morning, there were demonstrators with a "Free Assange" sign on the pedestrian bridge to the North Avenue Beach. As I was returning home, a taxi had apparently caught on fire. I could see thick black smoke in the distance as I drove south on Lake Shore Drive. The Fire Department was in the process of putting it out as I approached. There was a fire truck trying to get through the traffic. It appeared to be using the left lane and I eventually maneuvered to the middle only to find the firetruck was now in the right lane. As I approached the city, there was a guy sitting on the wall of the median of Lake Shore Drive for some reason and as I approached the light at Chicago Avenue, there was a disabled vehicle in the lane second from the left and a AAA flatbed truck sitting on inner Lake Shore Drive with the driver out and perhaps communicating with the driver of the disabled vehicle.
Later that evening I went to Live Wire Lounge to catch Little Jessi playing with Something To Do. As I drove I captured someone named Randy Sax advertising for his Spotify as well as graffiti which read "Make Us Laugh." Unfortunately their set got cut short for some reason. They were the last to play for the night so perhaps it was after a noise curfew. It was an all ska show with Tone Zone Skam, Patois Six, and Skapital Corruption also playing. I captured a song from each set.
As I drove home after the show, I encountered a significant traffic jam and it appeared that I-90/I-94 was inaccessible after the I-55 ramp. Thankfully, I just needed to get on the I-55 ramp and was able to maneuver my way over early enough to get out of that mess! I was never able to figure out what the situation was to cause this. It was an odd day driving in Chicago.
The odd sights while driving continued on Saturday July 22nd, 2023 as we went to Indiana for groceries. There were several accidents as we drove both directions. There was a spider that hung on the passenger side window the entire drive. I removed it once we stopped for gas. I attempted to toss our Taco Bell garbage behind myself into the garbage can and missed both times. As we approached home, we saw a kid on a Power Wheel (if those are still a thing) riding with the adults who were taking care of him. They were crossing Western at Archer. As I left work on Tuesday July 25th, 2023, there had been a shooting at Wilson and Broadway in Uptown. I captured the police activity as I passed using my CrossTour CR-900.
We left to drive to Pennsylvania to pick up our new electric vehicle, a Chevrolet Bolt EUV, on Friday July 28th, 2023. We had a good and uneventul trip through Indiana, Ohio, and on to Warren, PA. On Saturday July 29th, 2023, we drove out to Erie, PA to get our Bolt from Hallman Chevrolet. My mom came along with us to drive our old car back. We decided to give it back to her so she could have a vehicle to drive since my dad never finished getting the other car they have to be functional. It was a bit of a longer process than I anticipated but we came away with our first ever brand new car! While it did take a bit, the process didn't feel forced or rushed by the team at Hallman. Elphie also got to sit in a Corvette while waiting! I took my mom to the nearby notary to take care of switching the old car over to her while waiting as well. There were some aspects to get used to such as the one pedal driving. I turned it off for the drive to Warren but would use it on the drive to Chicago and every day since! I was so quiet! We really liked the car. Back in Warren, we spent time moving the things we'd need from the old car to the new one. I cleaned it out the best that I could as well so I wasn't leaving my mom with a dirty car. I also re-installed the CrossTour CR-900 in the new car so we would still be able to capture footage during our drives...or, God forbid, we have an accident. The first song I played in the new electric car was "Electric Car" by Joy Electric as well as a cover by Flashlight Party. We drove back to Chicago on Sunday July 30th, 2023. It was a longer trip because we now had to add in charging stops which can take a while. We figured it ended up being an extra two hours on the trip from Warren to Chicago. The first stop we made was in Erie, PA at a Wal*Mart. We wandered around the Wal*Mart while getting the charge. We stopped in the Cleveland area as well and used the time to get dinner. The rest of our stops were at rest areas and used the time to use the rest room or just sit and wait. We arrived back in Chicago after midnight and after nearly having an accident on our second day with the Bolt!
After picking up our new electric vehicle, our Chevrolet Bolt EUV, entering into Chicago on the highway, we were nearly sideswiped if not worse by a crazy driver in a white car. It seems that they likely clipped the mirror of the car in the lane next to us but somehow managed to not make contact with our vehicle...other than shrapnel from the mirror bouncing off the road. It was quite the unnerving moment and it happened so far that reaction was nearly impossible. We are thankful that we did not sustain any damage less than two days into owning this car! The video only shows the front view because the rear camera of our CrossTour CR-900 wasn't functioning for some reason.
08.02.2023 - 08.03.2023 My commute home on Wednesday August 2nd, 2023, was highly impacted by the road closures and preparations for Lollapalooza. I captured some footage while slowly driving by. There was also a soccer game at Soldier Field which caused some traffic backup as well.
On Thursday August 3rd, 2023, we went to Tinley Park to the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre to see the Boy George show with Culture Club. Berlin was opening as well as someone else I didn't recognize. Elphie road with me to work in the morning so we left from Uptown and she captured some footage of the sign about fence jumping as we slowly rolled by Lollapalooza. It wasn't the best of experiences that night. Apparently not enough tickets sold for the lawn to be open so we were to be given new seats. This information was in an email I didn't read so we learned about it as we got to the entry gate. I had to take the blanket back to the car we usually sit on in the lawn. Once inside, getting our new ticket was another hassle. There were a couple workers who had tickets to give out and we had to wait in a line for the new ticket. We left the line to see if there were other workers at other spots to get these new tickets from but there were not. We ended up coming back to a shorter line to get tickets from a worker who had spread them all out on the ground to try to match them up. We ended up with a couple tickets on the far side of the amphitheatre at a fairly extreme angle. There was also a loud clapper there. I ended up capturing clips of "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" by Boy George and Culture Club and "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin. I figured I'd get songs from movie soundtracks! Boy George did a few reggae influenced songs that were performed quite well.
On Sunday August 6th, 2023, we sat across Lake Shore Drive while the Red Hot Chili Peppers closed out the Lollapalooza. We got dinner at Five Guys which we brought with us to eat during the show. People were standing along the fence making it difficult to see the screen this year. In years past, police would chase them off the fence and bike lane but this year they left the people alone. Elphie eventually moved her chair up against the fence for the end of the set. Marco Castro got to work as a driver again this year and picked us up after to get a ride back home and gave us a box of Liquid Death. On Tuesday August 8th, 2023, as I went to get my lunch, I found a car parked in the middle of the driving lanes of the parking garage at Truman College. It was there when I returned from getting my food as well. No one in it or around it. Nothing made sense of this.
On Wednesday August 9th, 2023, after a visit to the dentist, I encountered a crash on my way to work on Lake Shore Drive. That evening, we went to Liar's Club to see Sally Grayson. Her drummer from Germany also happened to be in Chicago so he was able to join her for the show. I captured a new song from her solo album called "Intercede" with an awesome whistling part.
https://youtu.be/GjiE6aYkuPE 08.11.2023 - 08.18.2023 On Friday August 11th, there was a BBQ hosted at the Oracle of Jesus Christ, ReconcilerCommunity of the Holy Trinity, It was a good time and I captured footage of a couple airplanes as the came in overhead to land at O'Hare Airport as well as a shot of the sea glass art that Zach made. On Saturday August 12th, 2023, Elphie wanted to sit outside of Wrigley Field for the Pink show with Pat Benatar. I walked to get dinner from Cheesie's. I captured some footage of the fireworks at the end of the night as well as the bucket boys drumming. We went to charge the Chevrolet Bolt EUV somewhere on the Northside as the charger in our neighborhood read as full. We ended up with a 99% charge...I thought about trying to get the full 100% but didn't want to hog the charger and someone appeared to be waiting so we left at 99%. Driving home from work on Monday August 14th, 2023, I encountered flooding on Lake Shore Drive between the Queen's Landing and Buckingham Fountain. I moved to the middle lane in hopes to be in the least amount of water. There was also flooding under the CTA tracks on Damen in McKinley Park which was likely deeper but I made it through. I had been noticing outlets in various spots in the Truman College parking garage and decided to try plugging in on Thursday August 17th, 2023. Where I had been parked, the door covering the outlet opened the wrong direction to be able to successfully plug in but I walked around and found an outlet at the corner where there was a stairwell exit had the door open the other way where I could plug in. There was a car parked in that spot on that level so I walked up to check the next level and it was open. I moved my car there and plugged in and began to successfully charge! I found I would get about 2% per hour which was about 10 miles per hour added to the estimated mileage. I figured I'd keep doing this as long as no one said anything! I kept and eye on the charge through the app on my phone as I worked the rest of the day.
On Friday August 18th, 2023, I captured some footage of practice for the Chicago Air and Water Show using my CrossTour CR-900 while on my commute and my iPhone 14 while stepping outside at work for a few minutes. That evening, I went to the Chop Shop to see The Aggrolites. I hoped to captured "Countryman Fiddle" and missed the beginning instrumental, unfortunately. They played with The Crombies and The Operators with Chuck Wren DJing through the night. Russ was at the show too! It started a bit later than I expected based on the show information I had but that's ok.
08.20.2023 - 08.30.2023 Chicago had the Great American Lobsterfest on Navy Pier again but this year it occurred during the Chicago Air and Water Show. Russ and I went on Sunday August 20th, 2023. I tried to plug in our Chevrolet Bolt EUV while there but the station I chose wouldn't connect for some reason. While trying to figure it out, someone else pulled into the station next to me, plugged in, and walked off. They had no issue, it seemed. All the other chargers in that area were occupied so I was stuck at this one. I eventually gave up and we went into Navy Pier. We got the lobster quite quickly and were able to watch the end of the Air and Water show while we ate on the west side of the pier. It wasn't a particularly good view from there but hangs with Russ were good! Chicago experienced some extreme heat on Wednesday August 23rd and Thursday August 24th, 2023. I think the hottest was on Thursday afternoon and I captured a clip walking to my car with the screenshot of the temperature. The Oratory of Jesus Christ, ReconcilerCommunity of the Holy Trinity hosted another BBQ on Friday August 25th, 2023. It was fun and good conversation once again. On Saturday August 26th, 2023 a Nocturna occured at Metro. We attended and hung out in the balcony as we've tended to do lately. Kate visited with us with her friend as well as Jason and Laura. When Metro decided to close the balcony for the night, we decided to leave. I had parked quite a ways from Metro so I went to get the car and we gave Kate and her friend a ride home. On Tuesday August 29th, 2023, our Chevrolet Bolt EUV reached its first complete charge in the month that we'd owned it. After learning about the outlets in the parking garage at Truman, getting 10-15% charge each day which tends to be about double of what I use during the commute, it has allowed me to charge free (to me) and get to that point!
On Wednesday August 30th, 2023, Disturbed played at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre in Tinley Park with Breaking Benjamin and Jinjer. Traffic was awful so we ended up getting there while Jinjer was playing. We were parked in the small lot behind the hill of the amphitheatre and the process of entry was considerably smoother than it had been our previous few visits. We got settled into a lawn spot in time to capture the last song from Jinjer. I captured "So Cold" from Breaking Benjamin's set and "Prayer" from Disturbed's set. Disturbed had a lot of cool pyro and lighting throughout the set as well as effects on the video board (which was how we watched most of the show from as far back as we were).
09.01.2023 on Friday September 1st, 2023 we went back to Tinely Park to the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre to see Rob Zombie with Alice Cooper, Ministry, and Filter. The entry process was mostly smooth again (though I had issues scanning the mobile ticket from Groupon) and we ended up parked behind the hill again. We were sitting lower on the lawn for a bit then moved up the hill after Filter played in hopes to be high enough to see ok. Unfortunately this was a crowd who would stand most of the show so seeing the actual stage wasn't really possible most of the night. I captured "Dead City Radio and The New Gods Of Supertown" from Rob Zombie while standing to see the stage. I captured "School's Out For The Summer" by Alice Cooper which is mostly just the screen due to not being able to see over the standing folks. I also captured "Deity" by Ministry.
https://youtu.be/_nTvNIkyP9I 09.02.2023 - 09.07.2023 On Saturday September 2nd, 2023, we attended an event featuring Enigma at Sideshow Gelato. Enigma and a few others performed sideshow acts. Elphie was especially excited about meeting Enigma as he is a prominent figure of the body modification world. She found out he was doing puzzle piece tattoos in the city as well but it when she called on Sunday to get an appointment, it was too late. He had left town as there was no one on the schedule. He is covered in puzzle piece tattoos and signs with that as well on souvenirs.
On Thursday September 7th, 2023, there was an oi show at One City Tap up the road at Archer and Ashland. I watched the first half of the first football game of the season then headed out to the show. Fuerza Bruta, Bullshit Detector, and Splatter Pattern all played and it was a fun show.
https://youtu.be/VXc1aiiwDXg 09.15.2023 - 09.16.2023 On Friday September 15th, 2023, I got together with Skot Shaw to shoot some footage for a new video idea he has for a song called "I'm Not The Devil" of Leper's album "Chasing Shadows." His ideas included shots in front of several area churches and so we visited a few around the north side of Chicago. Due to the Mexican Independence celebrating, we weren't able to go to some locations as traffic was backed up. We did get a few good shots in and the churches were pretty cool as well. I captured a few shots just to share here while the video is still being developed.
On Saturday September 16th, 2023, while RiotFest was going on less than a mile away, Elphie and I went to The Water Hole to see The Tromatons. It was also a weekend for Mexican Independence celebrations throughout Chicago. As we left the neighborhood, we saw some lit up vehicles pass by...it turned out to be a group of ATVs and they were all sitting in the right lane under the tracks on Archer approaching Western. We passed by them and navigated our way through the Mexican Independence celebrating as we made our way to The Water Hole. We got stuck a bit about a block away from the bar but once we were able to try to park on the side street...where there was no parking, we were able to get turned around and park along Western about two blocks away. The Tromatons were already playing as we arrived. We watched the rest of their set and I captured the song "My Girlfriend Is Alt-Right." We enjoyed their set and talked briefly with Andy before heading back home...once again navigating through the Mexican Independence celebrations.
https://youtu.be/Vkkolxsc2EY 09.17.2023 - 09.19.2023 On Sunday September 17th, 2023, we went to sit outside of RiotFest to listen to The Cure play their set. Along the way we encountered graffiti letting RiotFest know that at least some people did not welcome their usage of Douglas Park. We were situation behind the stage but the sound was pretty good from that area and The Cure sounded like they put on a great show. Before they played, Elphie got on the swing set for a bit. On our way back to the car, Elphie checked out the "Love Shack" which appeared to be a community food bank. On my way into work on Monday September 18th, 2023, as I approached Western on Archer, I had a large truck pass while it merged into my lane. It was one of those trucks with ridiculously wide rear view mirrors. I thought it may have gotten aggravated when I slowed down for the two taxis that came out of the road so to give them time to get out of the way rather than hit them but the rearview camera showed a considerable distance between that truck and me when I had slowed down. Nonetheless as it approached, it also merged into my lane so I had to somewhat use the median then left turn lane to avoid being hit. It was similar to what happened as we returned to Chicago at the end of July having only driven the car for a day but not at the highway speeds. The driver continued to Western Boulevard and didn't use a signal which is pretty much par for the course with these overly aggressive drivers in and around Chicago. The video consists of the real time moment along with it slowed down to 30% as well as a screenshot of the license plate.
https://youtu.be/LfcMYrofiN0 On Tuesday September 19th, 2023, I decided to purchase a ticket to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates play the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field one last time. I didn't realize it was still raining when I bought the ticket and the game ended up delayed by about two hours. In the meantime, I was able to connect with Nate Allen on some Furnace Fest related plans ahead of that trip. The game was pretty terrible from the Pittsburgh point of view. It was a 14-1 loss with the only run coming from a Key'Brian Hayes home run. There was also an interesting moment with a Cubs player interfered with catching a foul ball but otherwise it was a very unpleasant game to attend between the result and the weather. 09.20.2023
On Wednesday September 20th, 2023, I went to Reggies to see ZAO play. I figured if it turned out there was a conflict during their set at Furnace Fest, this made the decision to see someone else easier. At the very least, this was like my own Furnace Fest pre-show since I would not be in Birmingham in time for the pre-shows on Thursday. I did watch ZAO at Furnace Fest as well as on this night. They played different sets at both events. I missed the opening band but I got there during Your Spirit Dies and also got to watch Capra. Capra got added to Furnace Fest last minute due to the unfortunate circumstances of Extol not being able to make it. I ended up just capturing a clip of ZAO's set, capturing the performance of "Croatoan."
I also saw Paul Harrison at the show and he filmed it as well so keep an eye out on his YouTube for his video post (or just watch it as linked above)! He captured the full set of ZAO and also made a short video project with clips from each band who played. 09.21.2023 On Thursday September 21st, 2023, as I prepared to leave for Furnace Fest, Elphie captured Stein tearing up a newspaper. In reality, I believe this footage covers a few days during my Furnace Fest trip as well but I just left it all listed as occurring on September 21st, 2023.
