Hit by a Semi: Unplugged

Last Monday I was sitting at home wondering what the fuck to do. As my mind (inevitably) turned to getting drunk out of boredom I remembered that Normal Street Bar was hosting an evening of unplugged debauchery from Hit By A Semi. At last, something to do in our town! Rounding up a token friend we casually walked across town discussing the inner workings of something meaningless until we could hear the party at the bar. After getting past the doorman, I was instantly stopped by the wall of people jammed up in the corner who were smart enough to get there early, or (not) in my case on time. All I could see was the back of tall people's heads so like any good Chicoan, I just cozied up at the bar and waited my turn. Since this piece is about the music and not my drinking exploits I'll fill you in (and fill up this column) with some details. Normal is an interesting place to see live music. They crammed the band in the right hand corner of the building where the back table is, threw up a banner and voila, you have a nicely staged set up. It actually sounds pretty good in there when the volume is turned down a little, and it was refreshing to be in that bar without hearing one song from Creed. It reminded me of the times when we used to go in and listen to punk while we drank instead of that fucking rap / metal shit everybody seems to like. With three people working the bar you don't have to be a blonde with big tits to get a drink, which is good if you're like me and have brown hair and no tits to speak of. Everybody has seen or heard Hit By A Semi before. If you haven't, get out from under that rock and go to a show. They play a fast and furious (like Vin Diesel) show and have more fun than you doing it. They play the same songs acoustically as they do in their regular set but of course they sound a little different. I saw this set at the Synthesis Christmas party but this time there were no choir singers to back up the band. They were not really needed since just about everybody in attendance was singing along. Most people were seriously out of tune but at least they knew the words. I even saw one girl whistling as she stumbled towards the bathroom, you know you're big time when people whistle your songs. Unified, heavy strumming of guitars (Rich and Steve) and bass (Ryan) are nicely backed up by the Iceman's beats. Hit By A Semi's lyrics are generally about getting tattooed, getting tattooed with friends and getting tattooed with friends while you're getting fucked up, all things the band knows quite well. They are one of the only bands I know that let their manager get up with them, and to tell you the truth it sounds fucking good with Sarah up there. Side project? I guess they played two sets but I couldn't hear the second one from the Lounge and nobody called me back who stayed so I don't know what happened. I hope Normal St. has this type of show again; it's fun to hear bands play a different sounding set than they usually do and despite the cramped quarters the bar is actually a good venue. Good attitudes equal good shows.
- Marcus Dorin

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