Bad Copy

It was an exciting night to look forward to. Not only was I going to see some fun familiar bands and great music (as well as each of these four bands having new albums out recently or soon this year), but it was also a little bit of a pre-Fest 23 lineup to help pump me up for what was to come in a few weeks when seeing all of these bands again in Gainesville.

Although it has been a few years and I haven’t visited Ferndale, MI as much as I used to, it was great to spend the evening on familiar grounds. Before moving to Detroit I’ve lived in this area off-and-on for like 13+ years, dating back to when I originally first moved over here from the west side of Michigan. It was also my first time in a verrrry long time since I stepped foot in Orchid, and honestly something I’d have never expected to do again until recently.

The reason I say that is because up until a few years ago, it was (and still is of course) more of a dance/club/party location. Was a lot of fun to check out with friends when we were all new in town and younger, but not exactly the place I check out as much anymore as staying up past 10PM gets harder every year as I near 40. It is awesome to see some great familiar bands over the last few years start playing this spot, and now I finally get to check it out myself and cover it tonight!

Kicking off the evening was Cult Therapy. A great band from Flint, MI, and one I’ve been looking forward to seeing again since first meeting them after opening for Chris Cresswell a few years ago when he came through on tour. It was another super fun set from them with some newer tunes to enjoy off their debut album, Get Fucked, Sinner!, that came out earlier this year. Also a bonus of “Stupid Sexy Flanders!” with their band name illuminating the stage behind them their whole set!

Next was Five Hundred Bucks! A band I’ve been seeing pop up quite a bit lately from their new release Pest Sounds and also on playlists (and Fest lineup), but one I wasn’t as familiar with until recently. This was one of their last stops while on a quick October tour with Signals Midwest, and another great band really kicking off the energy and getting the crowd moving, laughing, and having fun throughout their set.

Signals Midwest was up next! I think it has been well over ten years since I last saw them play, coincidentally which was also in Ferndale at the Loving Touch… whenever that actually was. Loved getting to see them again after all this time, and it felt all too familiar and if it wasn’t actually that long ago when they started playing. It was a good mix of familiar songs and some of the new songs from their latest album, Layovers.

Then came the final set of the night with 84 Tigers. I’ve been really excited to finally see them play, especially with their upcoming album Nothing Ends releasing the following weekend. Every single they’ve had out so far teasing the new album has been hyping up the new release more and more for myself and others. They absolutely rocked it, closing out the night with a great emotionally charged, and rocking set. Again it was such a great night of music, and really kicked off and energized more excitement for what was to come with new albums to play on repeat, and fun sets to look forward to in a few weeks when we do it all over again at Fest 23!