Meet me at Lock 3

First of all, parking in downtown Akron is a bitch. Fortunately, it's all free after 6pm if you can find any. Once you have parked, downtown Akron is absolutely amazing.



I was meeting Behry at Lock 3. He had invited me to this album release party at Musica Friday night for this band. He was friends with the singer and had an extra ticket that was meant for a bud who backed out at the last minute. I didn't mind being the stand-in. I haven't been to a concert in forever and free is free. This invite came at the conclusion of a day long chat exchange we had on Thursday. Yeah, things were moving along quickly. Anyway, we met at Lock 3 and had dinner and pre-show drinks at the bar across the street from it: Lockview.



I tried 3 different brands of Ocktoberfest beer and ordered the muenster grilled cheese with pesto and cucumber. The place was cool. I liked the atmosphere. It used to be a music spot before the owner decided he'd get robbed less if it was just a bar and eatery.



If Behry hadn't guided me there expertly, I'm not sure I would have found Musica on my own. It was tucked into an alley. Very low key and dark except for the giant neon sign suggesting this was a place to dance. Which, no one did, by the way.



Since it was the album release party for We Are Public Radio, everyone in attendance was getting a copy of the album for free just for coming to the show. Plus, there were three other local bands set to perform. I was a little excited about all of it.



Goodbye River was already on stage when we got there. Female singer who was completely overwhelmed and drowned out by the boys in the band. Probably would have been a decent set if we could hear and understand the chick. Who knows, though.



After Z followed and completely killed it. This was the surprise act of the evening that no one saw coming. In a word: amazing. I made a deal with Behry: I'd buy the drinks if he bought their album and burnt me a copy. He better follow through on his end. I need more of this music.



I don't remember enough about Rhett Edwards to post anything except that he was there and performed something.



We Are Public Radio finally took the stage. They were good. Very, very mellow. I can't say I enjoyed them nearly as much as After Z. I've been listening to the free album since then and my opinions haven't changed. After Z stole the show and my fan loyalty.

Too drunk to drive by the end of the night, I passed out in my car and slept it off in a parking deck in downtown Akron before waking up at nearly 6am and driving straight to work for some overtime and a delightful, lingering hangover.