New Hi Tone is even better than the old Hi Tone.

Wizzard Sleeve's bassist was bad ass.

Scott Rogers : still a d-bag.

i know one of these things to be true.

Back home and I hurt in the best possible way.

...

OK, the second or maybe the third best possible way but still in a very very good way.

HURTS SO GOOD.

New Hi Tone is even better than the old Hi Tone.

Definitely. I didn't feel like I was standing in an oven. Much much better venue especially for this.

Wizzard Sleeve's bassist was bad ass.

What a great band! Who knew Mobile, Alabama could put out a band like that?

Can I comment on bands now or am I supposed to wait until tomorrow?

Destruction Unit who are old to Gonerfest but new to me blew me away properly finishing what Wizzard Sleeve started. Had they held this certain frequency/note going into my brain for about thirty more seconds I think I could have unlocked a new secret of the universe.

Mudhoney was the apex for me. For a moment there I was in my early thirties again and back in the Pacific Northwest. Mark still as youthful and energetic on stage as he was back then.

Blind Shake kicked it off with a nice aggressive, rhythmic drive that Octa#Grape built upon and added a touch of controlled chaos to. Nice hard, aggressive kick off to the fest.

Human Eye's frontman gets my vote for the new Motor City Madman. Wonderful weirdness & great show.

The Autodramatics were bitchin'!

Onyas were fun fun and got my head banging the way it should be on a Saturday night.

CC Riders were nicely placed in the mid-evening intermission spot allowing people time to go grab some fast food, take a nap or whatever else they need to do before the remaining bands came on.

Cosmic Psychos, what can I say? I almost felt honored to be able to see them play, or at least lucky.

What a great, unique thing yall've put together in Memphis with this festival. A lot of these bands I would never hear of much less see play if not for this. And another thing I've noticed is that often with some of these bands listening to an mp3 or watching a youtube video of them playing just doesn't do them justice. You have to stand in front of them getting the unfiltered experience to truly "get it". I'm seriously impressed with this year's festival. I can understand why people come back to this thing year after year. I'm worn out and satisfied like after good sex. Great job with the fest!

Also, best surprise of fest was SOLID GOLDBERG!

For me, Mudhoney was a bizarre time warp....there was more crowd surfing then at a Limp Bizkit concert.

New Hi-tone is way better...

Miss the pizza, love the Cozy Curb.

DA GOOD:

* Mudhoney - especially happy they came back for an encore to do "Hate the Police"
* Cosmic Psychos (& The Onyas) - I got so worked up I wanted to punch a kangaroo
* Quintron & Miss Pussycat - 'nuff said
* The Hemingers - holy crap what a fun band
* Buck Biloxi & the Fucks - a crazy, sloppy, drunken set
* Ex-Cult - no frills, great stuff
* Guitar Wolf - wish their set was inside but happy just to see them
* The Midtown Holiday Inn is in a great location
* Every woman was raving about how the bathrooms at the new Hi-Tone are such an improvement over the old. Water fountains were also very helpful
* Hanging out with people I tend to see only at GF & picking right back up where we left off
* Meeting shitloads of new people, including Jack Stands, SAMBEAUX & wombraider
* I felt pretty decent every morning, as opposed to the splitting headaches of the past
* Perfect weather

DA BAD:

* Driving 9-10 hours back to Ohio in the rain on Sunday.
* All you old farts complaining about the heat, the long days, the late after hours parties, the hangovers, etc. I'm just as old as you fucks. Suck it up for 3 days!
* Need more time to record shop

Special thanks to everyone who worked their asses off to provide maximum entertainment while making it look easy.

It was just a normal weekend for me. I never puked. Loads of fun.

Pez, I mistook some guy for you on the street, driving home Saturday night. I ended up driving him and his buddy down the street to their hotel anyways. Somebody (AL P) helped me out last year so I thought I'd help somebody out this year. Good to meet you!

New Hi-Tone was definitely a success. Thought putting the tent in the back might've worked a bit better, but whatever.

Loved Q&P, Human Eye and Wizzard Sleeve (although I still want to know why he seems so upset)

My work schedule was SO jacked up this weekend. I could only get to the opening/closing ceremonies and the Murphy's day party. But lord, did I have a blast.

Before I moved to Memphis 4+ years ago, I barely knew anything about Goner Records. I was in a band that shared a bill with Jay a few times, I had all of Harlan's records up to that point, and I had a few good Oblivians songs on some mix tapes/CDs. That's really all I knew. I got into town and was like oh geez . Look at everyone poking a stick at the corpses of punk, garage rock and rockabilly. Then I join the Goner board and think even more so. What a bunch of cynical and silly "punk" motherfuckers there are on here!

But as I hung around and went to shows and made a few friends, I realized what an amazingly keen eye that Goner has in terms of finding the weirdos out there who bring something new to the table, mixing it all into one boiling hot stew, and then cramming it into your face like a scalding cream pie. The 1-2-3-4-5 Murphy's punch of Manatees, Digital Leather, Harlan's Fuzz, Buck Biloxi, and Spray Paint was such a great example of this. What a euphoric stretch of great jams.

Overall, I think it is awesome that Goner and Gonerfest have actually made me feel LESS cynical about rock n roll, when I initially expected the opposite. Great job and thanks to everyone involved.

I am a bit sad that most of y'all missed the Friday night Lamplighter thing. Time and Limes were incredible. That was the most attentive I've been at a Limes show, and I finally realized what a stellar lyricist Shawn is. And my friends in Timmy & the Tumblers are overdue for a "proper" Memphis gig. Everyone who stuck around was rocked hard and bought a crapload of merch.

"Fall Break, Bitches." - Ross Johnson

Bummed to have missed it. Destruction Unit destroyed via Rocket Sci feed, though.

What was the Golden Goodie this year?

Record with Tyler Keith & Apostles tearing it up on one side, American Death Ray on the other... live from Gonerfests past.

Solid gold.

I skipped most of the bands I'd seen before...like Tyvek and Destruction Unit....when I saw Tyvek, me and Will Oldham were cracking jokes in the dark, pretty much just me and him there....then lights came on and I realized it was Will Oldham....I saw Destruction Unit about 6 months ago in a sewer...true story. Both bands are good but...eh....

One band I was totally fucking annoyed I missed was T.S.O.T....best performances for me were CC Riders and Wizzard Sleeve, but then again they were right after eachother so maybe whatever I was on was just really really good....but probably not.

I had to leave early for Mudhoney....I love em, but I've heard all their songs to many times and I was having bad flashbacks....I think it was that nausea feeling that Sartre writes about.

That's my verdicts.

"Destruction Unit destroyed"

The clue is in the name.

In the interest of constructive criticism (or at least not outright bitching)... I don't think the location of the stage at the new Hi Tone is ideal. People crowd by the two entrences (by the stage and the front bar room) and it was way difficult to get to the middle or back of the club and the bathroom. Also, the A/C seemed non-existent on Thurs.

In spite of my complaints, I hope to come back for many more Gonerfests. This was my 4th and I start planning my next adventure the day I leave Memphis. Although I don't know if I can make 2014... buying a house and getting married next year. Boo to grown up stuff!

I was not hungover at all this GF. This can be either good or bad...

I was not hungover until Monday. Fireball? We think we are Goners of strong resolve, and then we sit at a table with Scott Rogers...

Hey!!

GINO and the GOONS!

funnest, funniest, BESTest time ever.

also: AUSTRALIA!

Fireball?

You were also sitting at a table with Mad Macka and tequila!

Sal, you're right, general consensus about High Tone is that they are utilizing space poorly..but it still rocks. I learned to use the backdoor allot and walk around the building....next year I will tape it open like I do all the security doors at my hospital since I lost my key card.

The original plan was to open up the space but the building's owner wouldn't let bitchinkitchen do it. So he had to make do.

Also, the storefronts aren't usually open (as I understand) and the entrance/exit is usually through the back, into the parking lot. Maybe BK can see about putting a pass through from the "merch room" into the other room, but honestly, I think it's the best use of space with what he can do. Dude's no fool, he has weighed the options. Consider too that one side is as big as the old HiTone; he coulda just closed off the south side or used it as Mudhoney's green room and that woulda been that.

You were also sitting at a table with Mad Macka and tequila!

I can do that all day long....and have. Cake. Walk.

As Sambeaux was privy too, yeah we weighed everything. The thing that isn't taken into account is what the code of the city will allow. Can't block entrances/ exits. Honestly, I'm really not certain where you could put a stage anywhere else considering where the plumbing, etc had to go. As for the ability to move, I was doing just that all three nights and there was never a problem. We're not roping off walking lanes. Sorry, it's a rock show. The way we set it up was the best use of our space as we are legally allowed. You have to remember, you can think anything you want about building anything you want but that doesn't mean the city code office, fire inspector or health department are going to agree.

Also, thanks for the kudos! It was a ton of very hard work

The original plan was to open up the space but the building's owner wouldn't let bitchinkitchen do it. So he had to make do.

Also, the storefronts aren't usually open (as I understand) and the entrance/exit is usually through the back, into the parking lot. Maybe BK can see about putting a pass through from the "merch room" into the other room, but honestly, I think it's the best use of space with what he can do. Dude's no fool, he has weighed the options. Consider too that one side is as big as the old HiTone; he coulda just closed off the south side or used it as Mudhoney's green room and that woulda been that.

This.

While it may have seemed like a bad set-up for Gonerfest, it is not how the new space normally runs. They COULD NOT put the tents in the back lot so they had to block the back door or it would have been a total clusterfuck.

Yes we try to be good neighbors and blocking the Jehovah's out of their space (back parking lot) on their one day of use (Saturday) was not an option

They observe the true Sabbath! Who'd a thunk it?

But for most shows, it seems a given to close off the south side.

I'd also like maybe a 20'x10'x1' high platform about halfway back so that people in the back could see. It might also serve as a nice artificial barrier to keep people herded up front (or keep them back by the bar if the band sucked).

Actually we are keeping the lounge open all the time as just a bar, no music, chairs and tables from 4p- 2a every day starting next week. Ping pong table in small room.

Yes on the platform and we are also building a bench along the side to sit/ stand on. Platform behind sound booth so Joel can see the bands

It might also serve as a nice artificial barrier to keep people herded up front


CATTLE PROD!!!

As per usual, Bruce wins

verdict: oblivians are STILL the greatest rock'n'roll band of all time.

I'd also like maybe a 20'x10'x1' high platform about halfway back so that people in the back could see.

If I am understanding your engineer speak Sam, you mean a big ol' halfpipe? Kind of like at Now That's Class! in Cleveland?

The stage height is perfect for broken shins or just an easy step up to the stage.

The traffic flow seemed to get better after the first night because by then everyone had suffered through the crowd to get from the "lounge" area to the bathrooms and were more mindful of others doing the same thing.

WHAT THE FUCK DOES MEMPHIS HAVE AGAINST HAWK'N WIND??? EVERY TIME I GO IT'S LIKE "Oh Man, I just finished mine yesterday" or "My dooder's outta town till next week" or "sorry man, want some shitty nose candy?" yeah the pizza was missed...although I was thankful to BBQ truck. Ex Cult may have been my fav and of course Human Eye...Although the Gary Wrong Group at the bucc was the best all weekend.

Man, a half pipe would be sweet! My old band played Now That's Class a few years ago. I excitedly ran up and down it a few times. Probably gave the band more reason to think I was the weird older guy in the band than they already did...

Also, it dawned on me on my way down that this would be the first GF I went to that had no Greg Cartwright project. Tip Tops for 2014!

Ah yes, I had conveniently forgotten about those witnessing Jehovah... Makes perfect sense why the tent was in front not back then. Honestly, I thought the new space came together quite well. I still really had no idea what to expect after having gone a few times over the last few months.

More like a fun box Chris (no, not THAT kind either). Of course, it would have to have the requisite 34" handrails per IBC.

I really needed this. It's been a moderately crummy year for me and GF helped alot.

I'm very impressed with the amount of Memphis talent. Even though I had seen them before, the Fuzz and Ex Cult (I'll see you at the Billiken Room soon) especially blew me away.

How much hookers and blow would it take to get a package tour of Nots, Manatees, Ex Cult, Sheiks, and the Fuzz to Carbondale?

That would be quite a show.

Initiative comes to those who wait...

The Sheiks + Flowers of Evil
Saturday, October 19 at 10:00pm at skihaus - Carbondale