Filter. A band that I thought I would never see perform live. Last Monday night was almost surreal being in the presence of band who rocked me in the late 90's. And to see them at a venue as small as The Bluebird Theater...well, felt too good to be true.

I was standing front row to the left of the stage on a ledge that was about as wide as my feet are long. When they came out I thought to myself, "Am I really about to see Filter right now?" I couldn't believe it. With every song they played, I felt like I was back in high school again. They've still got a good sound, good vocals, good everything and I'm glad they haven't fallen off the face.

At one point during their set, I lost my balance off the ledge and somehow ended up in the pit. I didn't mind at all though. I joined in on the flailing around. Good times!

Opiate For The Masses opened for Filter. I had only heard the name, not the music. When the roadies were setting up the stage, I was somewhat in awe of the drum set. I tried counting how many cymbals were a part of it. I counted 13 and one gong. What?! I could've over-counted or not counted enough but, it was somewhere in that range. When they started their set, I was focused on the drummer because I wanted to see what he was going to do with his setup. Let me just say that he was out of control and all over the place. I like when a band has a versatile drummer.

One Red Bull/Vodka, 2 Miller High Life's, 1 Jager shot, 1 Vanilla Stoli/Coke, and 1 Jameson shot later...I was able to meet 1/4 of Filter and 3/4 of Opiate For The Masses. My Filter promo photo is now graced with a signature...

I also bought Opiate's album, which was also personalized... (photo to come)

All in all, it was a good show with good energy and a good crowd. I hope Filter starts touring a lot more because I'd really like to see them again...and again.

Hopefully, I'll post some pictures from the show (if and when I receive them).