It was 7:30pm on July 6th when I walked into Ceritano’s for the music event that was scheduled there. The restaurant was packed with couples of families feasting on the Italian delights, which this place made to order. The owner asked me if I was there for the show and I nodded. He then motioned for me to go into the catering room in the back.
Doug Cheatwood & the Bastards of Fate were setting up their equipment, while Blacksburg producer and sound engineer Tim Kirk was setting up the sound equipment. There weren’t too many people there, but at rock shows attendance usually grows after each passing hour. Even though the show was advertised the start at 7:30pm, it did not seem that it was going to. Since show goers usually arrive late, 7:30pm really meant 8:00 or 8:30pm.
By 8:30pm, everything was finally in place. However, worried that the loud music might frighten his restaurant customers, Mr. Ceritano asked that the music starts half an hour later. Anxious for the music, the audience members started to wander around the block and into the restaurant area trying to waste some time until the bands finally get to perform. At this point, the bands were nervous about losing what seemed to be a disintegrating audience due to the continued time delay.
In the back of the room, there was a merchandise table setup which all three bands shared. I walked over to see what it had to offer. The one lightbulb that lit the table revealed an array of bandshirts, stickers and records; which featured boy/girl’s new album called Secret Secret Secret Singles, Doug Cheatwood & The Bastards of Fate’s t-shirt debut.
The time was now 8:50pm and the bands had finally gotten the motion to start performing. Doug Cheatwood & The Bastards of Fate were the first to play. They kicked off their set with an old time favorite called “The Sweet Touch”, which almost everyone immediately recognized and started singing along to. The audience started growing as people were coming back and new people were coming into the doors. Next was “Mister Violins”, a mellow bouncy and catchy beat that fades into a loud noisy song entitled “Harlequin Fetus”. At this point, the band reached into their theatrical bag of tricks and took out a doll, that was a temporary (however quite memorable) member of the band for the duration of the song. The doll was flailed around, hypnotizing the audience into a deep state of rocking-out.
After the first band completed their set, boy/girl started setting up. A shiny yellow drumset appeared, along with a faded guitar and purple tinted light that formed eerie shadows on the crimson wall behind drummer Lisa Cusak and vocalist/guitarist Eric Stiner. The shadows started to animate as the band started to play spazzy fragmented sounds that seemed to artistically harmonize. This duo from Brooklyn had been touring for a few days and I was impressed with the amount of energy they still managed to inject into their performance. Their set featured some material that Blacksburg has not heard yet, such as “Kill kill kill” when Lisa took a break from drumming to use the triangle.
The last band to play was the Gay Blades, boy/girl tourmates who were also visiting Blacksburg from Brooklyn. Despite these two bands touring together most of the time, they hardly sounded the same. The Gay Blades presented music from the poppier side of the Indie music spectrum. The band was comprised of two members; Clark Westfield on vocals and guitar and Puppy Mills on drums. The people couldn’t help but start dancing when they started playing. Westfield sassed the audience in between songs, which ended the show with everyone laughing in stitches.
After the show, The Gay Blades decided to treat everyone who decided to stick around to a freestyle. All of the bands mingled with the audience to discuss music, touring among many other topics.
It was the perfect recipe for a fun-filled Friday night, especially for summertime in Blacksburg. The Gay Blades and boy/girl had announced plans to make Blacksburg a regular tour stop, which is definitely something to look forward to. Doug Cheatwood & The Bastards of Fate are coming back to Blacksburg on August 4th to play yet another fantastic show at Ceritano’s, which I will be posting more information about at a later date, so keep your eyes peeled.
This article was also published in The Collegiate Times' website and paper, but the article above is how it was written before it was edited.
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