Okay, first things first. Yes, I am Mr. Duffy's girlfriend. So I may be a little biased when it comes to this site. But then again, a lot of people who come to this site know Mr. Duffy in some way, shape or form, so they may also be a little biased.

But I don't think my bias has anything to do with what a huge success the donewaiting.com launch party was. The number of attendees hovered somewhere around 300. Little Brother's was packed. And the music, well, the music was incredible.

Starting off the show was Ken Gould. Wow. This set completely blew me away. I have a CD with Ken's demos on it, but hearing all the songs live was another story. Ken's voice is incredible, and with Little Brother's great acoustics, it carried over well. Ken made quite an impression on the audience, as well as the other bands in attendance.

Second up was Stardrop. I'd heard Stardrop's CD but never seen them live. They were also incredible. They called people from the bar to the stage and enticed them to start bobbing their heads in time with the music. By the time they were finished, people were crowding around the stage. And all the while, MORE people were filling in the door.

Miranda Sound played next, and their energy was something else. They rocked out on the very first song and got the audience screaming and 'wooooooo!' ing after every song. Toward the end of their set, Dan broke a string on his guitar - a very necessary string. As he hurriedly grabbed up another guitar, the band covered for him - Billy added another verse to the song which started off with "Every time we play a show/Dan breaks something" and ended with "But that's okay/because he's so talented." The audience loved it. And after playing their last song, they were informed that they had three more minutes to play. The audience went wild.

Manda & the Marbles finished off the set - another band I had never seen. Flashbulbs were popping like crazy as the power trio played, heavy bass lines thumping in the ears of the attendees. They sent the crowd home with buzzing eardrums.

So, all told, the event was a success. It was a loud, raccous, late night that I wish could have kept going. I can't wait for the next one.

Thanks A.

Here's what I wrote: http://www.donewaiting.com/archives/2003_02.php#000434

I'm not gonna repost it since it's already appeared in both the newsletter and the main page.

Needless to say, I'm one happy camper.

Thanks for having us Rob. We all agreed that it was one of our favorite shows, ever.

The new site looks great.

Congratulations on the successful launch.

Hard work and determination equals Columbus music. I was very proud to be at Lil' Bros saturday night. I met Mr. Duffy around a circle of friends and fans the other night. What a great guy.

Ken Gould took the stage first. It's good to see someone play whose music is sometimes labeled acoustic. A lot people were asking "Who is this guy?" A friend of Duffy who seems to hold his own and put a mark in the Columbus scene. That's what everbody should be saying.

Stardrop went second: Bird drop. Not much too say here. A band made up of false hype and no talent. Still having fun though.

Miranda Sound, third: What the hell? Can rock get any better. Totally original sound and music troopers. They're in a world of their own with their precise rhythm section, call and response vocals, and sweaty armpits. Damn.

Manda and the Marbles: First timer for me. Not bad. I read a lot of good things about them. I'll make sure to catch them again so I can make a honest review. I was on my tenth Pabst at this point.

Cheers to Mr. Duffy

Damn! I sure am glad the show is over. Duffy was so nervous and stressed out in the final days leading up the show, I thought he was mad at me for something. I kept saying, "Dude, what are you worried about? It's gonna be fantasic. They are going to be lining up out the door halfway to the Goody Boy diner." I don't know if that was true or not because I was one of the first to arrive and last to leave as usual, but it sure got crowded in there. By the end of Ken's awesome set it was, "Excuse me. Pardon me. Excuse me. Pardon me." All the way to the bathroom through the throngs of rock fans.

Great job Ken. I loved the way your opening set built up the momentum by adding another person every other song or so. It was sly the way you eased us all into the rock just a little bit at a time. It was like a Chinese Water Torture, but opposite. Not painful or scary. Chinese Water Not-Torture. I loved that song near the end with your electric that rocked out. It was a very handsome groove that Christian totally underlined with his dynamic drumming.

On to Stardrop, Columbus Music's favorite punching bag. Well fuck that. I thought they did a stand up job. I started off listening with a critical ear and ended up totally losing myself to the tunes. Tappin my toes, humming along. I don't know the words but the tone is universal. I hope to hear more from these guys soon.

Miranda Sound. Oh my fucking god. You guys rock. I don't know what else to say. I have seen you maybe a half dozen times and Saturday was the most high energy set I have seen yet. Amazing. Thanks guys. All I have to say is I hope I never ever have to follow them in a line up.

Which brings us to Manda. I was really looking forward to seeing Manda and the Marbles since I haven't seen them in a long while. They have been away on tour for too long. Manda totally rocked all summer long all over town and in my car cd player with the windows rolled down. I am really glad this band is getting some national attention, but I wish they would come home more often. I was however a little dissapointed in the crowd. I think it thinned out a little towards the end. I know, I know... everyone needed to get home so they would be all bright eyed for church the next morning and all, but really, was another 45 mintutes gonna kill ya?

Not to end on a sour note, thanks a million Duffy. Everyone had a great time and we owe it all to you, The Most Optimistic Scenester in Columbus. I can't wait for the next donewaiting show. Although I hope that doesn't mean another site redesign.

just wanted to say that we (Manda and the Marbles) had a great time playing the show on Saturday. Yes, the crowd really thinned out when we went on -- maybe that's why we don't play Columbus too often....hint! hint! . we tend to like cities where they stay


Don't know when our next columbus gig will be but possibly sometime in March or April.

It was nice to play with bands that we normally don't play with though and thanks again to Mr. Duffy for having us!!!

Cheers!

I was so concerned with bitching about how the crowd thinned out I forgot to mention how much I loved the Marbles' set. There is something very satisfying about their sound. It's so direct. No bells or whistles. Just pure, unadulterated energy and emotion. And yes my ears were ringing. Also, they are by far the best looking band. No wonder the flash bulbs were firing off like the 4th of July.

I, too, had a great time at the launch party. I think we all owe a big thank you to Mr. Duffy for assembling a kick-ass lineup. Duffy, I could kiss you!

But I won't since you've got a girlfriend.

minimott

Minimott:

The Honey's. Friday night. Music Factory. Come and bang your head among good friends like Mr.Reno.

-Chip

I see that Mr. Reno didn't like my reply of "maybe" when he asked me if I was going. Now he's enlisted your help to sway me.

minimott

Actually, I enlisted Mr.Reno to spread the word, not the other way around. While I can't hope to match the success of the donewaiting party, I would like to see a good turnout for this show so I'm mentioning it to anybody and everybody and asking them to pass it on.

-Chip

As Ken Gould's better half, I was thrilled with the turnout and positive response to the donewaiting launch party show. Finally, Columbus will be able to appreciate what San Francisco has already seen, Ken's amazing songwriting skills, soulful voice and charismatic stage persona. It's exciting now that he is breaking out here in Columbus, where the reaction has been bigger than in S.F. in many ways. I just wish he had more time to play and record since that is his first love.

The rest of the bands were incredible too. The whole night just seemed filled with so much positive energy... mostly emanating from Mr. Robert Duffy, who exudes excitement and sheer love of music. A very big night for Columbus music.

i've got to agree with most people here about the donewaiting show being awesome. I couldn't get into ken gould too much, but i was winning in pool at the time so i was a little distracted. stardrop was good too, but it was miranda sound and manda and the marbles that did it for me. I thought miranda sound just rocked, they had great energy and were totally into their set. I'm real excited now about going to see them on the 11th at oldfields. The only thing that would be better was if manda and the marbles were playing again soon, god they are so awesome. If i wasn't so preoccupied making sure i was as close to the stage as possible for their set i would have been standing at the door shaking my fist at the people walking out like they had a 1:30 curfew, come on people we're all adults here. oh well, their loss, if they want to miss some really great music its their problem. either way great show, great music great crowd (for the most part) overall a good time for all.

Reading everyone's replies makes me want to spill the beans about the next live event.

Oh man oh man.

But I can't just yet, still some details.....

Since I was part of the lineup, I'm probably more biased than Areila...but crikey...what a fantastic show. As with Duffy, these were some of my favorite local bands as well. I saw (OK, played bass in) the only other SECRET outing by Ken Gould, so it was a cool juxtaposition to be on the receiving end of such familiar...and still catchy...songs. Can't wait for the CD. This was only about the bazillionth time I've seen Miranda Sound, and they're better than ever. I envy your airtight show, Mirandas! And your latest disc has been humming along in my CD player at 360 rpm since Saturday. As for Manda and her Marbles, they epitomize rock 'n' roll. If I had a national music publication, I think I'd wanna name-drop them, too (but seriously - would it have killed them to include a photo?!).

We're awfully lucky to have a Duffy in our little music community. And the even more exciting part is that it's really just beginning. I know there are still many tricks up his optomistic scenester-sleeve. For those in attendance on Saturday, practice saying it now: "I was at the FIRST donewaiting.com show. Way before it turned into a reality TV show on the WB!"

Sabo, you attacked the bass like frickin' Entwistle. In his current state of course.

I got some really good shots of you cats Saturday night - but none with Tom sans cap . . . is it just like Kiss and the make-up? Only the backstage ladies are allowed to see him out of uniform?

By the way, that's going to be my new MO at your shows - order 15 drinks, line them up at your feet and then berate you the whole show. Perhaps I'll even quote DH Lawrence as you play.

You're welcome to head on over here to see live photos of the event: http://www.donewaiting.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=7