#2 - Numbers On Napkins CD Release Party

On July 29th, West Phoenix Party Punk Rockers, Numbers On Napkins, released their six song EP, “Quicker-Drunken-Louder-Harder”. The band chose to celebrate the release of their EP at their CD Release Party, also on July 29th, at Cooperstown in downtown Phoenix. NON selected some great opening acts for the show, that ultimately became a crazy alcohol fueled night!

The evening all started at 8:30. That’s when Sigma took the stage, playing a mix of hardcore and thrash, with strong metal influences, plus a slight alternative rock commercial vibe and a raw punk rock undertone. Sigma put on an incredible live performance, and the charismatic group of young lads set the mood for the evenings festivities.

Following Sigma was Sin Serenade, and then Adam Don’t Care. Both bands put on energetic and solid shows, and gradually the venue started to fill with fans. Small pits would start to form during select songs, and as Adam Don’t Care finished their set, the outside patio at Cooperstown was packed tight with fans at the front of the stage standing shoulder to shoulder. Police officers on horseback watched at the front entrance, as Cooperstown hit its maximum capacity, and the venue could not let anyone inside, until patrons exited the venue.

As ATM took the stage, I watched towards the front gate of the venue, as kids from the parking lot, and even across the street, sang along and at one point, even started their very own pit! ATM played their signature style of skate punk, sounding like a band on Fat Wreck Chords in the late 1990’s. As the band finished their set, they announced that ATM had signed with Bad Stain Records, making NON and ATM labelmates, and the band expressed their gratitude with joining the Bad Stain family.

NON walked out on to the stage as they each took a shot and chased it with a beer. As soon as each of the guys set the beer down, drummer Tad Gurthman hit his sticks together and counted down before starting the song, “The Poor Misfortune of a Dimwitted Lemming”. The crowd was full of excitement, although it was clear that most of the fans had never heard the song before. That’s because the song is on the bands new “QuickerDrunkenLouderHarder” CD. NON ended up playing all of the songs from the bands new EP, except for “The Last Song”, which could possibly be due to the fact that the song features NON’s bassist playing keyboard and synthesizer, as well as bass and vocals. Basically something that couldn’t be achieved live unless the band had a keyboard and synthesizer player.

Fans really got into the evening whenever NON played a song from the bands, “Waiting for Tomorrow” CD. I watched as the entire crowd sang along and bounced around, while swaying back and forth. When NON played the bands popular single, “Runaway”, the entire crowd at Cooperstown couldn’t help but move their bodeis in some form or another, causing a mass of bodies to push against the front of the stage at one end of the venue, while the bodies near the back were often pushed back into the bar area. As I watched fans getting crushed up against the back fances, I realized that the venue was far past capacity.

NON’s wild stage presence is due to the overall dynamics between the members humerous bickering, constant drinking, and overall party attitude. Members proceeded to take shots of Patron, Jagermeister, Jameson, and Cuervo, at several different times during the bands performance, encouraging the crowd to follow suit!

The band called up a female volunteer prior to playing their popular song, “True Love”, replacing the name “Britney” with the volunteer’s name, “Heather”. For those of you unfamiliar with the single, just search online and listen to “True Love” by NON, and you’ll get the point!

After the band played their song, “Quit Yer Job and Become a Rockstar”, they thanked the crowd and left stage. The crowd chanted, “One More Song!” over and over for five minutes before NON reclaimed the stage with a pounding bass line and steady kick drum, followed by guitarist Moe Money saying, “Oh my god Timmy. Look at her boobs. They are so big.....” Guitars and drums followed the bass line and the band started playing a cover of Sir-Mix-A-Lot’s, “Baby Got Back”. The song had an upbeat pop punk style, with melodic vocals about...welll.....big butts.

Anyone with a paid admission received a small card that could be traded for a free copy of NON’s “QuickerDrunkenLouderHarder” EP at the bands merch booth after midnight, which is exactly when NON completed their encore and left the stage for good. The bands merch booth was rapidly flooded with fans, eager to get there copy of the bands new EP. Six bucks was a pretty fair price for NON’s new EP and the second best live performance of last year!