My vacation is nigh, and I am Honkin on Bobo with excitement, friends. Only one more clock-in until I’m off for 8 days in a row. Only 4 days until we are southbound to Louisville, and only 5 days until Louder Than Life 2024 begins. We went from “I don’t think we I can do this again” to “this is our annual vacation” in less than three years, and brothers and sisters, I’m here to tell you that we have earned this particular annual vacation.

I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to approach writing about this year’s Louder Than Life, because as you can see from the flyer below, it’s a pretty dang big event, and on a personal level, it’s very intertwined with previous years. I think I’ve begun to figure it out, but I don’t have time to get started on it at the moment, as I have a lot to do in preparation for our trip, plus I’m very caught up in Season Two of Veronica Mars, and that show requires my full attention. I did want to write a li’l sumn sumn, though, just to hold myself accountable, and because I haven’t posted anything up on these “esteemed” pages in almost 6 months, and what’s the point of paying for the domain name if I’m not even gonna use the damn thing?

Anyway, this year’s Louder Than Life has, in my opinion, one of the strongest overall lineups in the history of the fest. The headliners get all the attention on the posters and the social media, and there are a couple of real duds on there (I’m looking at you in particular, Falling in Reverse), but this lineup is fuggin incredible, and it’s not just the bands with the prominent logos that are getting me stoked. Several of the bands I’m most excited about seeing are listed in generic white ALL CAPS.

One of the beautiful things about a festival like this is that it’s pretty easy to avoid a band if you don’t wanna see them. For example, when Falling in Reverse is playing on Saturday, we’ll be on the far end of the festival grounds, watching HEALTH, followed by Body Count, so we’ll clearly be the big winners on that day. On the other hand, one of the ugly realities about a festival like this is that you often have to make tough decisions about which band to miss because two bands you wanna see are playing at exactly the same time, or have overlapping start/stop times. I’m currently dealing with this in some capacity on all four days, and I’m sure I’ll write more about it eventually.

As I said earlier, I don’t have a lot of time to really get into this right now, but I wanted to get the ball rolling, which I figure will make it easier for me to keep it rolling after the fest. I have so much to say (about this festival and about my life in general over the past couple years), and I need to stop being a lazy turd and just say it, already, and I’m gonna keep it going this time. You’ll see!

I’m gonna close with a song each from a few of the undercard bands that I’m extra pumped about seeing.

Touché Amoré has helped me work through some shit over the last year-and-a-half, y’all. They also tie into some of the things I have to say about this festival and about my life in general over the past couple of years, so you’ll definitely be hearing more about them soon. I will be a blubbering, emotional wreck when they take the stage at 2:15 on Thursday, and there’s a decent chance I will destroy my vocal chords singing along with them. This is their latest single, from their upcoming album Spiral in a Straight Line, which is coming out October 10, and about which I am very excited. The song and video both rule.

Drug Church has been helping me deal with day-to-day stuff and nonsense for most of this year, and if I have any voice left by the time they hit the stage Sunday at 4:45, it will surely be gone by the time their 30 minutes are up. Drug Church would be one of the very best bands to come from the mid-90’s if they hadn’t actually come from 2011, so instead they’re just the best band to come from 2011. This is one of their latest singles, from their upcoming album Prude, which is coming out October 4, and about which I am very excited. The song and video both rule.

KNEECAP is a hip-hop trio from West Belfast, Northern Ireland. I don’t know much about them yet, but I know that this song has not left my head since the first time I heard it, even if I can’t understand half the lyrics. I’m not 100% sure, but I think the beat might’ve gotten me pregnant. I have a feeling their live show is gonna off the hook, as the kids say.

Anyway, I really do need to get back to chorin, so that’s all for now. Stay tuned for more, though. My brain-dam is close to being breached, I can feel it. Check back in after next weekend and let yourself get swept away with my gibberish.

Thanks for reading.