My weekend with Burn Book was a wild journey from start to finish. I met up with the boys and wed kickstarted our weekend adventure at 'Donut Kraze' a donut shop local to Buffalo and a traditional meet-up spot for the guys. We all picked out a donut for the road and got ready for the haul out to Cleveland. Good Charlotte started up the road trip playlist, inspiring playful singalongs between members Derek (vocalist) and Donny (guitar). Rob Zombie was mentioned to be another road favorite, but our travel playlist consisted of various rap artists and some classic Expire and Incendiary. The boys exchange in banter and do word search puzzles to help pass the drive time.
Eager to play, we waste no time getting to Cleveland; only making one stop for necessities at a good ole' Walmart and snagging some Chic-Fil-A to go. Once we finally touch down in Cleveland we are eagerly greeted by the incredibly friendly promoters and owners of the house the show would be happening in that night. We enter the home and were pleasantly surprised by the unique and quirky decor on the walls and the genuine character of the place. The basement walls were covered in bright graffiti and one wall read "MOSH HERE" in large, vibrant print.
The venue slowly filled with a wide array of people eager to listen to new music and get a little rowdy. Burn Book was the second band on the bill to play and they definitely set the tone for the remainder of the house show. Drummer, Jordan begins the set by taking part of his drum kit and slamming it against the wall repeatedly. The crowd erupted, leeching off of his energy and Derek begins the set with "We're Burn Book. How would you cut your dick off?" Riled up, the crowd pushed open a pit as wide they could given the density of people in such a confined space. Burn Book played as a three piece and brought an intensity to the stage unlike any other. These boys are heavy hitting in every sense of the meaning, each and every note slams and Derek's vocals seem to shake the earth with their depth. The crowd did not stop moving throughout their entire set, feeding off of the bands energy and adding even more intensity of their own.
After shooting their set I headed up to the living room to set up merch while the boys continued to tear down from their set. Shortly after the boys went and exchanged pins with Born A New, another very rad band on that nights bill, and handed out stickers and pins to everyone in the house that would take one. Everyone we came across greeted us with such open arms and we were fortunate enough to be hosted by Chris and Kate, whom we met at the show. They went above and beyond the call of duty, setting us up with air mattresses and making us brownies; full of nothing but genuine hospitality and delightful conversation.
We enjoyed a delicious breakfast with our hosts the next morning at a small local diner. Once again the guys were full of shenanagins, putting spoons on their noses and stuffing straws in each others faces keeping the entire table laughing. Donny rounded the crew up and started to get us amped up for the five hour drive to Harrisburg, all that was left to do was freshen up and stop at a Walmart for sweatpants. Just as we are about to head out to Harrisburg we noticed the coolant is leaking and after seeking advice we needed to head home to get the van looked at and prepare for the show in Buffalo. So adorned with lime green duct tape, we carefully turned around and headed to NY. While we were all bummed that our weekend tour wives/by coming home early.
Even though our weekend ended early, I enjoyed every second I spent with these good-hearted and genuine dudes. Despite their tough guy appearances on stage, these three were only full of jokes and good times throughout the weekend. Keep an eye out for Burn Book and check out the music they have up on their bandcamp!
