Howlin Maggie @ Frankie’s Inner City, Toledo, OH (1996/1997)
Sometime after the release of their first album, Honeysuckle Strange, Howlin Maggie made the trip up to Toledo to play Frankie’s Inner City. The name is truthful, the club was in downtown Toledo, a place I did not visit very many times during my years at college in Bowling Green.
The club was split into to sides, one for bands and one for a dance club and DJ. We realized upon arriving that the band side was woefully empty, and the club side was packed. And loud. Very loud. There were (maybe) twelve people there to see Howlin Maggie, who despite the small audience, were glammed up and rocked as if they were playing a 20,000 seat venue. That was greatly appreciated – I respect bands that put on a show regardless of audience size, but after a while it got awkward. Personally, I wanted to say to the band, “Look, we get it, you want to rock out, but you don’t need to pretend this Madison Square Garden. Dust off the glitter, wipe off the eyeliner, let’s just have a good rock show.”
I made the mistake of wearing the t-shirt of the band I was going to see, a fact that my friends Keith, Jason and Billy who accompanied pointed out without mercy.
The club was split into to sides, one for bands and one for a dance club and DJ. We realized upon arriving that the band side was woefully empty, and the club side was packed. And loud. Very loud. There were (maybe) twelve people there to see Howlin Maggie, who despite the small audience, were glammed up and rocked as if they were playing a 20,000 seat venue. That was greatly appreciated – I respect bands that put on a show regardless of audience size, but after a while it got awkward. Personally, I wanted to say to the band, “Look, we get it, you want to rock out, but you don’t need to pretend this Madison Square Garden. Dust off the glitter, wipe off the eyeliner, let’s just have a good rock show.”
I made the mistake of wearing the t-shirt of the band I was going to see, a fact that my friends Keith, Jason and Billy who accompanied pointed out without mercy.