Note: Do not go to shows at Mixx.

I was beyond excited to see my friend's alternative/rock band, Call It Epic, play a show Saturday night (Oct. 10) in Austin's Very Own Weird Woodstock at Mixx, since I missed the band's first two shows over summer. (I've been to a few of their band practices, so I've heard their music, but not any of the new songs they've been working on.)

Well, to say the least, I was disappointed. Not with Call It Epic. With Mixx.

I got there early enough to catch the band before Call It Epic play. They were...ok. Decent, I suppose. Pretty much your average emo band. Their downfall was playing a Boys Like Girls cover song, which I don't think the crowd cared for much. (The lead singer asked if anyone likes Boys Like Girls. Insert long pause here. "Well, I do," he said, before introducing the cover song.) They also didn't even draw a crwod toward the stage, which speaks for itself. (Not that the place was packed to begin with.)

Call It Epic, (consisting of Bryan Bone on lead guitar and vocals, Ami "John" Shabazz on guitar and back up vocals, and Joe Allen on the drums), on the other hand, had a small crowd in front of the stage by the end of their first song's intro.

However, Shabazz's mic wasn't turned up enough nor was Bone's guitar. Why? The sound guy disappeared right after the band started playing.

The result? After Bone repeatedly asking the non-existent sound guy to turn up the volume on his guitar, Call It Epic was told that the band was out of time...after only playing two songs and being on stage for about 10 minutes, if even that. Yet, the band before them, who mostly played cover songs, had been given their full time and played their whole set. (I also caught the following band's first song, which was as unoriginal as the band before Call It Epic and as dull and worn out as its lead vocalist looked - an over middle-aged man who looked like he was trying to recapture his glory days.)

Despite only playing two songs and having sound difficulties, Call It Epic gave a great performance of two new songs they've been working on, the lyrics and music of which were written by Bone. According to a couple of Call It Epic fans who caught the show (as well as the band's first two), Call It Epic played much better than their previous show (their first show being the best so far), which says a lot about how good a band is when they can play so well despite crappy sound technicians and without the chance to play more than two songs.

Let's just say, Call It Epic was not pleased (and I was a bit disappointed myself, but still, I was just happy I got to finally see the band play a show) and will never play at Mixx again.

(Note: Sorry if this post is a bit weak on what the band sounds like, but I'm sure I'll write about them again in the future, in more detail...hopefully after attending a better show. In the meantime, the link, Call It Epic, at the beginning of the post will take you to the band's Myspace page.)