CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Following Ramming Speed’s opening set last night at Uncle Ditty’s Harmony Lounge, the drummer for the band was seen wallowing beneath the stage with the rest of local rabble during the headlining band’s set, staff at the venue confirmed.
“I was making my way through the crowd and all of a sudden I noticed a guy who was a bit sweatier than everyone else and I realized it was the drummer for the opening band,” said show attendee Maya Navarro, who was one of the less than three dozen people at the venue. “I couldn’t believe it, he was just standing there like a completely normal guy. He wasn’t in some super special VIP area, he was just standing next to the bar like any other loser that bought a ticket to the show. It blew my mind, I even saw him use a drink ticket and then leave a pretty decent tip. Rockstars really are just like us.”
The drummer for Ramming Speed, Jax Vincent, was all too eager to comment on his descent from the stage to the floor following their opening set.
“I know it was but mere minutes ago when it was I who was being worshiped on that stage,” remembered Vincent wistfully and perhaps with a sense of grandeur. “I was perched on the summit of Olympus, dispensing musical food to satiate the hunger of the creatively-starved audience. Then I descended down to the PBR-stained floors of the venue with everyone else to experience the moment with the common folk. Everyone kept their distance from me though. They were probably just intimidated.”
Local scene veteran and self-described “show etiquette expert” Caspian Lockwood was able to shed some light on the presence of the opener in the audience.
“This is not the end of a shift at the town factory where you can just simply punch out when you’re done,” explained Lockwood. “To rise through the ranks to become a headliner, the openers have to put in the hours in the audience with the rest of the paying fans as support. Not only do you have to be present, you have to make sure that the headlining band sees you watching them, lest they think you’re a dick who decided to fuck off early.”
At the conclusion of the show, Vincent was witnessed standing by his band’s merch table twirling his drumsticks and approaching people with a Sharpie unsolicited, offering to sign autographs.