Last night, the ambiance of One Eyed Jacks was changed with each new group that came on the stage. A three-band show kept the intimate venue packed with enthusiastic young fans waiting for their favorite performance.
First up was the New Orleans-based quintet Donovan Wolfington, whose performance was an embodiment of tenacity and the unwillingness of a young band to give up. This was the band’s first appearance at One Eyed Jacks. One could tell they were more than ready to blow away the audience. Unfortunately, the set was plagued with constant technical difficulties.
Within the first five seconds of the first song, both the lead guitarist and bassist break strings. Consistent issues concerning feedback forced the band to stop and work out kinks numerous times. This seemingly cursed act turned into a 45-minute lesson in audio/stage production.
Despite all of these bloopers, Donovan Wolfington pulled through with a set of four high-intensity rockers that had the crowd up and dancing. The band apologized profusely for the glitches and jokingly promised that it would be a very good performance the next time around at One Eyed Jacks.
The air in the venue became electrified when Florida punks You Blew It! took to the stage next, lighting up the room with a set of high-voltage songs that threw the audience into a energized frenzy of jumping.  Playing nearly a dozen songs in total, You Blew It!’s exhilarating presence onstage took hold of some of the crowd’s more zealous fans.
There were four successful stage dives performed by the same two audience members throughout the set. Another popular activity was the “organic” crowd-surf, wherein the fans would spontaneously throw up one of their own to ride the wave of hands.
The main attraction last night was The Front Bottoms. This is a band that has been making its way in the indie world, going nowhere but up. They recently embarked on their “Hot Chocolate Tour” with the aforementioned You Blew It!, knocking out city after city across the country. The Louisiana fandom’s excitement culminated at The Front Bottoms’ One Eyed Jacks appearance.
As the band’s equipment filled the stage, the room’s atmosphere changed entirely. There was an overwhelmingly sense of pride and eagerness that filled the space. For many admirers of The Front Bottoms, this show was their big chance to come full circle with a band onto which they had attached so much personal meaning. The Front Bottoms’ songs are many things including fun, irreverent and most importantly, relatable.
When the band took to the stage and began playing the song “Skeleton,” the crowd erupted into a passionate fever of moshing, jumping and yelling lyrics. Complete with an inflatable dancing snowman and colorful airdancers, The Front Bottoms held the audience in the palm of their hand until the very end with an encore performance of the hit song “Twin Size Mattress” that had the venue shaking with voices calling out the chorus.
Between the three bands, One Eyed Jacks held down a raucous occupancy for nearly six hours Saturday night. The Front Bottoms and You Blew It! will be continuing their “Hot Chocolate Tour” at High Dive in Gainesville, Florida.