#simon estes

We rolled into Des Moines yesterday afternoon and unloaded our gear at the beautiful Simon Estes Ampitheatre for the Fireball event which was put on by the Des Moines Social Club. This past year, they’ve put on some great events and we were very happy and honored to be a part of this one. 

Following Envy Corps, we did our sound check and then hung out right next to the river’s edge and enjoyed some pizza and beers before kicking off the night at 7:30. Before hitting the stage, however, we were entertained by a small boy who was very scared about the dangers of the 99 jellyfish, squid, (squid god?) sharks, crocodiles and octopi which live in the river. After several frantic warnings, we assured him we wouldn’t jump in the water. We aren’t scared, bro.

We played a quick 25 minutes of tunes which seemed to be well-received. We certainly had a blast and enjoyed the festivities following our set. We got some killer ice cream and cotton candy while Envy Corps threw down. They hadn’t played Des Moines in almost a year, according to Luke, their frontman who lead the band through a great set of songs (many of which we had listened to earlier yesterday in the van). 

After the music, a pyrotechnic group from Chicago performed a series of acrobatic feats and other fire-related displays in and around the stage as darkness set in. We hung out with friends in John June Year, Envy Corps and the one and only Chris Ford before leaving the ampitheatre and heading over to The Lift with our bro, Mickey and company. Mickey works for the Des Moines Social Club and was a big part of setting this event up and even lodged us for the night. What a gentleman! We had some good hangs at The Lift and ran into a woman volunteer from earlier who seemed to have thrown back a few drinks since I had helped her set up some signs around the apitheatre earlier. She was the entertainment for our post-show afties and was full of nick-name giving, butt grabbing, laughs and being married and ten years older than everyone else at the bar. She ruled.