And so it was that Wicked This Way Comes did continue to progress through upheaval.
Monday night we had the cops called on us while practicing in Jess' garage. To be fair, we were playing way too loud. Louder than usual in fact. Around 8:30 pm we had a police officer show up and shut us down. He thought I was giving him attitude when he asked us to turn down and I played a few riffs (after turning the volume down to test). All in all we had to play quiter with the door closed and all of our acoustic insulation strewn about to absorb some of the sound.
Tuesday evening we all packed up and went to Heber City - our first gig outside of Salt Lake! We played the Heber City Battle of the Bands and won! We played with four other bands. In all fairness, we had the most professional gear and undoubtedly the most stage experience. I suppose we were just the bigger fish in a smaller pond. After we played our two songs (Forged from Beauty and Like Sheep) we sat on the grass out in front of the stage watching the other acts. At the end they pulled us all up on stage for an American Idol style critique. The three judges voted us the winners! We won $350 bucks and a recording session in Heber. Afterwards we went to Beto's for a late dinner and had a blast hanging out as a band. It was seriously one of the most fun nights I've had all year! The only thing that would have made it better would be if Lindsey and the rest of my family had been there. At least Adrian came with me.
