The Beatdown

"It's just such a drag, dude," Morreale says. "I knew Vinnie better than I knew Dimebag, really. But I knew both of them well enough to know that their family is really tight. When their mom died, I sent flowers down to the funeral. Vinnie called me afterwards, and he was obviously a wreck. So I just can't imagine him seeing his brother get basically assassinated right in front of him. He's got to be a basket case."

Ultimately, whether you were a fan of Dime or not is inconsequential: There's no denying we lost a great last week. All over Mootown, folks were grieving and paying homage in their own ways. Friday night at the Soiled Dove, for instance, as I watched Tyfoid Mary's Jerry Harper order a shot of Jäger at the bar in Dime's honor, I noticed that he had taken a Sharpie and scrawled the guitarist's name across his shins. And at a rave later that same night at Cervantes', DJ Matthew Orloff opened up his set by playing "Cemetery Gates" -- not exactly rave fodder.

As cliched as it sounds, though, it's comforting to know that my man went out doing something he loved. And I can't help but think that wherever Dime is right now, he's cracking up hearing stodgy geriatrics like Dan Rather uttering the word "Dimebag" on the idiot box just as white-picket-fence Americans sit down for dinner.

Upbeats and beatdowns: Another loss I'm lamenting -- while obviously not on par with Dimebag's death -- is the demise of the Gamits, who will play their last show ever this Saturday, December 18, at the Bluebird Theater, with Sterotyperider, Link, Le Boom and Magic Cyclops. And finally, on a much happier note, Red Cloud, which features Westword scribe Jason Heller on guitar, will unveil its self-titled debut that same night at the hi-dive, with White Dynamite, Two Gallants and Out on Bail opening things up.