In a strange occurance tonight, Seawolf opened for Hey Marseilles after they left the stage. It's unusual for a headliner to play before the opener, sure enough, but that's what happened.
Often when you hear songs live, they are stripped down, missing some of the more essential intricate elements. Fortunately, Hey Marseilles travels large. There are at least six guys in the band, most of whom are musical slashes playing whatever is needed for a particular song. This means that the full sound you hear on the album you get live too!
Philip Kobernik
They played some songs from their upcoming second album, sadly I did not write the names down (as I was running around with a camera). It looks like they will maintain the feel of the first album with a slightly more electric sound. For those of you anxiously holding fists full of dollars to buy it, the release date appears to be February 2013... assuming the Mayans are wrong that is.
Hey Marseilles and Friends
When they played "Rio," they brought out everyone who was hiding backstage to help with hand percussion, backing vox, clapping, etc. Their entrances were staggered which added a nice build into the song, until at very last Alex Brown Church walked out.
Hey Marseilles and Friends
I thought at this point that the band had peaked and they would be done for the night, but strangely they continued for one more sans guests. This was fortunate though because the intesity they picked up during the previous song continued through.
Philip Kobernik
It was clear that the band was less known to the audience than Seawolf, but as they played they won the them over. As the audience got more excited the band in tern became more energetic in their performance. Honestly, its unfortunate they finished when they did. I think another 20 minutes and they would have really been kicking. Alas, such is the short set. Hopefully the next time they come to town, Seawolf will be opening for them before them!
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* Side Note:
Seawolf also played, and I really wanted to like them. I respect them, but I just haven't been able to get excited about their music. A few photos follow for anyone interested:
Spoiler Alert: If you are still planning on seeing the Book of Mormon you may want to avoid this post. Continue at your own discretion.
Never before has female circumcision, dying of dysentery or having aids been so funny. It's difficult to walk that line between offense and hilarity, but it's something Trey and Matt have done for years. The best part of the musical was the windup. For the first few scenes it really felt like a happy go lucky musical if for no other purpose than to lull the "musical crowd" into a confidence and then hit them over the head with it when they got to Africa.
Amazingly excepting intentional exaggeration, they stuck to the facts of Mormon Church. Clearly they were laying into them a bit about said secret Mormon plates and other things, but nothing worse than what they already had. With all this ribbing going on, the Mormon church took it quite well. In fact, they bought 3 full page adds in the playbill.
I am absolutely in love with Trey Parker's composition skills. Melodies, layers, and comedy built together. As with the South Park movie, during the first half he put together all the musical themes together in a montage of overlaying melodies where each character was discussing their motivations. The lyrics of most of the songs were very South Park like. Raunchy numbers about dysentery and fuck you god, were well received. Sadly, my favorite song from their Joseph Smith episode (Joseph Smith wrote the book of Mormon dum dum dum dum dum).
The Book of Mormon
Given it's the traveling cast I was still very impressed with their voices and ability to project their character's to the audience. They did an especially great job casting "neutrogena" or whatever her name was. She may have been the best of the bunch. The male lead appeared to have a bit of an issue breaking, but did a great job covering by pulling them into the part.
Before the show I was talking to a friend and she mentioned she had heard mixed reviews. Some people loved it, others were horribly offended. I really do have to say, if at this point you go and don't know what you're getting in to, that's your own fault. In any case, our seats were kind of towards the back, so I kept an eye out to see if anyone would walk out. Not surprisingly, everyone stayed.
To sum up, good show, raunchy, offensive, funny and it beats the hell out of "Cannibal the Musical."
For the longest time Bob Dylan has been at the top my list of bands to see before they die. This might seem an odd list to keep, but it all started when I just missed my chance to see the Greatful Dead for the first time. I had tickets to see them close the Boston Garden in the September of 1995 and Jerry sadly died that August. I got nervous when I saw Obama give Dylan the medal of freedom and decided the next time he came around I had to see him.
There's always a crew of people that like to knock Dylan for half heatedly putting on shows and generally sounding terrible. It's true that he didn't have the same energy he did when he was 30, he didn't touch a guitar all night, his piano playing was a bit sloppy and his voice sounded more like Tom Waits than Bob Dylan. While all that's indisputable, it was still amazing to see him perform some of the best songs and lyrics ever written. I've always maintained that Dylan sang poorly back in the day because it's not about how pretty his voice is, rather its about what the songs were about. Nashville Skyline is evidence of the fact that he could sing clean if he wanted to back then.
Dylan's setlist included a wide range of songs including some of my favorites like Desolation Row, All Along the Watchtower and Tangled Up in Blue.
As a singer-songwriter I did find myself compelled to shout the obligatory "JUDAS" during "Like a Rolling Stone." Not because I hate rock and roll though. In fact Dylan plugging in was one of the best things to ever happen to rock. It was more because that one action set the folk music movement back so far that it is only in the last 15 years or so that it has started to recover. Don't worry... I wasn't loud about it.
Bob Dylan's songs have meant so much to me over the years. I often felt that what Woody Guthrie is to Dylan, Dylan is to me. I've heard stories of him visiting Guthrie on his death bed and seeing him in various states for better or worse. He didn't go because he expected Guthrie to be "on," he went because of the man's importance to both the music world and himself. To all those thinking of going to see Dylan themselves, I suggest keeping an open mind and appreciate it for what it is, a chance to see a living legend.
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* Author's Note: The Hollywood Bowl is a good sounding venue, but has a terrible sound reinforcement system. I was sitting in the middle of the bowl and even there, people were "shushing" each other for talking during the show. I can't remember the last time I went to a rock show so quiet that was even an issue.
I still remember the day my friend sent me a link for the Lumineers. I was blown away by genuine heartfelt music clearly written by people who love what they do. I found myself wondering if they were capable of bringing that to the stage or if it would fizzle in the spotlights. Clearly my doubts were unwarranted. So glad I went!
Wesley Schultz
These guys get it. Folk music is not about playing ridiculously fast or crazy arpeggiation. It's about keeping it simple and approachable. Something everyone can sing. The reason most popular folk melodies move in such small intervals is because everyone can sing them together (unlike our national anthem). There is nothing quite like an entire _building_ of people singing along. Much like Pete Seeger before them The Lumineers seem to recognize, the more involved people are with the music the more they will enjoy it.
Jeremiah Fraites
Now being old school in my music consumption, I have been spinning their CD for a while and recognize how solid an album it is. What surprised me is that in the middle of this iTunes era so much of the audience knew ALL of their songs not just their single. To me it leaves hope that the album might be not quite dead yet.
Wesley Schultz
One of the great discoveries during the show is how amazing Neyla Pekarek's voice is. When they did their new song Falling, it blew my mind what they had been hiding.
Admittedly, it might be a bit outside of the sound they were going for on the first record, but hopefully the next time they sit down and track an album, they find a way to use it more! It's much like Laura Marling backing up Noah and the Whale or subsequently Marcus Mumford backing her up.
Neyla Pekarek
There were plenty of other nice surprises during the show including a Dylan cover and the band jumping into the crowd to play a fully acoustic version of Darlene. I've seen plenty of bands do variations of this, but I've never seen one get so in the dead heart of the crowd and take a full setup with them.
I do have to say that the Lumineers did manage to make me feel a bit old. To be fair, I was born in the 80's (just), but was amazed at the number of fans that didn't know "The Weight" by the Band. Only about 4 people in the entire audience knew the song AND THEY HAD JUST PLAYED IT ON THE PA BEFORE THEIR SET (whoops)! They ended up having one of the four come up. The woman they chose was awkward, funny and slightly out of tune. Probably the best person for the job. I was one of the other four who knew that song because it's the sort of thing my friends and I sing when we're hanging out having a few drinks. It made me happy that that was the sort of thing they did as well. I guess what I dug most about these guys that they share their genuine enjoyment of the music with the people.
The Lumineers
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* Side Note
Sound at the observatory was amazing. It was even good in the corner. Not sure if that's the Lumineers or the local guy, but keep it up!
There's been a thought rattling around my head for a while that Conor Oberst is our generation's equivalent of a Bob Dylan that grew up without the war, segregation, and massive cultural upheaval. Granted some of those things have happened in recent times, but not on the same scale.
One of the interesting early elements of Bob Dylan is his relationship to Joan Baez. I would never dare claim that Oberst and Jenny Lewis are as close, but there does seem to be a symbiotic relationship between them. Having now seen Lewis and Oberst on stage together, I found that there was something reminiscent of the iconic pair.
As this was the night of the first debates Oberst was particularly talkative about how he felt that there was no hope and change this time around, just two guys with one slightly less bad to vote for. He leaned over into the crowd, looked at people and interacted with them. Oberst spat quite a bit, mostly not on people (just on the stage) but when he was shouting it would occasionally fly. There was a feeling he spoke from a place of raw, bitter unchecked emotion, slightly falling apart at the seams. He managed to keep it together and it was nice to see how strongly he felt about the well crafted words in his songs.
Going into the show I was wondering what kind of material we would hear given it was a show billed as Conor Oberst, not Bright Eyes. Sometimes when artists plays under his own name it can mean he intends not to play songs from the other moniker. It ended up being a variety of songs, including his Bright Eyes material (even the electronic album), songs from the Mystic Valley Band, and a song from the Monsters of Folk. In other words Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes, The Mystic Valley Band, and bits of the Monsters of Folk were all at the Fox Theater in Pomona tonight and we were all the better for it.
The night was full of guests. Opener Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins returned to the stage to back Oberst up for "Make a Plan to Love Me" and "Lua."
Conor Oberst and Friends
A little later in the performance Oberst, introduced a "Mystic Valley Band Reunion" giving the impression no one liked what they were doing. As he put it, "No one hated the MVB more than the MVB itself." While I would say its true that more people prefer the Bright Eyes records, I quite enjoyed the MVB. In fact, I thought they put on the most enthusiastic performance of the night. At the end of the night, everyone returned to the stage to sing "Make War." Followed by an acoustic number by Oberst.
Tonight's show was a hodgepodge of performers, material and songs. Honestly I think I preferred seeing that to a just Bright Eyes show.
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* Authors note: Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins
Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins
Jenny Lewis. Wow. Was surprised by her. I liked her country oriented stuff more, but overall it was good material. Some of the people there were clearly there to see her. The Watson Twins performed with her all night as backup. Not knowing who they were at the time, when they came on stage, I fought back a "boo" because I loath backup singers. The twins won me over with their beautiful voices and corny 1950's style dancing with Lewis. That and because one of them played something for a bit. It looked a bit like a lapslide but I think it may have been some keys... Not sure at this point.
To close Lewis did a guitar and choir song called Acid Tongue reminiscent of Dylan singing blowing in the wind with Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, Pete Seeger and other backing him up at the end of the Montgomery folk festival.
The third in my many recent concerts was Ben Harper at the Del Mar Racetrack. It would seem that whomever was in charge of the booking this year really had their act together. Ziggy Marley, Ozomatli, the Offspring, Cake, Ben Harper, but to name a few.
I found myself surprised by the number of people that have only see him play festivals or open for someone else. Ben Harper tends to ramp in his shows, so if you only catch a short set, you tend to miss out on the best bits. It had been a while since I'd had a chance to see him play a full show, so sufficed to say I was quite excited.
Up until now I have only seen Harper with the Innocent Criminals. As he toured with them for so many years there was a certain tightness that formed so when Harper locked in, they locked in. Not so with the Relentless7. They started out with a bit more energy, but didn't really ramp up with Harper. Rather they had a monotonic energy level throughout. That's ok though as Harper's intensity and stage presence made up for it.
Today's show was a bit odd. He gave extended solo time for him and his band mates early in the show (first three songs). Usually that's something you do at the middle/ end of a show, but whatever. Perhaps he was trying to motivate them or bid farewell before his acoustic tour, on which I would assume they are not going. The majority of the show did focus heavily on the Relentless7 material. There are some good songs on those albums, but limiting yourself to two albums when you've got 10 or so makes for a less interesting show. This is of course to be expected, but the man has so much material its a shame to overlook all the other things he's done.
Fortunately he did play a few of the older songs towards the end such as Burn One Down, Diamonds on the Inside, Better Way, and Amen Omen.
Due to a roadie mistuning a 12 string for "Fly One Time" Harper played an impromptu solo fingerstlyle electric version of "When She Believes" which completely blew my mind. Even more so, strangely I did not have the whole of the album it was on so I had never even heard it before.
Additionally to fill time Harper was happily admiring all the things being thrown up on stage at him. There was a wide variety of things from nuts, to shredded wheat, to skittles, to art, hats etc. Some artists just ignore the people in the crowd, but I think he feels they're as much a part of the show as the band itself. A very good attitude to have.
One of the highlights of any Ben Harper show is always his acoustic set. Usually he does a longer one, but I suspect that the earlier 12 string issue ate into the time he had for that. That said he played an awesome rendition of "walk away" followed by "Burn One Down."
He closed out the show with "Better Way." Just completely blew me away the amount of energy and emotion that he put into it eight years on. So much fun seeing him play again. It really makes me want to go check out his "acoustic tour" assuming it comes to town.
************************************ Side Note:
Of course I was also really excited about the fact that on all the acoustic bits he actually played his Ben Harper HM signature model Martin. Which for anyone reading this, if you can get me one without the signature I will take one please! I have played two over the years in my search for the perfect "heirloom" to pass to future generations. Such an amazing sounding guitar, but I just can't justify buying something with someone else's name on it. I think it's just that I play my own music not someone else's. That said, it completely turned me on to the M series body (aka 0000). I've been playing something similar for years but with a bit more depth. Not sure if its all the endangered species woods in it, but damn... me likey!
Can't I live while I'm young? For a very long time I have had Phish on my list of bands to see... I've had this list really since Jerry Garcia died one month before I was to see the Grateful Dead for the first time. I have been kicking myself since 2004 for having missed my chance to see them at their Coventry, VT show, which was subsequently their last before the reunion.
In any case, such a great show! Great people, great music, great vibe. So chill didn't need to bust out the hippy digger and was able to get right down front and snap off a few.
There really were so many different types of people there. Unfortunately, you don't see enough of some of them in Orange County. My friend suggested I start asking all the hippie chicks where they hang out here because clearly it's not in plain sight. I was also surprised to find the standard OC bro's and the default OC girls represented as well.
The sound quality was actually very good at the Long Beach Arena. That's based on the spot I was in for the first set (towards the front dead center). My concert co-conspirator wasn't really feeling the squeezin in up front though so we were at the edge of the stage on the right for the second set, but that's ok because we had more room to dance around and get videos like this:
So many projectiles... You damn kids... Gonna put someones eyes out.
When they played Stash I was a bit surprised by the clapping as I was convinced some of the claps only happened twice instead of 3 times. In the original recording it's more "two-ish" than three. Probably easier for a group clap along to do 3 always though.
For those looking for specific songs, they played Bathtub Gin, Rift, and Down With Disease of course and even a great Zeppelin cover. Their encore Julius was great too. Really though it was just so much fun listening to them jam regardless of songs. I would have taken more detailed notes about what songs they were playing and more photos etc, but I was having too much fun dancing around and watching the people. If you are dying to know though, the set list is here. It was the perfect chance to surround myself with good music, good people and just blow off some steam.
Oh I should mention I saw Cake a few weeks ago. It was cool if for no other reason that old time sentiment of finally seeing them after 18 years. Sadly no rock and roll lifestyle songs :/
In any case, the band had lots of energy and played two great sets.
The singer John McCrea really loves the vibraslap for some reason. I'd say he played the thing during at least 10 songs. Just one of those things about cake. BOC has cowbell and I guess they have vibraslap. I originally felt McCrea was acting a bit cocky during the first bit of the show and found it moderately annoying. That said, after spraining his ankle in the first set he still went on to play a full second set (albeit elevating) which gained back much of what was lost for me.
Oh and I got a rad old school transistor receiver Cake shirt. Looks much like one of the receivers I have hooked up to my record player. Very cool design Cake, very cool.
If there is one band that is ever evolving it's Horse Feathers. The moniker much like Bon Iver, Great Lake Swimmers and Badly Drawn Boy is built around one guy, with a cast of rotating characters. For Horse Feathers that guy is Justin Ringle. What is unique about this band is that the additional musicians have a huge impact on the overall sound. When listening to the albums there was little percussion, but having a percussionist at the show resulted in more upbeat versions of songs. Having a talented female vocalist resulted in a lot of thoughtful down home harmonies. Not having a dedicated guitar and banjo player meant that Justin had to pick one of the two on each song. Even with that limitation, the band managed a full engulfing sound that only can be achieved through the pairing of a full string section with Justin's uniquely mornful longing voice.
Before the show, I found myself debating if I really wanted to schlep up to LA. It had been a long day and I was fading pretty quick. I knew that the band had a huge collection of mellow music.
Having just been to a very unnecessarily mellow show (diazepam please), I was worried I would zonk out during. Sufficed to say, I was pleasantly surprised. They hit it hard from the start and kept the energy level up the entire night.
Playing with a modified trap kit allowed for more energetic interpretations of songs. As a result some were even a bit danceable. There were also greater dynamics in the songs (both volume and energy)which can be a bit monotonic on the records. This is exactly what one hopes for out of live show. True artistic expression in performance. Recording is about capturing ideas for a song to it's fullest, but in doing multiple takes you tend to lose a lot of the energy and emotion.
At a few points during the show, the violinists played saws. It was a very cool "how'd they make that sound in the studio" moment. It's nice to see people bring alternative instruments to the stage filling in sounds that are easy to drop when on the road.
Coincidentally their song Cascades is nothing like the Oliver Nelson song Cascades.
Not sure the reason, but Justin seems to have inexplicably been rockin what I would consider snow boots all night. Something even a New Englander wouldn't wear in the summer. My only theory is that he likes the tone for stomping or had some clam diggin planned.
All in all I was very happy I got my ass off the couch and drove up to the show. It's very encouraging as a musician to see bands experimenting with songs long ago recorded creating new and excellent live renditions. My only complaint was that they didn't play a long enough set!
*************************** * Side Note: I had the chance to say hi to Justin and thank him for a great show. At that point I noticed he was drenched to the bone. I had thought the lights were much brighter than when I had seen Those Darlins there. I guess there is a reason why they were lower then. Nothin less sexy for a girl band than to be sweatin like a pig. That said the Echo really needs to find a happy medium between playing in the dark and an Indian sweat lodge.
Went to the Troubadour tonight to see the Great Lake Swimmers and was able to get right down front. This allowed me to get shots like this:
and this:
It's usually a crapshoot if you can bring a DSLR into the Troubadour so I was pleasantly surprised when they said "yes."
As expected the band started off the night mellow and heavy on songs from their latest album. While good, I am not a big fan of the new sound as it takes away some of what makes them unique. Too much electric, not enough banjo in this humble author's opinion.
Tony Dekker is a true singer songwriter, giving descriptions of what songs are about, and even admitting that one of the songs he played during his solo set had slowly started to change it's meaning.
I found myself expecting to hear a bunch of their upbeat songs going in. For the most part they all came in the second half during which they really started to pick up steam and rock out. While trading solos at the end I think the fiddle player really showed off her till then hidden skills. For a live show they really need to have that energy throughout, but then I suppose the audience's ears wouldn't get a chance to "bleed tears" as their very enthusiastic announcer said during the introduction.
The night concluded with an odd encore. The full band came back and played two songs. After that, the band unceremoniously walked off stage and Dekker played one more song (one of my favorites). It was kind of anti-climactic to hear it as just guitar and vox, as opposed to with the full band especially right after they walked off. It would have been better to have them all walk off and do a second encore with him alone like that. Even though it's a band built around Dekker, it would have been nice to make it seem like they all mattered.
I guess if I were to sum it up, the band really needs to think a bit on it's live show. Not so much how they play or even song choice, but more how to mix it up better. You don't want to peak too soon, but you really dont want it to be constant low with an exponential ramp at the end. It should rise and fall all the way to the climax at the end, where the audience is left wanting for more. I would suggest they take a page from high fidelity about how to make mix tapes.
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Both times I have seen Badly Drawn Boy at the Troubadour he has bitched about the sound. Namely the low end. When Great Lake Swimmers took the stage, the bass was overpowering everything else, not just on the stage, but in the crowd as well. The banjo/ guitar player spent the first 10-15 minutes fighting with the sound guy to explain what the heck was wrong. Pointing and pantomiming really seems to have had little effect. It took one of the guys coming down on the stage and talking to him to understand what was wrong.
I guess BDB was vindicated, but in true Canadian style the GLS were polite about it rather than throwing a hissy fit.
Possibly the best introduction to a band one can have is driving through the sparse Mohave at sunset while a friend shuffles through his iPod. The scene was framed and I have been in love with these guys ever since. When I was tipped off that RodyGab were going to play the Palladium I jumped at the chance and was first in line. I was even ahead of the ticket bots that grab up all the good seats at shows and bump you to the back of the que because "none are available" (fix your shit Ticketmaster).
It was quite interesting to see the two play close up. I am still not 100% certain but it would appear Rodrigo is playing with a pick most of the time. Gabriela has certainly one of the more unique techniques. It is very percussive (it reminds me of Kaki King), but there are clearly a number of other influences in there. Take for example the hand percussion that she plays. When she is hitting the strings it seems her own style (flamenco-esk), but when she uses her thumb and pinky to hit lower on the base it reminds me of how irish bodhrán players play. In fact there was many a night when I saw a guitar player in the pubs flip over his guitar and play the back as a bodhrán. They did a spell in ireland so its no a completely crazy theory.
They played a strong section of the show with a band backing them. This lead to a much more bela fleck style show, with extended jams and segments in the show dedicated to solos. It became evident very quickly that they had hand selected some fantastic musicians, but they had done a poor job of arranging the music. The thing that RodyGab have going for them is that they are very organic and natural. Adding the band made them very straight and ... I think my biggest issue was the keyboard player. His tone was always just the right flavor of wrong (despite playing a programmable electric keyboard). His technique felt like old people jazz and I really like jazz... Their bass player was great. He was like a Victor Wooten in training... Not quite there, but still pretty damn good. The horn players were both great, but again they needed to get a little more dirty and a little less "straight."
Eventually the got to the middle of the show which featured each of them solo, but also just the two of them which is what many had come for.
They are at their best when they are just the two of them playing off each other. They put together a sound that is full enough that they don't need a band behind them. Absolutely loved the energy that Gabriele had and the intensity of the leads that Rodrigo had. It's clear that these two are doing what they love. A lot of times you see bands and they are just so burned out. These two are going strong. If you can catch a show without cuba, I highly recommend it!
======================= Side Note:
At some point the drummer from White Zombie made a guest appearance. I had some concerns he was playing at the wrong gig for a while. Wait... wait... I'm not playing moderately hard rock? This is latin? Whaaa? He did eventually lock in, but it took him a bit to change gears. I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt and say it was a stage monitor issue...
Ok, so I have seen Guster 5 or 6 times now, but Guster @ the Largo was by far THE BEST GUSTER SHOW EVER!!!
I know I wrote up their last show on this blog, but this one was so different it's worth hearing about. First of all, the venue was at most 300 seats and the entire band was seated so it had a very relaxed intimate feel. As this is their acoustic tour, they had a string section with them as well. The stage setup they all were unplugged and just had mic's around them. Whenever they played solos they just picked up their instruments to the mic and belted it out blugrass style. Given that was the case they got a pretty amazing ballance and sound on the stage.
The band played a really long set for the second show compared to the first (based on when the first show started and the second show started, twice as long). They hit so many songs that I love it's hard to list them all, but a few of the more fun moments were their 80's covers of Come on Eileen and 500 Miles. It really seemed they were just making up the parts as they went. They of course hit a few songs on the new record, like an aweseome string backed version of how it feels to have a broken heart, but they kept the selection fairly wide from all their albums. They even hit some of the old songs from their first albums like Window, Rocket Ship and The Airport Song (for the obligatory pingpong ball throw).
Sometimes you go to a show and there's a wall between you and the band. In this case, throughout the entire night they were talking to individuals, taking request, and at one point they even serenaded one of their fans with an impromptu completely acoustic version of "window." As Ryan put it "if I have to play that song again I am going to play it for you right in front of you.
An amazing moment, for one lucky fan.
At one point during the show, someone started yelling "more cowbell!" Even though they were about to play a ballad they had him come up later for a quick cover of "don't fear the reaper." The guy enthusiastically jumped on stage, did a truffle shuffle and danced around until Ryan got a bit scared the show would be stolen and finished the song. This is what I love about these guys, not only do the love their fans and have fun, they roll with what happens and embrace the crazy rather than ignoring it.
Another spontaneous moment was towards the end of the show when Ryan decided to have a bit of story time. The band slowly figured out what was going on and started "story time music." Apparently he had met Ke$sha out one day in LA and had somehow convinced her to make an appearance. Yeah, I have little clue who she is aside from knowing of her existence, but sufficed to say, she's a big poppy deal right now. In any case, he had hoped she would show up, and was looking around periodically during the show. Suddenly, he stopped the story and went to get his phone back stage (band still playing all the time). She had texted him "still in studio." He then proceeded to have the entire crowd leave her a message (singing then shouting)... Its almost more funny that she didn't show.
The entire night felt like a bunch of guys just hanging having a few beers singing some songs and making each other laugh... Much like my crew of friends do when we get together. After the show we ran into Brian and were able to talk with him for a bit. We then ended up at the local hole in the wall and lo and behold they were there! As a result I was able to meet the entire band! Brian even came back and chatted with my gregarious concert co-conspirator and I for a while. There are few people and groups that I consider to have had a heavy influence on my music growing up, but I have to say these guys are one. Having finally gotten to meet them it was amazing!
