This doesn’t happen just at home, however. With every show comes the opportunity to rekindle old friendships and begin new ones. Perhaps it is because I pick which concerts to go to, but I have not suffered through any recent show that I can think of. Good music abounds and where the bands have fun, I have fun. A bit of a catch up from a couple weeks back:
Chuck Ragan and the Revival Tour at Slim’s SF, Friday 6-Nov-09
Side One Dummy Records was nice enough to grant me a photo pass for this show so I wanted to make the best impression I could. T.I. and Mother caught a bit of traffic getting up there (Bay Bridge was still closed), but we made it just in time for the grand presentation. The crowd ramps up and fourteen people storm the stage ready to blow our minds and revive our souls. As mentioned in a previous post, the artists included Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Frank Turner (Million Dead/Kneejerk), Joe Cape (Lagwagon/Bad Astronaut), Jim Ward (Sparta/At The Drive-in/Sleepercar), Audra Mae, the Anderson Family Bluegrass Band, and a few others I unfortunately didn’t get to catch the names of. The show being revival-style, there were no given sets and the musicians would take turns playing, sometimes all at once, other times solo on stage or a nice duet. Everyone (crowd and artists) appeared to be having a non-stop blast and four hours later the audience still couldn’t get enough. There were no set changes, no breaks, just music, singing, a little dancing on the floor, and happiness. Because each of the artists brought his own material to the stage, it was evident where the fans of each musician stood in the crowd. For a few songs in a row, two gentlemen in leather jackets were shouting every word, arms around the other’s shoulder, and loving the moment. Other times, there were songs that sounded louder coming from the chorus on the floor than the p.a. system on stage. After it was done, the artists, obviously wiped out, took time out from packing their gear to get on the floor and talk to those who had just witnessed the Revival. Review: Oh, yes, it was good.
Maledu-K-2 (pronounced Maleducados), Grito Dolores, Mortero de Piedra, Inspector at the Fox Theatre, Saturday 7-Nov-09
The marquee on the old theatre read “Inspector” -- underneath stood only four people ten minutes after the doors were supposed to open. Not a good sign for a show headlined by the first Mexican ska band to go platinum. I was asked by Mortero de Piedra to shoot this show for them, and though I didn’t know any of the other bands, I looked forward to the opportunity. While waiting for the opening, I joked around with those in line. Four students in their early 20s had made the trek from Stockton just for this show and they looked as confused as I at the lack of people. Over the course of the show, the audience would fill in, but nowhere close to the 500+ capacity that the theatre’s website advertised. The balcony was actually closed off to focus the listeners to the floor…closed off to everyone but the photographer…. The show was fun, ranging from some light punk to full blown Rock en Español and ska. Inspector got the most crowd to the floor, generating a mad skankin’ circle, which, while fun, had a slight hazard in the form of a large drunkard who believed it was fun steamrolling across the floor. However, I personally enjoyed the sandwich bands.
Forrest Day, Still Time, Uhnstx at Downtown Brew, San Luis Obispo, Sunday 8-Nov-09
Night 3 of the marathon weekend found me with lots of driving, a somewhat awkward dinner, but more importantly another fun show. Forrest Day opened for Still Time, who I discovered while attending a Forrest Day-headlined show؟ [The author is attempting to use the newly discovered “point d’ironie” or irony mark here. However, he has found it difficult to use correctly.] Being a SLO show, the crowd was there for Still Time/Uhnstx (80’s hair band alter-egos), so while Forrest Day put on a good set as usual, I found myself one of the few to be singing along and/or grooving to the beat. Still Time pulled a quick set of their own material before disappearing behind the stage for a 5 minute wardrobe change. They reclaimed the spotlight with giant hair, green leopard spandex pants, headbands…and more spandex. The Uhnstx set contained all 80s hits, ranging from soft ballads (Take My Breath Away) to movie theme songs (Ghostbusters and Beverly Hills Cop/Axel F) to straight-up metal (Eruption/Holy Diver). The crowd loved them, the band encouraged me to shoot from the side and rear of the stage, AND I made the drive home in one piece. A weekend well spent and one I would repeat without question.
Music has been quiet the past couple weeks. Tonight seems to be shaping up with a Thanksgiving Eve performance by Tornado Rider. Grammy-award-winning cellist Rushad Eggleston leads a pop-punk trio in what always catches first-timers off guard. A common first response would be, “You can play screaming tapping solos on a cello” [The author is still having fun with newfound punctuation. What you have just come across is known as the interrobang. The Spanish version is known as the gnaborretni because it is upside-down.] Assuming lighting is nice, expect some interesting photos. Have you ever seen a crowdsurfing cellist in an elf costume? This could be your chance.
