stellar shows two days in a row; my head might explode. thursday was cavashawn's cd release show here in st. louis. those boys have worked so damn hard to promote their new ep coming out and it was great seeing that work pay off. it's also neat from my perspective as a fan having been around for a while; every time they come here i watch the fan base just grow and grow. it's also neat when i'm standing in a room full of people i know just through cavashawn! we're our own little community and i love it. it was a little over six months ago that they played the creepy crawl for twelve people. yes, twelve. so thursday was definitely a success and i couldn't be more proud. it was also good to see the lovely scott feister again. what a character. looking forward to seeing them again next weekend at summerfest! THAT will be one amazing show.
the following day featured a lovely little town called morton. oh, you haven't heard of it? yeah, me either. not until a few weeks ago at least. and let me tell you, it's in the middle of fucking nowhere. but it was only three hours to nowhere so i said sure, why not. state and madison and danger is my middle name were two of the SEVEN bands playing... longest night ever. i arrived around five [to boys jumping on my car and stripping off clothes] and nickolas slid me in as merch girl, which was nice. i sat around [on fabulous comfy couches] through the first four bands before state and madison finally played. they put on a great show as always and we celebrated jonah's birthday with a lovely cake and princess balloon...? danger was up next and they really impressed me. i've been to one of their shows before but didn't actually watch the set. but they had some great energy and bill cox is a fucking beast on that guitar. i hung around for a bit afterwards, talked to people and was on my way home by about midnight. got home, crashed. and am awaiting the next show; july fourth, you shall be one of the most epic days of my life.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
the other side of the great divide
we the living. the infamous band that started it all. i wish i could say it was two years ago today, but in fact it was two years ago on saturday [i forgot, i wonder if that says something], that i met matt and stefan of we the living for the first time. that last minute decision to go see ben folds and john mayer has forever changed my life. i think that every person has a handful of monumental events happen in their lives that forever change things and leave a permanent impact. well this one of those events for me. it may not seem like a huge deal, but they were the first band that i truly cared about; and they truly care about me as well. and that has impacted me SO much these past two years and is precisely what's put me on the path i'm currently on.
it was a group of about five or six girls who decided super last minute - the day of - to go see the show. i think most of us were more excited about ben folds than we even were about john mayer. but that's beside the point. well we were standing around waiting after we had bought tickets when two guys walked up to us with an ipod and headphones in hand. well we were a big group of girls, so the first thing we think is "oh shit, creepy guy alert". well i guess our facial expressions were saying the same thing, because matt and stefan walked up to us and right away assured us they weren't trying to hit on us or pick up any chicks, they just wanted us to listen to some of their music. well everyone was being shy, so i spoke up and said i would take a listen. matt put the headphones on me and pressed play and i heard what i now know as 'best laid plans'. well this wasn't your average shitty band trying to get by; these guys had some serious talent and i was floored. i forced everyone else to take a listen and we all agreed. i bought a cd on the spot and promised to be at their july 3rd show at cicero's.
well a week passed and kiera, katie and i were getting increasingly excited for this show at cicero's. we'd all been listening to the cd nonstop in the car and had memorized all the words already. needless to say, by the time we got to the show, we were all quite giddy. dreams were quickly crushed though when we realized we all had to have valid id's to get in the venue. katie, at the time, didn't even have her permit much less any other form of identification, and kiera had left her license at home. well we rushed back home, dropped poor katie off, grabbed kiera's id and floored it back to cicero's. we made it in plenty of time and still got to see we the living play. little did i know that amanda and michele, now two of my very good friends, were standing right next to us the whole night. well the guys finished up a great set and i got the chance to talk to all of them i believe, but stefan and i really got to talking about shows and promotion and the like. we ended up exchanging e-mails with hopes of setting up a show at my high school in the coming months.
well back in the day, the guys were great with staying in touch with fans and stefan, ben and i kept in close contact. we eventually got a show finalized at my high school, with the intent of an NHS charity event. october 25th finally rolled around and we the living showed up at my school. i was a nervous WRECK the whole day... long story short; everything that could possibly go wrong was indeed going wrong. but while i was at lunch selling tickets for the show, my friend jason comes running up to the table telling me that the guys had made it and were in the band room talking to some of the classes. i left poor kiera and raced to the band room. i rounded the corner and there they were - jp, matt, ben and stefan. standing in my band room. my high school. such a weird feeling. well i guess i looked like an idiot with my mouth hanging open because they all turned around and laughed at me. we said our hello's and exchanged hugs and i skipped the rest of my day to hang out in the band room listening to stories about life as a musician and acoustic versions of atlantic, saint paul and london rain [i even convinced them to play joy].
the evening show was absolutely fantastic. NHS members were required to be there an hour early, but the guys obviously knew how to set up their own show. so while everyone else was confined to the hallway, kiera and i got the chance to sit in on their sound check and chat for a while. the show itself was absolutely amazing and i'll never forget having best laid plans dedicated to me and that kiss on the forehead. it was absolute euphoria.
the following night they played at cicero's and i'll never forget walking up to the line and thinking the two girls standing there looked so damn familiar. one girl was giving me the "do i know you?" look as well. upon closer inspection i realized it was michele and amanda from the last time i'd been at cicero's. we said our hellos [while JP had his "OH EM GEE" moment] and enjoyed another great show. we finally ended up finding each other on facebook and well, the rest is history. now we travel to shows together all the time.
it wasn't until summerfest that i saw we the living again. by this time, michele, amanda and i had become pretty good facebook friends and decided to get a room together in milwaukee. it was strange, feeling so close to these two girls who i'd only seen in person twice before. well we had a fantastic time; i don't think i've been on a better road trip. it was about three months later that i saw we the living again at mizzou, my own school once again. it was strange seeing them at "my school" again, but this time being a huge university. i really enjoyed the show and i think it was about an hour long conversation that matt and i had sitting outside that night. i guess it was strange for the guys being at show not knowing anyone but me; they all really clung to me that night and we all had some really great conversation. looking back, i really miss those times.
well fast forward to almost the present time. things have started to fall apart. it's a natural process; bands gain fans, play more cities and get busier. more facebook comments to deal with, more myspace messages, more people to cater to, more fans to keep up with. i understand that, i really do. but slowly, connections started to crumble. stefan left the band, was replaced by jeremy, who turned around and left just a few months later. now it's just the three of them. we the living has always been very into their philosophy of objectivism and are huge ayn rand supporters. all of them speak highly of atlas shrugged. well this is great, to promote your beliefs and even to let those beliefs lead your band. but it's when those things get in the way of the music; that's when we have a problem. now there are many who will argue this to the death, but we the living slowly started drifting away from the music, and focused more on the business aspect of their band. new ideas were brought up and not very well received; there were the secret shows which caused mass amounts of ruckus. there was one point where i was online talking to ben and jp online, as was michele, expressing our discontent about the secret shows. well we apparently pissed jp off enough to make him sign off in mid-conversation and blog about the whole ordeal. i was left with a crying michele on my hands.
since then, close friends/fans have been sliding away. amanda was fed up and now hasn't had much to do with them. michele recently did the same. it's so upsetting to see them push away their closest and most long-standing fans. the people who care about them the most, and only want the best for them, are the very people they are pissing off and pushing away. i don't expect a band to listen to every critique i throw at them - it's their band, not mine - but if you can't even take a suggestion or some criticisms, i'm sorry but you're in the wrong business. no i don't have a business degree, but neither do you. and i support enough bands to know what works and what doesn't. you can't cheat the system by playing "secret shows" and high school shows only. sometimes you just have to suffer a little bit and play clubs with an audience of ten people for a while until you make an impact. it's just the way things work.
i have since reconciled with jp and "nothing has been lost or broken" in his words. but for me, some of that magic is gone. i don't bend over backwards like i used to. sure i'll go to a show if they come my way, but things aren't quite the same. i still love those three to death, i probably always will, but they've lost a little sparkle in my eyes. so many negative things i know, but all that aside, i really do love and adore we the living. they played at west just a few days before my mom died - and after that they took such great care of me. e-mails and messages making sure i was okay, asking if there was anything they could do. i even recieived an e-mail from jp informing me he had written and recorded a song for me expressing his feelings. i still have that e-mail and the song; it's on my ipod even, for when i'm having a shitty day. i will never ever forget that, as long as i live. it's those things that remind me they really do have hearts and really are just trying to do what they think is best. sometimes things just get in the way. they introduced me to an entire world i had no idea even existed. through them, i have met so many amazing bands and so many fanstastic people. there's amanda, michele, addy, sam, and chelsey. there's jesse, chris, benton and scott of cavashawn, there's nickolas, tony, mark and jonah of state & madison, there's mike racanelli, there's brad, dj, jeremy and steven of urbanites. there are countless times when michele and amanda have crashed at my house after shows. there's the many roadtrips to chicago and sleeping on cavashawn's couch. there's the soon to be annual trip to milwaukee for summerfest. so many great memories and such a great life i lead because of one single band. call it fate, call it a coincidence, call it great timing. it is what it is. and i'm so grateful to be where i am today thanks to we the living. we may have had our ups and downs but i will always have a huge tender spot for them in my heart. and i will always get goosebumps hearing one of their songs and it will almost always bring a smile to face and tears to my eyes because of all these memories that come rushing towards me.
*edit*
i'm getting quite a few reactions to this. please bear in mind my intent was to show how much we the living has impacted my life for the better and all the great things they have opened my eyes to, not focus purely on the negative. there's bound to be ups and downs in everything we do and with everyone we meet. my intent was not to offend anyone or put anyone down, i just wanted to share my story. and also remember that nothing is lost or broken. this is simply a blog about my feelings. you can write your own if you feel so inclined.
it was a group of about five or six girls who decided super last minute - the day of - to go see the show. i think most of us were more excited about ben folds than we even were about john mayer. but that's beside the point. well we were standing around waiting after we had bought tickets when two guys walked up to us with an ipod and headphones in hand. well we were a big group of girls, so the first thing we think is "oh shit, creepy guy alert". well i guess our facial expressions were saying the same thing, because matt and stefan walked up to us and right away assured us they weren't trying to hit on us or pick up any chicks, they just wanted us to listen to some of their music. well everyone was being shy, so i spoke up and said i would take a listen. matt put the headphones on me and pressed play and i heard what i now know as 'best laid plans'. well this wasn't your average shitty band trying to get by; these guys had some serious talent and i was floored. i forced everyone else to take a listen and we all agreed. i bought a cd on the spot and promised to be at their july 3rd show at cicero's.
well a week passed and kiera, katie and i were getting increasingly excited for this show at cicero's. we'd all been listening to the cd nonstop in the car and had memorized all the words already. needless to say, by the time we got to the show, we were all quite giddy. dreams were quickly crushed though when we realized we all had to have valid id's to get in the venue. katie, at the time, didn't even have her permit much less any other form of identification, and kiera had left her license at home. well we rushed back home, dropped poor katie off, grabbed kiera's id and floored it back to cicero's. we made it in plenty of time and still got to see we the living play. little did i know that amanda and michele, now two of my very good friends, were standing right next to us the whole night. well the guys finished up a great set and i got the chance to talk to all of them i believe, but stefan and i really got to talking about shows and promotion and the like. we ended up exchanging e-mails with hopes of setting up a show at my high school in the coming months.
well back in the day, the guys were great with staying in touch with fans and stefan, ben and i kept in close contact. we eventually got a show finalized at my high school, with the intent of an NHS charity event. october 25th finally rolled around and we the living showed up at my school. i was a nervous WRECK the whole day... long story short; everything that could possibly go wrong was indeed going wrong. but while i was at lunch selling tickets for the show, my friend jason comes running up to the table telling me that the guys had made it and were in the band room talking to some of the classes. i left poor kiera and raced to the band room. i rounded the corner and there they were - jp, matt, ben and stefan. standing in my band room. my high school. such a weird feeling. well i guess i looked like an idiot with my mouth hanging open because they all turned around and laughed at me. we said our hello's and exchanged hugs and i skipped the rest of my day to hang out in the band room listening to stories about life as a musician and acoustic versions of atlantic, saint paul and london rain [i even convinced them to play joy].
the evening show was absolutely fantastic. NHS members were required to be there an hour early, but the guys obviously knew how to set up their own show. so while everyone else was confined to the hallway, kiera and i got the chance to sit in on their sound check and chat for a while. the show itself was absolutely amazing and i'll never forget having best laid plans dedicated to me and that kiss on the forehead. it was absolute euphoria.
the following night they played at cicero's and i'll never forget walking up to the line and thinking the two girls standing there looked so damn familiar. one girl was giving me the "do i know you?" look as well. upon closer inspection i realized it was michele and amanda from the last time i'd been at cicero's. we said our hellos [while JP had his "OH EM GEE" moment] and enjoyed another great show. we finally ended up finding each other on facebook and well, the rest is history. now we travel to shows together all the time.
it wasn't until summerfest that i saw we the living again. by this time, michele, amanda and i had become pretty good facebook friends and decided to get a room together in milwaukee. it was strange, feeling so close to these two girls who i'd only seen in person twice before. well we had a fantastic time; i don't think i've been on a better road trip. it was about three months later that i saw we the living again at mizzou, my own school once again. it was strange seeing them at "my school" again, but this time being a huge university. i really enjoyed the show and i think it was about an hour long conversation that matt and i had sitting outside that night. i guess it was strange for the guys being at show not knowing anyone but me; they all really clung to me that night and we all had some really great conversation. looking back, i really miss those times.
well fast forward to almost the present time. things have started to fall apart. it's a natural process; bands gain fans, play more cities and get busier. more facebook comments to deal with, more myspace messages, more people to cater to, more fans to keep up with. i understand that, i really do. but slowly, connections started to crumble. stefan left the band, was replaced by jeremy, who turned around and left just a few months later. now it's just the three of them. we the living has always been very into their philosophy of objectivism and are huge ayn rand supporters. all of them speak highly of atlas shrugged. well this is great, to promote your beliefs and even to let those beliefs lead your band. but it's when those things get in the way of the music; that's when we have a problem. now there are many who will argue this to the death, but we the living slowly started drifting away from the music, and focused more on the business aspect of their band. new ideas were brought up and not very well received; there were the secret shows which caused mass amounts of ruckus. there was one point where i was online talking to ben and jp online, as was michele, expressing our discontent about the secret shows. well we apparently pissed jp off enough to make him sign off in mid-conversation and blog about the whole ordeal. i was left with a crying michele on my hands.
since then, close friends/fans have been sliding away. amanda was fed up and now hasn't had much to do with them. michele recently did the same. it's so upsetting to see them push away their closest and most long-standing fans. the people who care about them the most, and only want the best for them, are the very people they are pissing off and pushing away. i don't expect a band to listen to every critique i throw at them - it's their band, not mine - but if you can't even take a suggestion or some criticisms, i'm sorry but you're in the wrong business. no i don't have a business degree, but neither do you. and i support enough bands to know what works and what doesn't. you can't cheat the system by playing "secret shows" and high school shows only. sometimes you just have to suffer a little bit and play clubs with an audience of ten people for a while until you make an impact. it's just the way things work.
i have since reconciled with jp and "nothing has been lost or broken" in his words. but for me, some of that magic is gone. i don't bend over backwards like i used to. sure i'll go to a show if they come my way, but things aren't quite the same. i still love those three to death, i probably always will, but they've lost a little sparkle in my eyes. so many negative things i know, but all that aside, i really do love and adore we the living. they played at west just a few days before my mom died - and after that they took such great care of me. e-mails and messages making sure i was okay, asking if there was anything they could do. i even recieived an e-mail from jp informing me he had written and recorded a song for me expressing his feelings. i still have that e-mail and the song; it's on my ipod even, for when i'm having a shitty day. i will never ever forget that, as long as i live. it's those things that remind me they really do have hearts and really are just trying to do what they think is best. sometimes things just get in the way. they introduced me to an entire world i had no idea even existed. through them, i have met so many amazing bands and so many fanstastic people. there's amanda, michele, addy, sam, and chelsey. there's jesse, chris, benton and scott of cavashawn, there's nickolas, tony, mark and jonah of state & madison, there's mike racanelli, there's brad, dj, jeremy and steven of urbanites. there are countless times when michele and amanda have crashed at my house after shows. there's the many roadtrips to chicago and sleeping on cavashawn's couch. there's the soon to be annual trip to milwaukee for summerfest. so many great memories and such a great life i lead because of one single band. call it fate, call it a coincidence, call it great timing. it is what it is. and i'm so grateful to be where i am today thanks to we the living. we may have had our ups and downs but i will always have a huge tender spot for them in my heart. and i will always get goosebumps hearing one of their songs and it will almost always bring a smile to face and tears to my eyes because of all these memories that come rushing towards me.
*edit*
i'm getting quite a few reactions to this. please bear in mind my intent was to show how much we the living has impacted my life for the better and all the great things they have opened my eyes to, not focus purely on the negative. there's bound to be ups and downs in everything we do and with everyone we meet. my intent was not to offend anyone or put anyone down, i just wanted to share my story. and also remember that nothing is lost or broken. this is simply a blog about my feelings. you can write your own if you feel so inclined.
Friday, June 19, 2009
sustenance
for your curiosity [and travel plans], and for my organization
cavashawn - 6/25
state & madison in morton - 6/26
summerfest in milwaukee - 7/4
cavashawn/paramore/no doubt in indianapolis- 7/10
urbanites - 7/16
the noise fm - 7/21
incubus - 7/23
coldplay - 7/24
wicker park fest in chicago- 7/25-26
state & madison/lifeinjersey in kansas city- 8/1
state & madison/the noise fm - 8/9
the noise fm in columbia - 8/14
cavashawn - 6/25
state & madison in morton - 6/26
summerfest in milwaukee - 7/4
cavashawn/paramore/no doubt in indianapolis- 7/10
urbanites - 7/16
the noise fm - 7/21
incubus - 7/23
coldplay - 7/24
wicker park fest in chicago- 7/25-26
state & madison/lifeinjersey in kansas city- 8/1
state & madison/the noise fm - 8/9
the noise fm in columbia - 8/14
Sunday, June 14, 2009
chicago: urbanites and state & madison
holy hell. what a crazy twenty four hours. it was a last minute decision to go to chicago anyway. but the super last minute part was when kiera called me around eleven the night before and said her band practice was cancelled, meaning we could leave earlier than two thirty. she then jokingly said "we can leave whenever you want, as long as it's not six in the morning or something." i laughed and said "well..." state & madison had an acoustic set scheduled at orland square mall at noon and i really wanted to be there for it.
i went to bed at midnight, feel asleep at three and got up at five thirty. oh yes. perfect way to start the longest day ever, i know. i left the house by six thirty, got gas and was at kiera's house at about ten til. well kiera slept through her alarm and had woken up to me knocking on the door. NOT a good way to start our day; i was already a little panicky about making it by noon. but she pulled an amazing feat; showered, got ready, and we were in the car by about three after seven. absolutely amazing i tell you.
well the two hours of sleep seemed to be doing me just fine and the drive went pretty fast. we got the mall in record time (thank you handy dandy garmin) and were inside wandering around by about eleven thirty. we then run into nickolas who seemed just as lost as we did. he looked at me, cocked his head, looked down at his watch and back up at me. "what the fuck are you doing here?" was his only acknowledgement. we chatted briefly and found our way to hot topic together. tony, then mike proceeded to have the same reaction to our early morning appearance. sam of course knew what was up and just shook her head and called me insane. ahh, friends. love them.
the set-up was small, as was the set. but it was fun and it was cute. and jack martino even made an appearance on drums which of course was adorable. kiera and i wandered the mall for a bit then left and got some lunch at tgi friday's. we then rolled ourselves out of there and went to old navy, then barnes and noble, and that's where we spent most of the afternoon. we both found books to read, i got some starbucks, and then curled up in a big comfy chair. kiera passed out for a few hours, but i read straight through my book. by that time it six or so, so i texted meesh and we decided to head over to the venue. everyone was in the parking lot talking, so we hung out for a while and eventually made our way inside.
no one was really interested in the opening bands, so we grabbed a table and meesh i caught up on life. lots of shenanigans ensued, of course. [there was a lot of batman and a whole lot of brewnicorn.] we eventually made our way over to the stage for a part of hotel ahead's set. they weren't bad. urbanites were up next though, and i think we all wanted to secure our good spots up front. deb was of course doing her thing - right up front taking notes on all the set lists. love that woman. so urbanites finally came on and besides quite a few technical difficulties [water bottles flying, drums falling, faulty mics] they put on a pretty bad ass show. this was only my second time seeing them live, but i noticed loads of improvement from the last time i saw them back in january. they broke down quickly and the crowd packed in fairly tight for state & madison who put on one hell of a show, let me tell you. this was by far the best i'd seen them. it's great to have small shows in st. louis with thirty to forty people and watching the fan base grow, but it's another story seeing a band in their hometown with everyone singing along. the urbanites came on stage for a few songs and caused a ruckus, and scott from cavashawn even came and sang for part of 'everybody wants love'. great show.
`
[tony of state & madison - i stole this from his facebook. meesh will probably upload more pictures at her leisure which means this will probably be updated at some point.]
it was a bit chaotic post-show, but i got a chance to catch up with the cavashawn boys, officially met brad and steven from urbanites and talked briefly with mike, tony and nickolas. i ended up with three shirts and a huge bag of state & madison promo stickers and flyers [thanks mike]. kiera and i had set a curfew for ourselves earlier in the day, and our goal was to leave by midnight which would ensure us getting home by a solid five am. well i made my rounds, said my goodbyes, and we were off by just about twelve. the drive home was long and kiera fell asleep about an hour in. i think i was hallucinating by the time i got home, but i made it safely in one piece. i'm pretty sure i was in bed by about five thirty... the time i was getting up a whole twenty four hours earlier... whew. great trip, i'm still smiling.
Friday, June 12, 2009
the so unknown
life is pretty good. i've been home for exactly a month today, which means summer is about one third of the way over. it's turned into a huge waiting game though. i'm waiting to find out about our apartment. i'm waiting for shows. i'm waiting to move back to columbia. i'm waiting to start classes again. i'm waiting to find a job there. i haven't found a summer job here besides the weekly lawn mowing for my grandma. money seems to be finding it's way to me, though. my grandparents just sold the very last acreage of their farm this past week. and what does that mean? that means i received a big FAT check. HELLO apartment and food money.
but besides that, there really isn't much going on. i hang out with friends. i watch my netflix movies. i creep on the various creepable websites. and i discuss various promotion/show ideas with the small group of people to which it actually matters. downtime is nice, but i mostly live from show to show. sad life? maybe, but next semester will make up for it.
off to chicago tomorrow, look for a show update soon after.
but besides that, there really isn't much going on. i hang out with friends. i watch my netflix movies. i creep on the various creepable websites. and i discuss various promotion/show ideas with the small group of people to which it actually matters. downtime is nice, but i mostly live from show to show. sad life? maybe, but next semester will make up for it.
off to chicago tomorrow, look for a show update soon after.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
st. louis: state & madison
oh state & madison. i'm so happy we've crossed paths. [thanks meesh, i credit you for that.]
the ever so lovely amanda came in town thursday afternoon and we actually got to enjoy a leisurely afternoon. no homework to worry about, no classes to rush back to. amazing. we got some lunch, saw a movie and hung out in the loop for a bit before the show.
sitting through the three opening bands was certainly interesting. what a vast array on non-talent. time passed quickly though; thank you tony and mike for providing me with interesting text-commentary on the evening. so finally the headliner of the evening, which this time seemed to be of benefit. sometimes it can really suck to play last at cicero's; everyone comes for the first band at eight and leaves before anyone else plays. but state & madison put on a great show and the crowd has grown in the last three times i've seen them here. that's always promising. it's exciting to see growing fanbases and know that it's because of something YOU did. makes me feel like a proud mom. [i've had many proud mom moments, they're the absolute best feeling.] we hung out for a bit afterwards and eventually made our way back home. arbor mist and pizza rolls were enjoyed and amanda and i crashed around two.
[nickolas killing it - thanks for the picture tabitha]
what's even more exciting than the actual show, are all the things that have been happening as of late. mike had talked to me briefly a few days before the show about a state & madison forum and being the st. louis leader, blah blah blah. well i agreed and he said things would be up and running in a few days. he was indeed true to his word. the past few days i've spent quite a few hours at the computer discussing plans, recruiting members, and trying to set up shows and get promotional ideas flowing. it's been interesting. my eyes have certainly been opened a lot wider than they were before. music industry, you are a bastard.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
st. louis: barcelona, person l, mae
woah. i neglected a show review! and since i'm such a perfectionist, i need to write about it now even though it's going to mess up the order of my blog... (god i'm a freak.)
may 19th. epic show at a little venue called off broadway just on the edge of southside ghetto st. louis. i had no one to go with (what's new) so i called up my friend allison who happily agreed to come along. a great band called tokyo was up first, but unfortunately their trailer had broken down in alabama so their singer, robert smith, was there alone. he put on a great acoustic show though, and i really enjoyed it. i'm such a sucker for boys and their guitars. next up was a local band called tonight at seven. they actually impressed me; it's hard to find talented local musicians around here. so by the time i got all excited and had thoughts buzzing around my head of getting to know them, blah blah blah... they announce it's their last show ever. damn. oh well.
barcelona was up first, and i think i was about the only person there who came to see them. (as in, i was the only one dancing around and singing along and felt like an idiot since everyone else in the crowd was pulling that shoegaze bullshit.) but regardless, i really enjoyed their set. it's great to hear bands live that actually sound like they do on record. and they even played a fantastic cover of "one" by three dog night. apparently i was the only one who knew that song too... by this point i was getting the traditional "concert back" so allison and i went upstairs to sit and saw most of person l from up there. (person l is kenny vasoli's new band/side project/whatever you want to call it after the starting line went on hiatus.) i didn't know much of their music, but they sounded pretty good. little did i know that i would get a text the following night from a friend in minneapolis informing me that person l was sleeping on her couch... small world. love my music friends.
mae was up next, and although i'm not a huge fan of them, they put on a really neat show. they had some sweet graphics projected on the screen behind them complete with 3-D glasses for the audience. very cool. so towards the end of the show, i ended up buying person l's cd, mae's new scratch-n-sniff ep (how cool is that?), mentioned both urbanites (you're welcome mike) and we the living (you're welcome matt) to a very drunk barcelona drummer (who knows if he even comprehended what i was saying), and handed out a few flyers for state & madison and cavashawn. successful night. so basically what i want you to do, is check out barcelona. because they're absolutely amazing. and listen to the song wooden soldiers by person l. you certainly won't be sorry.
may 19th. epic show at a little venue called off broadway just on the edge of southside ghetto st. louis. i had no one to go with (what's new) so i called up my friend allison who happily agreed to come along. a great band called tokyo was up first, but unfortunately their trailer had broken down in alabama so their singer, robert smith, was there alone. he put on a great acoustic show though, and i really enjoyed it. i'm such a sucker for boys and their guitars. next up was a local band called tonight at seven. they actually impressed me; it's hard to find talented local musicians around here. so by the time i got all excited and had thoughts buzzing around my head of getting to know them, blah blah blah... they announce it's their last show ever. damn. oh well.
barcelona was up first, and i think i was about the only person there who came to see them. (as in, i was the only one dancing around and singing along and felt like an idiot since everyone else in the crowd was pulling that shoegaze bullshit.) but regardless, i really enjoyed their set. it's great to hear bands live that actually sound like they do on record. and they even played a fantastic cover of "one" by three dog night. apparently i was the only one who knew that song too... by this point i was getting the traditional "concert back" so allison and i went upstairs to sit and saw most of person l from up there. (person l is kenny vasoli's new band/side project/whatever you want to call it after the starting line went on hiatus.) i didn't know much of their music, but they sounded pretty good. little did i know that i would get a text the following night from a friend in minneapolis informing me that person l was sleeping on her couch... small world. love my music friends.
mae was up next, and although i'm not a huge fan of them, they put on a really neat show. they had some sweet graphics projected on the screen behind them complete with 3-D glasses for the audience. very cool. so towards the end of the show, i ended up buying person l's cd, mae's new scratch-n-sniff ep (how cool is that?), mentioned both urbanites (you're welcome mike) and we the living (you're welcome matt) to a very drunk barcelona drummer (who knows if he even comprehended what i was saying), and handed out a few flyers for state & madison and cavashawn. successful night. so basically what i want you to do, is check out barcelona. because they're absolutely amazing. and listen to the song wooden soldiers by person l. you certainly won't be sorry.
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