Weekend Recap: Saturday: ¡Society! & Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects

Saturday Night and I was feeling like maybe I should stay home. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing and I was expecting the Tower Bar to be chaos. I was actually pleased when I arrived that it was not. It wasn't empty, but I expected a line out the door situation like when Grand Ole Party played. It had been some time since I've seen ¡Society! One of their shows that sticks out in my memory was at the Adams Street Fair back in September and for me, there was something off about that show...maybe the sound, maybe the fact that it was right in the middle of the day, maybe it was the jazz before them...it wasn't their best show for me.

Saturday night was redeeming. The music seems to draw from so many influences, African beats, Cuban rhythms, and the layers of music coming from all 9 people in the band meant that pretty much everyone in the Tower Bar was dancing. There was a certain freedom, too, it seems, from the room being really dark and in a haze from a fog machine. No self conscious dancing, just lots of people completely letting loose.











There was actually this funny moment for me. There was this guy kinda hanging back from the band, just bopping his head a little bit and then all of the sudden kinds stormed up front (getting right in front of me) and holding both hands outward to the band, much like I've seen in footage from Christian revivals, when suddenly someone feels the power of Christ or something. He rocked out I didn't care much that he'd gotten in front of me.

The band closed up their set, but it was pretty late by the time Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects got up to play. Both bands and their 8-10 members take a while to set up and all. I like Mr. Tube a lot, but I've seen them more than a few times lately. I like their sound, too, but think they should've played before ¡Society! because some of their stuff tends to be a biot slower than ¡Society!















They have a song that goes "I only drink Mexican Beer" as the chorus and I'd love to find it. Quite the song in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo, no? Good times, but I felt inclined to make it back to Kensington for last call, so I left after about 5 songs. Deadbolt had just finished and my old friend Simon was there, so we hung out until the bar closed. Then I decided to actually get some real sleep so I wouldn't laze through my Sunday responsibilities...