Friday, July 27, 2007

Thursday Recap: Tokyo Police Club & Dappled Cities

I honestly don't even know where to start with this post because last night was such a great night. A little after 8, Andrea came to my house with friends Nathan and Jacob, both in San Diego from LA for Comic-Con. We had a pre-drink and hung out until it was time to head to the Beauty Bar. We got there close to 9 and there was a line of about 30 people outside. Natalie let us know that the doors hadn't yet opened and we could hear Dappled Cities sound checking inside. We went to 7-11 and dallied a bit and the when we came back, the line was twice as long and nobody had been let in.


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I was "working" this show, so I called the tour manager Al, who came out and met us. We chatted and then after a few minutes the security came out and told everyone to form a second line for ticket holders, starting from exactly where we were standing. We breezed right in and had our run of the bar until everyone behind us started filtering in.


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In the patio, Al introduced and Natalie and I to the band, who gladly signed a couple CDs and posters for us and for giveaways. It was clear from the get go that
Dappled Cities (Fly) is made up of some of the nicest guys around. Maybe Natalie is right and I'm a little gun shy from the whole BoH things, but it's meeting a band like Dappled Cities that reassures you that the old model of asshole rockers doesn't fly in the biz these days.


Anyway, I'm talking to Tim from Dappled Cities and he asks how I like the record (I love it) and what my favorite track is, which totally caught me off guard because it occurred to me that since I usually listen while I'm sitting in my yard working on the computer and the CD is playing inside from my house stereo, I haven't once looked at track titles. What kind of music blogger am I?


Anyway, they played an amazing set. Like while it was happening, Natalie and I could hardly contain our fan-dom. I am a huge fan of Gomez, and one of the things I love about them is that they vary who takes the lead vox on songs, making every song feel different while still having a cohesive album, and the same can be said about Dappled Cities. Tim's ability to alternate between a falsetto and regular voice is amazing...on the CD I actually thought that Vision Bell was sung with shared vocals but it's all Tim.



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They started their set as people were still filtering in, but midway through the set, the patio and the dancefloor were packed. The band played a full set and had me dancing throughout. Yes, you read correctly. I, me, Rosey, was dancing.

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I'm supposed to be a fan first, blogger second...but sometimes both get tossed out the window when I turn into groupie crazy girl. Tim kept looking at us up front and when he looked at me while singing the final line of Holy Chord then laughed as he attempted to sing the final line: "What does it mean to take off all your clothes and look into your eyes and say I mean it." "That was sincere," he joked sarcastically. Didn't matter to those of us loving their set. We believe he meant it.

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Dappled Cities Fly Setlist, Beauty Bar San Diego, July 26, 2007

I was so completely happy with the show that it could've ended just then for me. But add the topper that Tokyo Police Club was yet to play and it was just that much better. I love TPC, and to me their performance was exactly what you'd expect when hearing their music. Kinda fast, dancey, and a shit load of songs, but none really lasting longer than two minutes, which in a bar, feels like 45 seconds. Andrea was fixated on the energy of they keyboardist who was impressive and energetic throughout the show.

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I had a DD on this night? Did I mention that? Because it made an impact on my overall consumption for the evening. Somehow I made it to the bar and back to my spot, but not without some hisses. I've seen the Beauty Bar crowded before, but not like this where the patio was packed and the dancefloor was packed with people trying to see the stage, and there was hardly anybody lingering by the bar. On other crowded nights, I feel like there is still always ac rowd 6 people deep mobbing the bar, but everyone was there for this show.

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Tokyo Police Club Setlist, Beauty Bar San Diego, 7/26/07

After the show, we hung around for a while. It was fun hanging with fellow bloggers...Natalie (It's Too Sunny...), Mario (SanDiegoish), and Mandy (reelMandy). Also, I have to say, I'm so used to going to shows alone...arriving and leaving on my own whim, so it was nice to be with such an accomodating group of people. So here's some pics of my homies...Andrea, Jacob, Carey, and Nathan.

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When we did finally leave, we headed to the Ken to finish off the night and we went a little nutso with the camera.

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Nathan revealed to us that he is the son of Mark Hamill. Yes, that Mark Hamill. So yeah, you guys can have Comic-Con...I was hanging with Luke Skywalker's son :) And I am of course only writing this because I told him in my state of vodka-ness "I'm sooo gonna blog that."

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Anyway, an amazing ending to an amazing evening, once again, and the weekend looks to get better. Thanks to the Jacob for driving, to Filter for the tickets and CD (to show my love I bought a shirt), to Al for being so open to us, and to Dappled Cities and TPC for an amazing show.

1 comment:

illgnosis said...

YAY! The show was great, thanks for putting up with our asses all night.