Friday Recap: The Drowning Men, Republic of Letters, Stripes and Lines

I have been really lame about posting on this blog lately so I will get back to full speed soon. As I mentioned, my Friday found me at the Ken Club to see Stripes and Lines, Republic of Letters, and The Drowning Men. A couple people commented that they were surprised that I was not at the Casbah for "The Fest". There's really no discussion necessary...would I rather walk or drive to a bar? would I rather attend a show where my attendance was noticed or in a room where I was lost in a crowd? would I rather see 5 bands that I've seen at least 5 times each or see two bands I've never seen before along with one I already love? The choice for me was simple.

It was a good night for me, though I guess I expected a larger crowd. I really liked all the bands and am glad I chose to check out some new blood.

Stripes and Lines are from north county, but they've been playing more central shows lately and have a show on October 19 at Winston's with West Indian Girl. My pictures came out really, really bad from the entire night so I'm posting them smallish. I liked the dual vocals (and on a couple songs all four members sang), but I liked the drummer/singer Jeremy...the band would go well with Ryan Ferguson.






After Stripes and Lines, we were enjoying the phenomenon outside that was the "Buffy Sing A Long" line. The movie/performance was at midnight, but the line started forming before 11. When the doors were finally opened, the line was wrapped all the way around the corner. Somebody commented that it was pretty sad...hundreds of people paying $12 to see a showthat they probably all own on DVD while inside local bands were playing for free to just a handful of people. Maybe we're all in the wrong biz.


Republic of Letters played second and I'd like to applaud the soundman because the bands were mixed perfectly. For a while there were some questionable sound guys (including the guy who yelled at a band, telling them he knew how to do his job) but lately the guys have known not only how to mix, but how to mix in that room.

Anyway, Republic of Letters did their thing, and the only thing I can add to all the praise I've given in the past is that Adrian is adding backup vocals to more songs and it really adds to the strength of the songs.






Last up was The Drowning Men. I was instantly a fan of these guys. At times the gravelly voice of Eddie Vedder, sometimes a little bit Boey, maybe throw in some Wolf Parade and Win Butler and put it all in a blender. All that to say they have a dynamic sound and I know we'll be hearing a lot from these guys.







Chad is managing the band and hooked me up with a CD after the show which I've been listening to as much as I can the past couple days. It was a great night for me and I'm glad I made the choice to stay in the hood. I heard the Casbah show was great but sometimes I gotta do my own thing, though I heard I missed my big chance to meet Ken. bummer.

I woke up on Saturday with this aching in my side. It's still there, bumming me out, and Jason thinks it might be appendicitis but I'm not really sure. I don't have healthcare right now, so I'm just kinda weathering the pain and will deal with it if it intensifies, but Saturday it was pretty strong, so I skipped Karlfest and everything else that day and watched movies at home. I watched Sleepless in Seattle for the first time all the way through, watched Accepted (and was happy to see the performance on it by The Ringers) and some other random shit. Kiss that Saturday goodbye and consider it wasted...