Overdue Recap: Grand Ole Party CD Release @ M-Theory & Starlite

I've missed the last few in-stores at M-Theory...you know, getting stuck late at work, caught in traffic...whatever. I was not about to miss Grand Ole Party's in-store CD release. My office is in Fashion Valley, so it was just a quick drive around Hotel Circle, up the backroad to Mission Hills, and I found a quick parking spot. The store was already a bit crowded, said my hellos to friends, and found a little spot up front where I could perch my camera a bit.

Grand Ole Party sounded very put together, really tight, and genuinely happy to be playing for the hometown crowd. I'm not one to be elitist about a band...that whole "I saw them first" kinda thing, so I was pleased to see what appeared to be a lot of newer fans there, as well as a lot of kids who probably miss out on the 21+ shows. A couple songs in, and M-Theory was packed, with a few people spilling out on the sidewalk. The band played "the hits", but also pleased the crowd with a couple new songs. They played about 8 songs, and Natalie wrote a pretty great review of the show here.





After the set, I picked up Andrea and we swung by my house to let my dog out and freshen up a minute, then headed down to Srarlite for the after party. I had not yet had the pleasure of going to the Starlite and I realize now that I've been missing out. While we didn't eat, we chatted with Tim Mays for a few and he took care of our first round. I don't know what Zee was drinking, but I went for the Mule and loved it. Mostly it was just a relaxing night...the band was there having a good time, Heather and Eric from M-Theory, a couple of the people from the band's label, and the Skull Kontrol guys. We stayed till the restaurant was closing up and then were on our way. After the night, I'm definitely looking forward to GOP's show at the Casbah next week, and really looking forward to another one of those tasty mules.