SCMX 2008: Common, The Black Keys, Kinky, Saul Williams, Grand Ole Party & More

I went to some shows last week that I still need to recap, but I had such a blast at the Southern Comfort Music Experience so I wanted to get those pics up first. I thought there was no way this year could compete with last year's festival. I mean, it was headlined by The Flaming Lips, after all, but I truly enjoyed myself, perhaps a little too much. Full post if you 'keep on reading'.



We headed downtown early, arriving just before 4. We decided to park in a garage since Jake had gear in his car and decided that $8 for the whole day wasn't too bad. Right off the bat we ran into Matt and Andrew before going in and making our way to the other entrance so I could retrieve my media passes. By the time we had those secured, we had missed Burning of Rome's set, but their music filled the venue. I noticed right away that there were a lot more people at the show early than there were last year at the same time, so I guess that's a testament to better promotion.

American Cornhole

We wandered around for a bit, got some SoCo and Lemonade, then went to check out Grand Ole Party. Kristin and the kids sounded great as ever and clearly all the performing and touring has made an experience band for large stages and festivals like this one.

After a couple songs, I met up with Jake who was hanging with Halloran in the broadcast area and watched the set from there. I guess it was time to test the waters with the pass and access, so I wandered over to the dressing rooms and made myself a drink. It wasn't until after that I realized they were band specific, so sorry to GOP for scabbing your shit. Of course once I had a drink I was not shy about pilfering and sorry to Chuck and Brandon who kindly put up with me. On the way back to the broadcast platform, a security guard told Jake and I that our passes didn't allow us to be in the broadcast area, but he talked to his boss and would let only Jake and I back there. He was nice about and once we got the warning, I would switch up to a staff pass to get around. At this point we were able to get a pass for Dagart, too, thanks to Sarah for that.



We stayed up in the broadcast area for a while, until Saul Williams took the stage. I had no idea what I was in for, thinking Saul was more about spoken word, but his band started off the set with their crazy outfits and he joined them with an aural blitz. They killed it, big time.










By that time, the VIP area had opened, so I met up with my friends and we hung out there for a while. I don't really understand the drinks policy for the party. You could bring drinks into the VIP but not take them out. This makes sense when there's unlimited booze- you don't want people on the inside taking shit out to their friends, but the VIP wristband only provided 3 free drinks. Making people down their alcohol is not exactly encouraging people to drink responsibly. Oh well, it really ended up not being a big deal.



After a while there, and once Saul was finished, I headed over to the local stage for The Silent Comedy. I really dig the two stage events like this or Independence Jam, because there's really little to do except to watch the bands, and it's great exposure for local music. I had talked with Josh earlier and he was pretty bummed out because the bands rented trailer was stolen. It was empty, but apparently it was not insured. Still, even with such downer news, the band gave no indication that they were anything but happy to be there.



My only other complaint of the day was this stupid obstacle course. These barriers had no purpose whatsoever and made taking pictures at the local stage challenging.
After The Silent Comedy finished, I wandered back to the mainstage and noticed The Ice Cream guy was backstage. Kristin had told me there was a bathroom trailer behind the stage, and man, did it sure beat having to use port-a-potties. Anyway, I shoulda grabbed a popsicle when I had the chance.


Kinky was next up on the mainstage and I should've planned better, because while I was waiting for them to start, I took way too many crowd photos which resulted in me running out of memory for Common.

I loved Kinky's performance, and loved loved loved the bassist. The crowd was going nuts for the band, too. I was about to bail the photo pit but then they busted out an accordion so I stayed up there a little longer. It was nice that the security wasn't enforcing a 3 song photo rule because you could float in and out of the pit at your own leisure.









I ran into my ex and we went to the VIP area to watch the show from the roof of the SoCo bus. I eventually met back up with Dagart and Jake, too, so we kicked it in the VIP area until The Black Keys started. I was kinda glad Shark Attack was doing their thing because it meant there was time to wander around and chill for a bit before photographing the Keys.



The Black Keys sounded amazing and as the sun had set, allowed for some great lighting. It's amazing that a two piece like the Keys or a three piece like Grand Ole Party can still sound so full and not drown in the space of such a huge stage.




I guess the alcohol had well lubricated my senses because I decided to watch the band from onstage for a couple songs. Nobody said anything to me, either, but I didn't wanna push my luck, so I left the area on my own accord.


I watched the remainder of their set from the So Co bus where there was quite the party going on.



Then it was back up front for Common where as I mentioned, I only took a couple pics because I'd run out of memory card space. I guess I'll need to get a backup card before Street Scene rolls around.


Common was awesome and the crowd was huge, but it wasn't quite as momentous as The Flaming Lips, because how can you really compare the acts? The Lips are just made for this kind of thing. Still, Common held his own and was a good way to end the long day.




After the show, we went to SDSC for the first night under new ownership, got some tacos, and then Jake dropped my wasted ass off at home where I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. I really wish I had some time off from work soon, because the end of summer has been kicking my ass, but alas, looks like I'll have to wait until our major project wraps before I can take a few days off. Sigh. But I guess if you're gonna be tired all the time, it might as well because you're having way too much fun.