It's June and I'm still writing about April. I have got to get this shit together. I last left off after the first night of Coachella. It was a long day but didn't prevent me from having a big day in San Diego. So I shall rewin back to Record Store Day, Cage The Elephant, Menomena, Writer, and Calico Horse. All after the jump.
After a lot of post-Coachella sleep, I wrangled out of bed and headed over to Record Store Day at M-Theory to check out all the festivities. Actually, as it turns out, I missed most of it, but enjoyed browsing vinyl, getting a limited edition Jones Soda root beer with a Barsuk Label on it, and hanging out among the crowd that was there. A heated foosball match was in progress as the boys from Menomena took on different pairings of people. When I heard about the foosball tournament I wanted to join, but when I got there, decided against it because I'm not very fun to compete against. I get a little insane stemming from my days on the tennis court. It's probably the reason nobody ever asks me to go to Triple Crown for ping pong anymore, or why our regular Monday bowling nights came to an abrupt end. That said, it was really just as fun to watch everyone else play.
After grabbing a quick bite at Santana's I went to the House of Blues. Since I'd talked to the tour manager to verify my ticket was there, I escaped any box office drama and made my way inside. Apparently there was supposed to be an opening act but they cancelled, so it was just a quick wait and a good long set from Cage The Elephant. The band was wildly energetic (and not easy to shoot) but they sounded great. In fact, they were simultaneously loose and polished on stage, that for a while I wondered if they were an organic band or if they were sorta put together by a label, down to their outfits looking like they were styled by a professional. I only thought so because one of the guys had brand new 12 hole docs, half laced and open. Maybe that was of his own doing but I was a bit suspicious. The fact of the matter is that it didn't matter, because they control they stage when they're on it and gave the crowd the show they wanted.
The band was not only all over the stage, but jumped in the crowd to get a little pit going which if anything gave a dramatic flair but nothing where anyone could get hurt, especially considering the relatively small capacity of the Delta Room at House of Blues. I was kinda iffy about the band musically before seeing the performance, but after the show I was sold. I wish I could find the setlist but it'd floating around my apartment somewhere. I'll post if I find it. 
After the show ended, I arrived at the Casbah in time to catch the end of Calico Horse. The show was sold out and brimming with good friends. I didn't get a chance to take Calico photos, but then Writer played and I got a few in.
I'm not really sure what happened, but after Writer played (and you know I was up singing along to every song), I must've gone outside or something. By the time I attempted to get back in to the show, it was PACKED to the gills and I pretty much gave up on getting anywhere near Menomena for photos. It's all good though, because the band is that good and deserves all the love they were getting from the fans. Knowing I was heading back to Coachella the next morning, I enjoyed the show but left with little fanfare and called it a night.
No comments:
Post a Comment