(RED)Music Presents Gomez & Blind Pilot, HoB, 8.2.09

It had been a very long time since I'd been to a proper show at House of Blues in the main hall, but having seen Gomez in the room before, I was very much looking forward to it.

We decided to go downtown early and get some food before the show which was 'meh' but can't win every time. Next time I'll stick to the catfish nuggets.

While we ate, there were promos and videos on the tv screens. I saw the one for this night, presented by (RED)Music, which donates proceeds to AIDS care in Africa. "Upload your photos from tonight with #RedNights" and "Tag your videos of tonight's show on YouTube with #RedNights and 'Bandname'". The promos running inside seemed to indicate that photos and videos would not only be allowed, but encouraged. Not so. Oh well. Got it covered anyway...





The show itself was incredible, and I was with some friends that gave me a little freedom to move around but mostly it was just about the music and I was so happy to be seeing Gomez again. I expected a few more songs from the new record, but they certainly pleased the crowd by playing a sampling of music from all their albums. I was especially impressed with the way they started the set to get the crowd's attention on "How We Operate" (pure vocal, instruments joined in later), though it seemed the majority of the crowd was digging the singalongs for older songs.

More if you 'keep on reading'.







Here's the guys playing their iPhones as instruments...








































All in all, Gomez played for about an hour and a half. They sounded clean and layered and tight as ever, though the guitar amp seemed a tad too loud on certain songs. Olly, the drummer, is just insane, with a Rush sized kit, and yet he uses every piece of it. Here are a couple videos taken on the sly.





Blind Pilot, from Portland, opened the show and were amazing. And not just because the singer had total bedroom eyes, either. Hailing from Portland, the band sold out the Casbah earlier this spring and are getting some well deserved attention of their own. I missed that show (with Loch Lomond!) but won't be missing this band any time they circle back through...


























It was a great show to be sure. Afterward we went to Bar Pink to see Generationals, but it's a little hard to see a band like Gomez and then see anyone else without feeling a tad underwhelmed. They were actually really good, but I wish I could've seen them on any other night, especially since they came all the way from New Orleans.

Gomez will be on Conan O Brien tonight, August 3, so be sure to tune in. Oh- and Gomez did a live interview and session at KINK. You can listen to it here.

Gomez Coming To San Diego This Sunday!

Gomez is coming to play the San Diego House of Blues this Sunday, August 2nd.

The band is back on a US tour in support of their latest release, A New Tide. This is their sixth studio release -- and the one that scored the band their highest chart debut in their recording history. Billboard praised the record, proclaiming that it is "a brilliant 11-song collection of lyrical jewels embellished by colorful and unusual
textural arrangements." Paste also applauded it, saying that it is "Catchy, quirky... Gomez's most experimental."

A little something extra about this particular show-- it's going to be a very special (RED) Night. Artists participating in these concerts (Gomez now included as one of them!) will have portions of their ticket sales go to the (RED) campaign in their efforts to eliminate AIDS from Africa.

Every time I've seen Gomez they are amazing. I realize that proceeds from this show go to charity, but if you're broke like me, you might wanna try buying some tickets through one of LiveNation's various offers on cheap tickets, like the one they have with Citi Cards, no service charge Wednesdays, or try using Subway $5 Tickets.

Recap: Ben Kweller, Gomez, Cold War Kids

Well, I pulled it off. I managed to get to see both shows that I wanted to see.

I started Tuesday night with a shirt nap so I would be ready for the night ahead. I arrived at the House of Blues at 8pm on the dot, Ben Kweller came on moments later. I didn't think I'd like him but I really did, in the same way that I like Ben Lee. Quirky simple lyrics, nice harmonies with his drummer and bassist, and just having a good time onstage. Because they were co-headliners, they played close to an hour. Good for fans, bad for someone hoping to get to the Casbah. The sound guy gave me a copy of the setlist.



After close to 30 minutes of stage breakdown and setup, Gomez took to the stage around 9:40. I was kinda surprised how into it the crowd was because it didn't seem like they were the last time Gomez played at the House of Blues. I'm a huge fan of How We Operate, but this show definitely covered a broader spectrum of their material, going back to a lot of their older stuff. I love that vocal responsibilities are split by the 3 guys because it makes every song sound fresh. After an hour, the band went into the slowed down version of We Haven't Turned Around, and I thought that was a good song to end my night being that it was the first song I'd ever heard by Gomez and it's the one that made me a fan in the first place.

It was about 10:45 and I jogged to my car and raced to the Casbah, parked in my secret spot, and Cold War Kids were already onstage into their 4th song, according to Ben the door guy. I grabbed a drink and squeezed my way up toward the front side of the stage and hung out with Porter. Here are some photos...







Being that this was my fifth time seeing the band, I didn't feel the need to be up front and part of the craziness. Instead I hung out with Troy, Scott, Porter and Jason. We were having fun shooting the shit when the show ended and everyone began to clear out. It was only 11:55. wtf? There should've been a third band as far as I was concerned. We decided the night wasn't ready to be over and ventured to the Sports Club for a bit. My friends are bad, bad influences.

Wednesday turned out to be a day of letting my body rest, so I'm sorry to say that I missed Kite Flying Society and Oh No! Oh My! Today I'll be heading to the new music showcase at 5:30 then catching AM and Brian Vander Ark at the House of Blues sidestage and then the last Powder Room at the Beauty Bar. I surrendered my ski trip tomorrow because I had no takers for driving to LA at 4 am. boo hoo. It's gonna be another full weekend, though, so I'm not that concerned about it. See you all on the town...

Doing the impossible: Gomez and Cold War Kids

I bit the bullet and just spent $29 at the HoB box office for a ticket to Ben Kweller and Gomez. There are several things that need to align to make it a perfect night. Ideally Ben Kweller will start promptly at 8pm, and Gomez at 9pm, finishing by 10:30. Then I would race to my car and drive to the Casbah (swiftly avoiding Mardi Gras traffic) and finding princess parking in time to catch the end of Delta Spirit and in time for all of the Cold War Kids set. I will need my friends at the CWK to keep me updated with texts (which miraculously I do receive in the HoB). Don't expect pictures, however. I'm not that sneaky talented...