Monday, July 23, 2007

Thrift Store Finds + Eskimo Joe

Not much new to discuss, I've been getting back into designer jeans thanks to finding a pair of Blue Cult jeans at the local ARC for only $6. They're tight and long on me, but I could lose weight and wear heels with it. The price for fashion is high... Speaking of thrift stores, I was at Goodwill today and picked up a live Radiohead CD for 99 cents, Interpol's Black EP for $2.99 and Tori Amos's Strange Little Girls for $2.99, exciting finds! As for new music, someone at Rykodisc sent me a CD by an Australian band called Eskimo Joe along with a bottle of red beaujolais! I don't even drink wine and it's a small bottle, but it's still really awesome! Anyways, I listened to the CD last night and it was really good! Check out this digital sampling of 3 of the band’s songs....

www.sendspace.com/file/p02xi5

They also contribute a cover of John Lennon's Mind Games to one of the Make Some Noise, The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur CDs that I just got. I haven't listened to it yet, but there are lots of good artists on it. I put a player up on my Facebook account, which I'll send a link to if you're interested.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

My imac

Taken yesterday

BRMC @ The Wiltern on May 8, 2007 (revisited)

I decided to rewrite my review of the BRMC show at the Wiltern for the Losing Today website. It's a combination of the Marquee and Wiltern reviews that I posted in the tour archive.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Black Angels, HT Heartache @ The Wiltern on May 8, 2007

Setlist:

Took Out A Loan
Berlin
Spread Your Love
Lien On Your Dreams
Whatever Happened To My Rock 'n' Roll
Stop
Weapon Of Choice
Red Eyes And Tears
Window
Promise
Not What You Wanted
666 Conducer
Need Some Air
American X

Encore:

Fault Line
Devil's Waiting
Mercy
Howl
Ain't No Easy Way
All You Do Is Talk

The stage was really high - like 5 feet tall at least. Unlike the previous 2 shows, there was another opener named HT Heartache. She was like a country folk singer with a warbly voice. She really seemed out of place at this show. The audience politely applauded all her songs, though most people didn't seem too into it.

The Black Angels were really good, with the full line up of 6 members on stage that day. Their sound was kind of psychedelic and hypnotic with a dark, atmospheric edge. They are deinitely influenced by the Brian Jonestown Massacre, since the guitarist had a guitar with BJM stickers on it. I enjoyed the sitar-like guitars and cavernous sounding drums and bass. The Black Angels were more warmly received with their '60's inspired sounds of echoing guitars and dynamic drumming. Watching them perform is always a treat. Their songs "Black Grease" and "First Vietnam War" are instantly memorable and powerful. There was some video footage behind them that looked pretty interesting.

BRMC played an excellent set throughout the night with no waiting for an encore. "Took Out A Loan" started the show as it does the new album and was well-received by the audience with lots of cheering and excitement. During the middle of it, it has kind of a false ending which continues with lots of white strobe lights reminding me of when they play "White Palms." Soon after BRMC entered the stage area, Robert Levon Been (the bassist/singer) said that this was their largest North American show yet and they were glad that it was in their hometown. Even Nick Jago (the drummer) seemed more into performing on the drums and actually smiled a few times near the end of the show. The setlist didn't change much from San Diego, with the addition of Stop - which was nice to hear again.

Next, was "Berlin" which was already a very familiar and exciting live song, I definitely see it as the next single. The rest of the set was full of new songs from Baby 81, including "Lien on Your Dreams," "Not What You Wanted," and of course "Weapon of Choice." The piano on the stage was put to good use with the live debut of "Window" and then "Promise" right after it. "Need Some Air" and "American X" features Peter on bass and Robert on lead guitar. "Need Some Air" is a very cool live song with Spike and Peter providing some amusing "whoa oo oo's" at the end. "American X" has a lot of space in it that reminds me of "Riders on the Storm," and it was a welcome addition to the set. "Spread Your Love" and "Whatever Happened to My Rock n' Roll" are live favorites which seem to be permanent parts of the setlist.

They played "Red Eyes and Tears," which is always well-received. Near the middle/end of "Took Out a Loan" (the show opener), Been added some lyrics which I usually can't hear. "666 Conducer" has been consistently amazing to see and hear live because of the grooving bass line that Been played almost entirely on his knees. Robert was especially into the performance, moving to the edge of the stage quite a few times. Even Peter seems to enjoy watching that. There was more time for applause before the encore started. Peter Hayes played "Fault Line" and "Devil's Waitin'," during which he forgot a line and had the audience singing along to fill it in. Then, Robert came out for "Mercy" and had the house lights turned down.

During Howl, Peter Hayes (guitarist/singer) is playing his keyboard more facing the audience with a black drapery covering the front of it. I guess it's better than having his back to the audience, though I don't understand what the covering is for. The rest of the band came on and during "Ain't No Easy Way," Robert threw his tamborine into audience. However, this was not the most exciting thing he gave to the audience. The final song of the night was the lovely "All You Do Is Talk," which starts off slowly and builds to a powerfully stirring chorus. It was a lovely way to end the show. At the end of "All You Do Is Talk," he unplugged the Epiphone bass guitar he was playing and handed it to the audience. And people went nuts for it. I think there was some punching by the girl who ended up with it. The security had to break it up a little.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

The Raveonettes and Midnight Movies @ Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa, CA 6-7-07

My long overdue review of the Raveonettes, Midnight Movies show at Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa, CA on 6-7-07:

The Raveonettes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/porcupiny/sets/72157600329517884/
Midnight Movies: http://www.flickr.com/photos/porcupiny/sets/72157600329460532/
Photos by Jacob Chan

Setlist:

Everyday (Buddy Holly)
Chain Gang Of Love
Twilight
Love in a Trashcan
Lust
Black Satin
Death By Deceit
Attack Of The Ghost Riders
My Tornado
100% (Sonic Youth)
I Know That You Want The Candy
Sex Beat (Gun Club)
Love Can Destroy
The Beat Dies
Hallucinations
Aly, Walk With Me

The Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa is a small club in a South Orange County strip mall. Oddly enough, Los Angeles-based Midnight Movies and bi-costal Danish duo The Raveonettes are making a rare electric duo appearance at this unusual place for a venue. Midnight Movies are an excellent modern psychedelic rock band with 2 female drummers (who alternate) and switch off between songs. The singer (and occasional drummer) Gena Olivier has a deep hypnotic voice and alternates between drums and keyboards. The current regular drummer, Sandra Vu, drummed with The Raveonettes for a few songs on this recent tour and also alternates between playing flute and bass. The guys in the band (Larry Schemel and Ryan Wood) are also very talented with their impressive guitar and bass playing skills. The new album "Lion the Girl" is a gorgeous and hypnotic work, possibly one of my top albums of this year already. The song "Should've Known" even inspired some tribal dancing near the front of the stage.

The Raveonettes have a large international following, so I was surprised by how intimate their recent US shows have been. Sune Rose Wagner (guitarist/singer) and Sharin Foo (bassist/singer) were setting up their instruments on the red-curtained stage before starting to play. No fanfare or introduction music as they just started playing after they finished setting up. They opened the show with a lovely feedback-laden version of "Everyday" originally by Buddy Holly. Wagner's and Foo's voices blend seamlessly in that and most of their other songs. "Chain Gang of Love" was next from the 2003 album of the same name, with it's vintage girl-group sound that never grows old.

"Twilight" from the 2005 album Pretty In Black was an interesting stripped down version of the song without the original drum machine. The single from the last album "Love in A Trashcan" sets lyrics about groupies to a fun rockabilly beat. The new tracks "Lust" and "Death By Deceit" show a slower more dramatic turn for the Raveonettes next album, which we will hopefully expect in September of this year. The other new song "Black Satin" is an upbeat romantic song with a familar '60's pop sound. "Attack of the Ghost Riders" and "My Tornado" from the Whip It On EP was a familiar return to their B flat minor days. On that song, Sharin puts down her bass for a tambourine. Wagner tried his hand at drumming while Foo played bass on their excellent cover of Sonic Youth's "100%," which really sounds like it was meant to be played by the duo.

Next, was another new song, which Sharin announced was about candy called "I Know That You Want The Candy," a fast romp through more poppy hook-filled territory. This track screams to be the next big single for the Raveonettes. Their version of "Sex Beat" by the Gun Club was next, a fun punk cover that really got the audience moving. "Love Can Destroy" is a country-tinged tune which sounds like they're covering Johnny Cash. "The Beat Dies" is a gorgeous new slow song with Sharin Foo singing lead vocals. "Hallucinations" is another new son "Aly, Walk With Me" is a slower sinister sounding song ending with a lot of feedback on both guitar and bass. After the show, both bands were selling merchandise near the front of the club. It was both surprising and exciting to see Sharin Foo selling Raveonettes shirts, tank tops, and patches to the audience members who remained after the show.

Monday, July 09, 2007

BRMC, Bellavista @ Mezzanine 6-25-07

The last in my series of BRMC concert reviews, makes me sad already! Anyways, this was a private Jack Daniels show that we managed to get into thanks to Grant, the wonderful Joey Fatone-esque tour manager of BRMC. The ride up with Suzanne was pretty stressful for her, and a bit traumatizing for me. Her Mustang goes really fast without seeming to go fast, but the traffic in the other lanes have to get out of the way for her to zoom past and many made the mistake of not getting out of the way. We left my house at around 11:30 AM and despite horrible traffic around Sylmar in Ventura County, we made it to San Francisco by 6:30 PM with plenty of time to primp for the show.

Jodi and Kimberly were there a bit earlier to make sure we could all get in and even snuck in for the sound check. The wait in line wasn't too bad, we walked around the corner to a sandwich shop nearby to get some eats while the people behind us held our place in line (though they were the only other people there). When we finally entered, we were greeted by a table full of swag, including hankies, buttons, guitar picks, patches, keychains, etc. Some how I'd missed the JD girls handing out harmonicas, but Jodi was kind enough to give me hers. We also had our picture taken by the JD girls, who gave us a polaroid to mark the occasion.

We claimed our usual spots in front, but no one else was really fighting for them this time. I chatted a little with a girl who said she was in a band called Gold and Sweet (or something like that), who had opened for Fujiya and Miyagi at the same venue a few weeks ago. She had never heard of BRMC, but had heard of Bellavista, which kind of shows you what the Bay area is like. Bellavista went on at around 8 PM and were really good. I was surprised because I didn't really like The Vue, which a couple of the band members were in before. I was pleasantly surprised by their music, which had some pop hooks to the mostly rock-oriented sound.

Jodi was so impressed by the drummer that she got a drumstick signed by him. I think he was interesting to watch because his kit was set up right near us instead of way in the back, so we could actually see his feet moving to hit the bass drums. BRMC went on at around 9 PM, right after a Jack Daniels Gibson guitar giveaway. They put on a spirited performance, though the audience wasn't as into it as a normal audience would be. It was annoying when people were talking loudly during the acoustic songs and later singing the wrong parts during Peter's acoustic songs. Somehow, we got an encore out of the band even though the music started already.

Here's the setlist:

Took Out A Loan
Berlin
Lien On Your Dreams
Ain't No Easy Way
Weapon of Choice
White Palms
Window
Not What You Wanted
666 Conducer
Need Some Air
American X

Fault Line
Devil's Waitin
Chelsea Hotel
Shuffle Your Feet
All You Do Is Talk

Steal A Ride
Awake
Six Barrell Shotgun
Punk Song

"White Palms" wasn't on the original setlist, as well as "Chelsea Hotel," so we got some special songs. We were trying to get them to play "We're All In Love" by writing the lyrics to the song down, but they didn't play it. We also wanted them to play "Shade of Blue" with one of our little paper signs, but we got "Steal A Ride" which made us all very happy. After the show, Peter told us that Nick was playing the wrong beat, so Peter kicked his bass drum which made Nick angry. Poor guys, not even getting along during a song! After the show, Suzanne said, "Good show" to Nick, who responded, "No, it wasn't." So, I guess no one was really happy about the show, except us, who just wanted to see them before the European tour.

After the show, me and Suzanne were trying to get food from Denny's. We had parked pretty far away from the restaurant, so she went to move the car. It seems a homeless guy asked her for a dollar when she got back, and when she didn't give it to him, he peed on her car! The nerve of some people, especially ones who shouldn't be in a position to make demands. After spending way more than expected on food and parking, we were ready to go get some sleep. Getting into my dad's parking garage was trickier than we'd expected, but we managed to get in the other side of it. It was quite an eventful evening, but fortunately, the drive back was a lot easier (until we reached LA).

Sunday, July 08, 2007

BRMC Berlin video shoot @ Little Radio

Planning for Ohio is going swimmingly... well, at least, they've started. In the meantime, here's a brief rundown of the Berlin video shoot from June 23rd:

Robert mentioned this video shoot for "Berlin" in Las Vegas, but we didn't learn all the details about it until a couple days (and actually the day) before it happened. Me and Suzanne arrived at Little Radio around 2 PM and went to get food at Jack in the Box before it started. There were a few people there already, but not as many as we thought there'd be.

Jodi and Kimberly were sitting in Jodi's car and we sat around and talked for awhile before the actual shoot began. We ended up waiting a lot longer than we thought. It said 3:30 PM on the MySpace bulletin and we were waiting outside until around 5 PM at least. Robert did come over to talk to us before then and mentioned that he cut his own hair with a bowl.

When we finally entered the warehouse, we saw Robert on stage with his bass and a camera mounted on top of his head. Nick and Peter were also on stage, but without cameras. Apparently, the video had some of theme where you see each band members' view of the audience through these cameras. We were told to be really excited during the filming of the song. After numerous takes, we were given a chance to rest and go outside where it was much cooler.

We got some interested bits of songs in between filming. They started playing "We're All In Love," but it seems Peter couldn't remember the words. At some point, Robert played his version of "Chelsea Hotel" along with a new song I'd never heard before. They filmed another part of the video on Peter's side (with the camera mounted on Peter) and had the audience all around the stage and on the stairs.

Nick was next up for having a camera mounted on him. During the filming of his part, Robert and Peter weren't on stage and they just played the track while he drummed along. His part of the band perspective video seemed to go by really quickly and soon he was done. After lots of breaks, they did a crowd scene which seemed to take the longest of all the shots. During this time, Peter played a cover of "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" by Elvis Presley. It was a very lovely version too.

Someone, possibly the director, said that the video would have someone going through the crowd with a helmet cam and then pushing his way on stage to grab the mike from Peter, who would kick him away. This part of the video involved Peter wearing his own helmet camera and special glasses to see through that camera as if the camera were his eyes. During this time, Peter noticed us taking pictures and posed for us. It was so funny seeing him wearing all that equipment flipping us off!

At the end of the shoot, everyone was exhausted, but we still got a full set of songs from BRMC. Here's the set list from the entire night, according to Jodi:

Solo Robert songs:
Chelsea Hotel (Leonard Cohen cover)
Unnamed new song by Robert ("it has really complex chords") featuring a chorus with lots of falsetto.

I think this is when Peter and Nick came on stage for a bit.
I Can't Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis cover sung by Peter)
We're All In Love (partial, since they couldn't remember the words)

Solo Robert again.
The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll (Bob Dylan cover)
Mercy

With Peter and Nick again, between takes.
Complicated Situation
White Palms

I think this is where the actual show started.
Rifles
666 Conducer
Took Out A Loan
Awake
US Government
Six Barrel Shotgun
Suddenly
As Sure As The Sun
American X
Red Eyes And Tears

The last song was a request from Spike, who showed up near the end of the shoot. Peter explained that the crew had been working hard all day and needed to rest, so they would end their set there. He also said he'd be outside with his acoustic guitar, which he was. He played a couple songs there, but the only one I really remember is the Elvis song.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Las Vegas roadtrip

I've still got 3 more BRMC shows to blog about, so bear with me. The Las Vegas show was supposed to be the last one of the tour, and it was. Somehow, it was only the start of more adventures for me, Suzanne, and Jodi (and Kimberly after the Berlin video shoot). I'm really glad this was not the last time we'd see BRMC because the show was too short for a last show. I guess it was a nice break for BRMC after a long tour, but it would have been disappointing if we hadn't seen them in Texas, then later at Little Radio and Mezzanine.

After a surprisingly fast drive from Southern California (maybe 4.5 hours), me and Suzanne were on our way to the Las Vegas airport to pick up Michele. We were a little late due to a few lanes being closed on the way to Vegas, but we made good time due to light traffic and Suzanne's speedy Mustang. We didn't know exactly where the airport was at first, but got there pretty easily because there are more noticeable signs in Nevada than Texas.

We made our way to Planet Hollywood, which used to be Aladdin, where we were staying. It was a little confusing getting to the front desk, but we found our way to the room after roaming around the casino and shopping mall for awhile. After playing some slots, we met up with Michele's friend Liz, who was staying at Paris with her dad. We took a taxi to Jillian's, where Jodi was already waiting in line. The venue itself was pretty strange, it was an arcade with a bowling alley and pool tables upstairs.

BRMC, Sarabeth Tucek, Magic Mirror @ Jillian's 6-19-07

Peter was playing some songs I'd never heard inside and Robert was on his phone outside of the venue for awhile. Later, they were both outside talking with Sarabeth Tucek and other friends, while some fans from the line went up to take pictures with them. We were let in pretty early, like around 6:30 PM or something. The schedule showed that BRMC would only be on from 9 PM to 10:15 PM, which is extremely short compared to their usual 20-25 song sets.

Magic Mirror opened the show. We saw the singer/guitarist of the band at the front earlier doing something with the list. Sky Parade was advertising that Magic Mirror was opening the show, but I'd never heard them before. They played a really great set, I can't really remember now what they sounded like, but I do remember liking their music. Sarabeth Tucek joined them for one song, but I couldn't hear her at all. Luther Russell was playing keyboards with them too. I will have to check them out again (http://www.myspace.com/magicmirrormusic)

Sarabeth Tucek and Luther Russell were up next, giving us a pleasant acoustic break before BRMC. Peter sat and played guitar with them on what I later learned was a cover of "Fearless" by Pink Floyd. It sounded very familiar and was a lovely song. They probably had lots of friends in the audience because they seemed pretty relaxed during this show.

The setlist for BRMC was short, only 13 songs printed... though it did include a couple long ones ("American X" and "Heart + Soul"). Robert threw in his Dylan cover, which added Pinball Wizard at the beginning and he sang a capella near the end before starting up with the acoustic guitar again.

Took Out A Loan
Berlin
Lien On Your Dreams
Ain't No Easy Way
Weapon Of Choice
Punk Song
Window
666 Conducer
American X
Fault Line
Devil's Waitin'
The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll (which wasn't on the printed setlist)
All You Do Is Talk
Heart + Soul

Despite the short set, it was a good performance by the band. They've been touring a long time already, so it made sense that this show would be shorter. At the end of the show during "Heart + Soul," Robert broke a bass string and had to switch basses. This didn't stop him from playing until the very end and even jumping out to the barrier, where all the front row fans could just reach out and touch him. And they did... he did return to the stage and they ended with their trademark feedback on their pedals. It's always a nice way to end a show.

After the show, we waited around a bit to see what people were doing. Not much it seemed. I was starving before and after the show, so Michele gave me some trail mix she'd bought before the show. That filled me up until we decided to drive over to the Hard Rock Hotel in Theresa's Beetle. That was an adventure in itself because there were 6 of us and it only really held 5. I was the lucky one who got to sit on Suzanne's lap in the front seat. The police officer in the van stopped at the light was looking over at us, but fortunately, didn't stop us.

When we got to the Hard Rock, we took some photos at the Pink Taco before getting to a restaurant that was still open. Michael Been happened to come in right after us and sat at the table next to ours. He remembered us and came over after he finished eating and gave us the opportunity to ask any questions we had about the band. I had heard about Peter as a psychedelic dancer in a video that he made during his solo career and asked him about it. He said that he didn't have a copy of the video. He continued telling us about how the band members lived together for 4 years and didn't talk, which must mean they communicated telepathically or with sign language. And he did say that Nick was the strangest guy he'd ever met, which isn't such a surprise.

After he left and we had all finished eating, we went to the casino to try our luck. I was really too tired to do anything at that point, but Theresa offered me a dollar to try some video poker. It went pretty fast. After she lost another dollar at the machine she was sitting at, she said her goodbyes to everyone and went back to her friend's place. Suzanne and Jodi lost a little more, while Michele and Liz watched Wic and Grant gambling at a table. We all left soon after taking a taxi back to our hotel, which wasn't too far. We walked Liz back to Paris and went back to Planet Hollywood for some much needed sleep.

The next day, we dropped Michele off at the airport and drove Jodi back to Fitgerald's, which was right next to Jillian's. We made a stop at Starbucks for coffee and did a little more gambling. Then we said our goodbyes and were off to California. Me and Suzanne stopped at Calico Ghost Town on our way back, which was pretty cool. It was a lot busier than it looked and we had some food. I did have those kick ass hot wings which I blogged about earlier, inspired by a very cool rock n' roll dad. The rest of the drive back was pretty smooth and I slept a lot for the next 2 days.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Auralgasms - Breath of Stars CD review


Auralgasms is a music website "dedicated to the discovery of new and under-appreciated artists" with a focus on dreampop, shoegaze, and electronica. Naturally, their third and latest compilation "Breath of Stars" showcases the talents of range of artists with gorgeous vocals and swirling instrumentals. The first track "Sublunar" by Sleepthief features the beautiful voice of Kristy Thirsk and produces a heavenly combination of dramatically high pitched vocals, pulsating beats, and gentle electronic sounds. Costanza's "I've Been Waiting For you" is an electronic track of sweetly subdued vocals and synthesized beats resembling the sound of heart beat. Halou from San Francisco contribute the beautiful song "Albatross," which features Rebecca Coseboom's smoothly unique vocals that glides effortlessly through the track's lush instrumentation.

In-flight Safety's "Lost (The March Song)" begins as a simple lo-fi song of sparse guitars, piano, and drums, which builds up to a powerful rock beat with soaring vocals and finishes off with light keyboards. Pilot Speed's "Alright" is a melancholy acoustic track with heartfelt vocals and gentle piano flourishes added over twangy guitars. Los Angeles-based The Meeting Places track "Until It's Gone" combines dense layers of guitars and piano over light vocals. The Daysleepers from Buffalo, NY showcase modern shoegaze stylings on their track "Loved By The Sun," which has a reverberating feel of coolly detached vocals and dreamily expressive instrumentation. Ether Aura's "Crash" begins as a stripped down track of female vocals that builds up to a dramatically effects filled guitar sound and heavy bass. Honeybreath "Mayfly" seems to rely on the strength of the sweet clear vocals backed by gentle acoustics reminiscent of The Sundays.

Scottish indie stalwarts the Trashcan Sinatras contribute the lilting acoustic track "All The Dark Horses," which revives their sweetly melodic harmonies with sublimely jangly guitars from their long awaited 2006 album Weightlifting. Sky Project "Thankyou" combines breathy harmonies with rhythmic beats and acoustic guitars for a soothingly dramatic effect. Lou Rhodes, singer of Trip-hop group Lamb, questions "Why" we let the good things in for this string-filled bluesy acoustic folk song. On Ethos's track "Late Last Life," it begins in what sounds like a small box with vocals and piano that suddenly escapes and builds with drums and guitars that show a wide range of dynamics. Kirsty Hawkshaw's delicate vocals and lovelorn lyrics on "Healing Angel" is driven by the pulsating electronic beats produced by the great French DJ Arnold Toutain, who collaborated with Hawkshaw on this standout track.

Moev's "A Thousand Lashes" is a synth-pop style song that features the straight-forward vocals of Julie Ferris. Tom Ferris and Dean Cook produce a fresh sounding new wave approach to synthesized music for the first time in 8 years. Neverending White Lights' "Return Our Lives" is a lushly layered song featuring Judah Nagler (Velvet Teen) on vocals, which changes with the song from downbeat to falsetto. Hotel De Ville's "Celestial Call" closes the compilation with an unusual combination of light tambourine with orchestral horns and strings, and exotic vocals singing in a strange language. Breath of Stars proves to be a compilation worth hearing for both the distinctive voices and dramatic combinations of electronic and acoustic sounds. Each of the 17 carefully chosen tracks is a musical gem showcasing the talents of an artist that should be given more attention, and hopefully, they will after their appearance on this CD.

Monday, July 02, 2007

BRMC, The Cobbs, Sarabeth Tucek @ House of Blues in Dallas

The last show in Texas for me, Jodi, and Suzanne. It was an excellent show that I actually was able to enjoy without taking any photos or videos. I did sneak in a camera, but being at the front near security made it impossible to use. Still, it was nice to relax and just sing along most of the night. Our Dallas adventure started when we were driving (Suzanne actually) nearly 200 miles from Austin. It was definitely a long drive, but worse for Suzanne who was craving a smoke for much of it. There were only a few bathroom stops at various grocery stores and gas stations, so when we arrived at the House of Blues we were all starving and tired.

We decided to eat at the restaurant at the venue since it allowed you to "pass the line" with a receipt. Since we were all exhausted, a nice sit down meal was very exciting. Even more exciting was hearing a sound check of "Steal A Ride" going on at the music hall down stairs. We heard a few other songs, possibly new and unfinished, before returning to our table. Sometime near the end of our meal, we were joined by Kimberly, who had just arrived from Sacramento moments ago. It was nice seeing her again since the last time we saw each other was Sunset Junction last year. We filled her in on all our adventures from the past few days while she ate.

It was very nice being in the "Pass the line" line because we were able to wait inside while everyone else waited outside as a storm was brewing. We did have a chance to see the music hall by taking the elevator up with a nice security guy, who later wrote several love letters to Kimberly. I'm sure she was flattered, as well as amused. When we finally got down to the music hall, me and Suzanne stood right in front in the middle of the stage (same spot as at La Zona Rosa). There were some girls who Suzanne overheard were planning on edging their way to the front, which made us very protective of our spots.

Sarabeth Tucek and Luther Russell opened this show as they had the previous night. They weren't as warmly received as they had been at La Zona Rosa, so Luther did a fancy guitar solo that got people a little more excited. Still, they played a lovely acoustic set with Sarabeth's deep alto vocals. The Cobbs were up next and played a short but sweet set of their '60's inspired psychedelic rock sound. They really seemed to impress the mostly youthful audience. I actually noticed the theremin more since I wasn't busy taking pictures or video.

The House of Blues in Dallas is huge for a House of Blues. It probably had a 1600 to 2000 person capacity, which is at least twice as large as the ones I'd been to in California. Robert mentioned after BRMC came on stage that this was probably the largest show they'd played in Dallas. Considering the huge stage and the upper level, it was exciting to see them up close for it. The setlist was amazing that night since we got "Killing The Light" near the start of the show (after a false start), and "Steal A Ride" during the encore. That really made the show even better, and made the trip to Texas worth it.

Here's the setlist, which Jodi posted on the forum:

Took Out A Loan
Berlin
Lien On Your Dreams
In Like The Rose
Ain't No Easy Way
Weapon Of Choice
Punk Song
Killing The Light (after a bit of a false start due to tuning problems)
Window
Not What You Wanted
666 Conducer
Love Burns
Need Some Air
American X
Fault Line
Devil's Waitin'
Mercy
Shuffle Your Feet
Rifles
All You Do Is Talk
---
Restless Sinner
Steal A Ride (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Red Eyes And Tears
Six Barrel Shotgun
Spread Your Love

After the show, Kimberly had a pass to go to the after part, but missed going to the backstage area when they were leading people there. Me and Jodi went to the merch table to see what new shirts to buy and chatted a little with the Cobbs, who were selling out their tank tops. I was sad about this since I had missed out on buying one in Houston for $8, and then they raised the price in Austin to $12. Suzanne was having a smoke outside and was stuck at the top of the stairs until she gave the security guard puppy dog eyes. As the merch was being put away, we were shooed up the stairs to the outside of the venue.

Out near the side of the venue, Peter was smoking and chatting with people. The security people there said he was just trying to be alone and all these people came up to him. It was strange that he was outside while the after party was going on. He brought out his guitar and was playing in the stair well with Luther for awhile. Not long after, he was out with Luther and some of the Cobbs playing Beatles songs and jamming with a fan playing a harmonica. The rest of the after party had come out by then and joined the impromptu jam session.

There were more odd moments of Robert putting suitcases (which I assume belonged to the Cobbs) in trees and then saluting Kimberly as the bus was starting up to leave. Grant had to follow him over to bring him back to the bus. Nick had come out earlier followed by several fans and was sporting his Mr. Rogers sweater and glasses. Spike, Wic, and some other people had taken a walk to see the Grassy Knoll (where Kennedy was assassinated). The rest of us were sitting on the sidewalk half listening to the jam and discussing random things. Suzanne was sleeping in the car for the most part.

When we did finally leave, there was little time for showers and gossip, but we managed to squeeze in a little of both. We were really rushed actually getting to the airport because we had to get gas, drop Jodi and Kimberly off at Dallas Love Field, return the rental car, and then check in and go through security, while still squeezing in a smoke break for Suzanne. We barely made our flight, but the important thing is that we made it and our Texas trip was officially (and unfortunately) over.