BRMC @ HOB San Diego 5.6.07

We left out hotel in Arizona at around 10:30 AM with a stop for food near San Diego at Jack in The Box. We arrived in San Diego at around 3:30 PM. Our original hotel was deemed crappy by all, due to it's YMCA status and shared bathrooms, so we decided to walk over to the House of Blues and find a closer hotel. We ended up getting a room at the Courtyard Mariott Hotel right next door to the House of Blues. It was much larger and nicer than the last hotel, though it was also more than twice as much. Before the show, we went for drinks and food at a place called the Yardhouse. I got a drink that tasted a lot like a Midori Sour, but called something like The House Tropic.

When we got to the House of Blues, Alexander was there with his photographer friend and Jodi was in line with her husband. We all went inside the restaurant area for some more drinks and food. I stopped in the bathroom at first and I saw Peter sitting there on the phone. I joined my group and ordered a cheese pizza, which I ate mostly by myself though Dana had a couple bites of a slice. There was absolutely no line when we left the restaurant and we went right in. We stopped by the merch table to say hi to Alison and I picked up my autographed booklet that I'd gotten with my ticket. It wasn't hard to get up front, though most people were already lined up in the front row. I stood next to Vaquera from Tijuana, who I'd met after the Jimmy Kimmel taping.

The barrier was much closer to the stage at this show and security was much less annoying than the Marquee. Cameras weren't allowed, but I think some people managed to bring them in. There wasn't really much security inside telling people not to take pictures. The stage seemed a little less wide too, making it feel a bit more intimate.

The Black Angels were excellent again, this time with their 6th man switching between instruments. I enjoyed their music, though I'm sure there were still some people expecting to see the Fratellis. The response to their set was pretty positive overall. I actually did enjoy them more this time since the security wasn't there to annoy everyone.

The San Diego audience was for the most part, much more enthusiastic and into the music. I think BRMC were much more relaxed because of this, though they did make a few more slip ups in a few songs. For example, "Window" had a false start since not everyone was ready and Peter forgot a line in "Devil's Waitin'," though the audience was singing along much more and filled in some of it for him.

Overall, the setlist was pretty much the same as the previous night, though the major difference was "Heart + Soul" and "Red Eyes & Tears" in the middle of the set. That actually made a really big difference overall. It was actually really nice to hear "Heart + Soul" again, though kind of strange to get it so early in the set.

There was a point in the middle of the set when a couple of really obnoxious little girls elbowed their way to the front and pushed Dannielle. It seemed like they might have started a fight though they moved far enough away to avoid it. Fortunately, they left during Peter's solo acoustic songs, though they did manage to annoy most of the people up front. After the show ended, Peter came out to talk to fans and sign autographs.