#40 The Echo on 8-3-10

This show was part of the International Pop Overthrow. It is a yearly music 'festival' put on by a man named David Bash. There were 13(?) nights of IPO at various clubs around Los Angeles. I'm not sure what night we were. What I do know is that there were 7 bands on the bill, and that's a lot of bands.

I had misgivings about the show, which is probably why it went the way it did. We were using mostly their back line, to assure quick transitions between bands. I couldn't get the bass rig to sound quite right though. Wayne was smart and brought his own amp.

Our set felt a bit rigid to me, and I was having trouble loosening up. We were on our 4th or 5th song and Mr. Bash gestured 'one more song.'

What? Huh?

Yes, I had failed to realized that the back to back listings of the bands meant we had a 20-minute set. A short set. Uncomfortably short. The only shorter set we'd played was at SXSW in 2008, which was maybe 17 minutes.

So, we finished our last song and I stumbled off stage a bit shellshocked. I stood near the merch tables, not quite angry, not quite sad, but feeling very odd indeed. An older man came up to me and said, "Great set, but that's a terrible name. I'm sure I'm not the first person to tell you that!"

What? Huh?

I was caught completely off guard, as if in slow motion. I mumbled something about Wayne having questioned the name once or something or something. He said, "Good set though" and walked away. I shouted some vaguely confrontational, "Did you just say that to me?" but he was out of earshot, and I felt even more defeated. I went for the front door, and took a walk.

The rest of the night was dispersed, but when leaving I was handed an envelope with money for the CDs we'd sold (we did?).

I don't ever recall feeling quite like this at a show.

#39 Vu Ultra Bar 7-25-10

(photo by Matthew Stolarz)

Vu Ultra Bar (or 'the Vu' as the locals call it) is in Newhall, CA.

I was invited to play by Stephen Shepard, who was once in a band called Little White Lie, who played shows with me when I was in a band called I Decline, that later became The Briggs. In other words, we go back a ways.

Steve is an artist, and has a collection of artist friends who are part of a community up there. This was mainly an art show, and we were some of the entertainment. Many people stayed outside on the smoking patio while we played, but those that watched us were very supportive: they shouted, danced, etc. We enjoyed it thoroughly.

The night concluded with an 'art battle,' two artists sketching on a giant canvas based on a theme of the audience's choosing. This battle was 'pandas and the apocalypse' if I'm not mistaken.

#38 Wolf Gallery on 7-24-10

(photo by ?)

We were tracked down and asked to play this show by East Los Angeles new wave band LeTras. We drove down to Whittier and were greeted by an apparently very tight-knit group of Latino fans and friends. I was reminded of Briggs shows back in the day, where we would find these hard-core Latino punks who absolutely lived for the scene and the music. It's such a nice contrast to scenelessness. (Yep, I just coined that.)

There was a middle-aged burnout white guy who lingered around the club before we played, and he asked us if we were going to play some 'Anglo-Saxon music' for a change, instead of all this 'Mexican shit'. We were annoyed/amused. During our set this guy kept giving half-assed Nazi salutes, and eventually left. I thought this was very smart of him.

After the set, feeling like we didn't necessarily win this crowd over, LeTras invited us to come back to their studio/practice space to hang out and drink. We joined them, and it turned into a great dance party, and we were quite happy to join them. We danced and it was fantastic.

#37 rooftop poolside show on 5-30-10

We were invited to play this thing by Leila, who got our number from Becca of Dramaturgy Presents. It was to celebrate the release of the Waveriders movie, or to fundraise, or something.

I was being paid to bring and run the PA for the bands. We set up the stuff under a tent. Various members of the band showed up at various times. There were two acoustic acts who were going to play in addition to us and The Downtown Train. Time started ticking on, and I nudged the acoustic acts to go on, but nobody wanted to play yet as 'the vibe' wasn't 'right.' One of these was the super charismatic Bradley Riot, who has very large holes in his ears, and plays a fine thrashy acoustic song.

Downtown Train were a dirty dirty blues band, that were tremendous. Young guys, but they played the crap out out of the blues and I was super impressed. They played for a long time, and I was getting agitated as we were now in a countdown as to how much time the bands had left to play. I said one more song, and they played a looooong one more song, and then burst into yet another 'one more song.' I kept my cool, and thanked them.

We played a good set to entirely the wrong crowd, who couldn't care less it seemed. (Girls kept trying to plug their pop-filled iPods into the PA throughout the day.)

#36 Casey's Irish Pub on 5-28-10

(photo by Bret Rigney)

This show was a gift from the Monthlies, who have a residency here. Casey's is a great pub below street level in downtown L.A. There is even a fantastic freight elevator that comes out of the sidewalk. The show was sponsored by Jameson's, so they were paying for the entertainment. Nice.

We were the only two bands playing, so we really had time to set up and lounge before the show. A LOT of people showed up for us, and it was a very supportive crowd. The lighting was such that Wayne was kind of in the dark, but I don't think he minded. The performance was enjoyable. I caught the kitchen in time and enjoyed a shepherd's pie, while a cellist played with the Monthlies.

Wayne's birthday had been two days prior, so this was a bit of a 'Birthday Show.'  We surprised him with a cake and shared it with many of the people at the bar. Wayne later commented that no one had ever done something like this for him.

#35 Dakota Lounge on 5-16-10

This show was booked through Fancy Animal Productions. They are a nice couple who seemed to put a lot of care into this show. We played with The Monthlies, as well as Holland Greco.

What made this show special was not the dinner at the Vegan restaurant nearby, but the East-Coast one-legged security guard at the club. He was truly one-of-a-kind. He was dressed in a suit, and walked around on a crutch, and managed to make sure you knew you were in the way every chance he got. Whether it was equipment backstage or your own body against the bar, it was a night full of "Excuse me, can you just move that closer to the wall? We need to keep this area clear" or "I just need you to leave this path open. I'm not trying to be pushy." And yet, he WAS pushy. All night long. Even when things were not really in the way, he would seek out people to move and things to 'correct.' It was a unique and amazing experience.

Being our first show back in many months, we all agreed that we had evolved to a new plateau of live performance. We felt good. We even covered INXS. 

New Single - Let The Games Begin

Sooooooo, the first of our new singles is up. It's an optimistic story-song called Let The Games Begin. It's been a long road, but we're on to something good. It's quite possibly a sequel to Better Brigade, in theme. You can listen to it or download it here.

We will be at Coachella today to spread the message about this brand new song. Say hello if you see us.