#52 Redwood Bar on 1-4-2011

(photo by Danit Sigler)

We were invited to play this show by Cinderella Motel. The lead singer is a bit New Romantic looking, and can play the accordion. Redwood Bar has a nautical theme, and though the stage is small, there is a nice painting with a busty mermaid behind it.

We were pleased to have our video director and cinematographer in town to finally see a live show. I was using new bass equipment, and trying to get used to it. The sound on stage was very odd, and nothing was sounding right. I became discouraged, and after finishing a song I announced that we would not be playing another until we got the sound sorted out. The sound man made some adjustments, which helped a little, but overall the performance felt like a challenge. It was well received though, and we were pleased to have some familiar friends with us.

I left my hooded sweatshirt at the club, but luckily Michael retrieved it. 

#51 Sancho on 12-3-2010

(photo by Robert Hogg)

This was our final show of the year. We arrived at the venue and found an empty white artspace, and it's proprietor starting to set things up. I offered to set up the PA and got started. It was 9:30, and though we were set to play at 11, a flock of people showed up to see us play. I suggested they enjoy themselves at a local bar or eatery, and that's what they did. AV Club were the openers, and were running a bit late, but setup was quick and we were on schedule.

AV Club put on a great show, and I mixed the best sound I could with the small speakers provided. Our set was lively, and I was pleased to have 'Valley Born' back in the set. Wayne commented it was "five years in the making," which made me laugh. The last band (Fay Wrays) apparently had a breakdown and were not going to make it, so after playing we lingered as long as we could. A nice end to this year's performances.

#50 The Airliner on 11-2-10

(photo by Matthew Stolarz)

Congratulations us! This was the Active Set's 50th show! Hurrah! Hurrah!

This show was handed to us after playing the Terrace. I told my friend Sean Guerin to see about playing it, and lo and behold we got to play together. Francis and I ate tacos, separately, before the show.

The show was opened by a cool experimental 'loop station' guitarist. The Airliner has 3 stages, and we played the tiny one downstairs, not the big cement loading dock one out back or the super cool big stage upstairs. That was reserved for the 'damage to your nervous system' DJs.

They played a bunch of dub reggae on the PA as we set up, which always puts me in the mood. Though the stage is sideways facing the bar, everyone stood in front of us while we played. I couldn't keep my jacket on through the whole set, and Wayne called me a 'pussy' or 'quitter' or something. I made a lot of jokes about Meg Whitman, who was losing the election to Jerry Brown.

AV club is fronted by Austin Eastlee, a friend of mine. Sean Guerin plays keys. They have a good band.

#49 Pierce College Halloween Harvest Festival on 10-22-10

(I really had misgivings about including this photo, taken by Vivian Lovell.)

I was eager to see what this show would be like. I realized that we hadn't brought a box of CDs to sell, and this was the very type of event that people would probably be buying them. I managed to dig up 4 from the van and luckily one of the attendees had some backup copies. We played on a gigantic outdoor stage, facing benches and several concession stands. We were all so spread apart that we couldn't really hear each other's amps. (The sound men kept telling us to turn down so as to not drown out Castro's drums.)

I felt a bit performance-unsatisfied, and turned to Francis to say "one more." He shot me down.

We had friends who brought some people, and plenty of children watching our set. Children intrigue me as audience members, because they pretty much like it or they don't, and when they do it's pretty magical.

#48 Central on 10-8-2010

(photo by Amber McCandless)

Central Social Aid and Pleasure Club is in Santa Monica. It used to be called 14 Below. (I once played there with an earlier band and our attendees were not counted correctly so I was screwed out of $140.) We had been invited to play by Holy Rolling Empire, a Tucson band.

We were set to open the show, and we were going to share drums with some of the other bands, and I was borrowing a bass amp. We set up for what seemed like forever, and the sound men were having some technical issues, so it was actually longer than forever. I didn't remember the stage being so cramped. We played to a modest crowd, but they seemed into it. It would be a shame if I didn't comment on the lights in the room, which were pin-laser-psychedelic-spiral-dance-club madness. They were definitely in competition with us.

The crowd filled out as the night went on, and I must say there is nothing like playing shows with bands that are your friends. This was our 5th (6th? 7th?) show with the Monthlies, and the 2nd show with new friends Cola Cola, so the environment was warm and inviting. It reminded me a bit of shows on tour.

#47 The Terrace on 9-29-10

The Terrace is a Japanese restaurant in Pasadena with a good stage. We got the show thanks to a referral from artist Melissa Knowlton. She also borrowed an ebow for Wayne for the show.

The booker Vince was a very down-to-Earth guy. The bands who played with us were a bizarre assortment of sludge metal, surf-garage rock, indie pop, etc. There was a definite 'white trash' element at the show, and I'm not entirely certain which band(s) brought it. I don't know that that 'fans were shared' between the bands, but we did our work and enjoyed it. Good friends came to the show and we celebrated afterwards at the Yard House.

We played with Urrea, Moondog Orchestra, Black Guppie Sound and The Zermatts.

#46 La Bries on 9-28-10

(photo by some guy walking by)

La Bries used to be called 'The Scene.' I don't know if there was ever much of a scene there.

I raced to get things together for the show and get to the venue. I arrived at 7:20ish to set up for our 8 o'clock set time. Castro was already there, waiting outside the locked club. We all stood there and waited. The person who we booked the show with called and said we were supposed to be at the Rainbow Club in Hollywood. However, she was joking.

The owner arrived, and we quickly set up our equipment. There were no microphones set up though. The sound guy was 'on his way' and was 'never late before.' We waited. When he did arrive, we decided we would cut our set down so as not to drag the night on and on. After all, there were 3 bands after us and it was now almost 9:30.

The sound on stage was FANTASTIC, and the concise set worked quite well. Sadly though, Wayne broke his ebow.

We played with Julian Shah-Tayler, Charles and Model K.