#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.

#34 Silverlake Lounge on 10-20-09

We played with the Monthlies again (we like them) as well as Megasapien, Melee and Eugene & the 1914.

I don't recall much about this show. But what I do recall is:

1. Megasapien reminded me of Sunny Day Real Estate at times.

2. Eugene and the 1814 looked cool.

#33 Artwalk rooftop show on 9-10-09

(photo by Mariah Buian)

A nice gentleman named Louis invited us to be a part of this. The lineup changed a bit leading up to the show, but we wound up playing with rockabilly band The Rocketz.

Downtown Artwalk is exactly what it sounds like. There are galleries and venues and restaurants all opening their doors to showcase art, music and otherwise. We played on the outdoor roof of a gallery, and brought our own PA.

The show was enjoyable, and there were a lot of people there. We were joined onstage at one point by a drunk girl who was permitted to play the tambourine. Sadly, she wasn't very present mentally and missed out on the possible 'rock show with guest performer' interaction that could have taken place. We actually put a box of CDs out for free consumption, and many people took advantage of this.

A nice surprise was a visit by old school friends of mine as well as an old fan/friend from my days in The Briggs.

#32 Mr. T's Bowl on 8-29-09

photo by Mike Smith
generic american photography

We got to play with the Monthlies again, which works great. Also playing are Lusterko, who are a piano/drums duo. There is a '60s thing, sort of, going on musically and their singer-pianist is tall and has incredible legs.

Tonight was fun, and that's all I can really remember.