About Last Night [Three days late]

*again with this writing and then saving as a draft and then not editing until umpteen days later and thenpost-dating the post to when it was actually written. nonsense i know.

Last night [Saturday] was actually my very first ever foray into solo concert attendance. And it really wasn't the worst thing ever.

It started out with a plan to attend Starr Hill's World Leader Pretend, Washington Social Club, Army of Me, Some Other Band show. Having stayed in too many nights while the boys were away I figured it was finally time to venture out and get over that fear of persistent akwardness induced by a lack of companion...even if that meant combatting it with probably too many pre-departure drinks.

En route to the venue I noticed Deke was bartending down the street so I stopped in there for a drink and quickly became 'that girl hanging out alone at the bar.' I actually resorted to doing a crossword to suppress my feelings of out-of-place-ness...which were also curbed said drink. Admittedly, I knew the bartender and the owner and a waiter so it was so entirely random, but still nto so entirely comfortable.

I headed up to the concert soon thereafter, right about when I figured AoM would be ending and WSC beginning. I was very sure the only band I really cared about was WSC--I'd listened to a WLP mp3 beforehand and thought it stunk pretty bad, and was confirmed in that assessment when I heard them on the local radio earlier in the night. I'd read very mixed reviews about AoM, some rave, some ripping, but I was still hoping to catch a song or two of theirs.

I walked in right as they were on their pentultimate song--something I'd heard on their EP about D.C. It was definitely better live but it was still a pretty lame song overall. Their final song was something they claimed to have written the night before and never tried live...which was painfully obvious. The lead singer was flat for the entirity of the song, a fact that was only amplified when the guitartist came in with on-keyish back-up vocals. Overall it left a nasty taste in my mouth about a band I suspect I will continue to make little to no effort to see at the myriad shows I'm sure they will continue to play around C-Ville.

Next up was WLP. Which pissed me off. As the out of town touring act, this band was the headliner. The majority of the promo for the show prominently featured the band above all others (althougha few (not surprisingly) touted AoM), leading any show-goer to assume they'd play last. A check of the venue website revealed them listed as the third band, so I called over and confirmed with some staff person that in fact they were playing last. Hence the timing of my evening and my intention to leave early if/when proved to underwhelm.

So they played third. I happened to know one of the soundmen working and he mentioned this was an oft-used tactic of the venue. But I think it stinks. The band did underwhelm. Decidedly. Their songs were boring and ran together since they all sounded too similar. The character their lead singer undertook to play on stage was entirely unbelievable and hence annoying given their musical style, not to mention that fact that 40 year old accountant trapped in a 20-something's body. Excessive bells and tamborines. I meant to bring a pad so as not to forget all the highlights of their mundaness but didn't. They were mundane. There you have it. Oh and also they're from New Orleans. I heard them on the radio pre-show discussing how they and their families suffered less than many down there. I'm sure it wasn't easy nonetheless to have their home state wrecked, but they seemed to mention their LA origins an inordinate number of times. It was like they were trying to guilt us in to liking them.

But they really didn't have to try very hard at all. People really seemed to like them. People knew the words. The crowd was certainly smallish but I just couldn't believe how some of the usual C-Ville suspects I spotted amongst the faces were obviously digging on it. I can enjoy a good Coldplay song. I'm not above that. But this was just such a boring take on piano-driven pop rock.

Thankfully, their set ended before too long and the musical saviors of the evening that were WSC took the stage. I've read numerous accounts citing how danceable WSC songs are, and it's true and it's great. I'd say I'm mainly listening to danceable indie rock songs thses months(?) but I can understand how some of them skew more towards the dance and less towards the rock and are resultantly less palatable to some of my more straight-up rock minded friends. So WSC was like palatable dance rock. No cheesily indulgent synth lines, no wacky vocal effects (although I'd be interested to see what their CD sounds like produciton-wise), just a bunch of kids playing quick songs to a danceable beat. It was nice.

By this point I'd had probably too many drinks (to make it through WLP?) so admittedly I'm not as clear on their set as I should be, but I do remember the fact that the front man was great--totally dorkish while simultaneously totally cool based largely on things like pelvic movements he pulled off that looked equally out of place yet natural coming from a guy who appeared to have just gotten off his paralegaling gig, and his palpable enthusiasm and energy even after the crowd had drastically dwindled post WLP (again and again, people in this town prove they do not know what is good for them musically but they're so emphatic that the music they like is spectacular. Grrr.).

Anyway I really enjoyed the set. I want to steal the CD from my brother so next time I see them I'll know the words. I knew about the band mainly from various DC venue calendars and blogs. And I totally told the guitartist that afterward, thus immediately losing any cool points I may have accrued for sticking around to see their set. Talking about blogs with strangers. Geez. It was the beer.

Afterwards I met up with Rachel and her friend at Bang!. I'd never been there--I was too intimidated by their over-priced food, the house they're housed in, and the fact that my old boss who scared me and had more money than god liked it. But it was ok, beer was only about $4 for a bottle of something decent. We chatted. I don't really remember to be honest. I think more talk about blogs...something about some kid we all knew whose blog I read. Her time in Amsterdam where everyone assumes any American tourist is there just to smoke weed.

Today I'm gearing up for some actual activity--horseback riding then a trip to DC to reunite with The Nice Sparks tour. More music, more beer, less drunken blog talk.