My last post gave the details of a weekend that had happened a few weeks prior. This time, it's only slipping back a few days (OK, maybe more than a few, but within a week). I may actually get to the point where I'm actually timely with these things, posting right when everything's still fresh in my mind, right after they happen. And who knows, maybe I'll get to a point where I'm posting before stuff happens. (Sorry, that was a terrible attempt at a joke, in what is turning out to be a terrible attempt at a blog post.)
The weekend started off right, playing Guitar Hero and drinking with some friends. The songs got a little hazy, but I know I sang to a Santogold song, "Why Bother" by Weezer, Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People," and "ABC" by the Jackson 5, among others. The hostess made blueberry muffins, the host mixed drinks, and I brought the rest of the party. Right.
Saturday started off at an easy pace. Got up, got some lunch at Danny Edward's Boulevard Barbecue, and hung out around town. I stopped at Rainy Day Books, hoping to pick up a new Wodehouse and A Fan's Notes by Frederick Exley. Sadly, they had neither (though they are getting in some more copies of the Exley, should be in this week!). I'm sure you all wanted to know that. It was a lazy day. Had to save up my energy for the night, for I was going to see Arkells, Freelance Whales, and Tokyo Police Club!
I was most excited about Freelance Whales, a group out of Brooklyn, NY. A few months ago, some friends and I decided sort of last minute to go catch their show in Lawrence, KS, when they were playing at the Replay Lounge with Bear in Heaven and Cymbals Eat Guitars (for $3. Seriously). Obviously we needed to stop for drinks before getting to the show, so after a Tom Collins or two at Bourgeois Pig (if you're in Lawrence and like cocktails, this is the place to go), we walked to the venue. FW was already playing. Rats. We were able to see a few songs, but sadly, we missed most of it. We stuck around for Bear in Heaven (good live show), and since it was getting a little late and we're pretty much old and lame, we left before Cymbals Eat Guitars going. Yeah, we were those people, but for $3, we still got our money's worth. I did have a chance to buy a shirt and talk with Freelance Whales' front dude Judah Dadone. Super, super nice guy, seemed genuinely grateful, very friendly, and just a pleasure to talk to as a fan.
Once I saw they were going to be playing in Kansas City, at recordBar, about a mile from my place, I got excited, and knew I'd have my chance at redemption. I was going to get my ticket at my first opportunity.
I forgot. Not a problem, how many people are going to be going?
A lot.
I had a long story here, but for the sake of brevity, I deleted it. Basically, I was the last person without a ticket admitted, and it was awesome. I loaned the guy in front of me $2 because he didn't realize it was a cash-only thing, and once inside, he bought me a drink. I WIN! But, I had run into my bff Paul Shirley (another story for another time. Maybe?), and had told him I'd buy him a drink if I saw him at the show, so really, I BREAK EVEN.
The openers, Arkells, were impressive. I hadn't heard their stuff, so I didn't know what to expect, but they were kind of a power pop group, but Canadian. Not sure what the exchange rate is with them, but. . . I have nowhere to go with that one. They're good though. Very charismatic.
Up next - Freelance Whales! They played stuff from their debut album, Weathervanes, set list as follows:
- Hannah
- Location
- Starring
- Generator ^1st Floor
- Ghosting
- Kilojoules
- Generator ^ 2nd Floor
It was a good set, not too long, not too short. For me, Generator ^ 1st Floor was the highlight, with a great balance of voices on one of my favorite songs. Splendid! Hearing a new song or two would have been nice, but I'm not going to complain too much. At least I got to hear them at all. I took a second to talk to Judah again, mentioned that even though their album just came out a couple months ago, I want more stuff. He said they may record an EP this year, possibly out by November. AWESOME.
Here's the only picture I got that actually looked semi-decent. Hooray for cellphone cameras.
Yeah, not that great. But oh well.
Tokyo Police Club was up next to close down the show. I'd only really heard a few of their songs, and while I liked what I knew, I didn't know much. The boys were good at their instruments, though, and played a set of really clean, well-polished songs. I enjoyed it. They had lighting effects and everything! Lead singer Dave Monks was personable, and introduced a new song, called "Top Five," saying it was the first time they've ever performed it live. Then he added, "look for it on Youtube tomorrow." My fellow concert goers did not disappoint -
I like it. Going to have to pay closer attention to their songs, and maybe try to catch them live again. They had a tight sound, and I'm not bitter at all that these kids are all 5-6 years younger than me. Not at all.
So yeah. It was an awesome concert, I'm glad I went. I'm REALLY glad it worked out to be on a weekend night, shows starting after 10 don't really fit well into my work life.
