'2024' Dates
![[Busy computing... for you!]](https://www.bolsinga.com/comp.gif "[Busy computing... for you!]")
Dan invited me to another show. This venue is quite close to my home, and I finally made it there. The two bands had a country vibe, but more in the Flying Burrito Brothers realm. They both had pedal steel guitars. Steel Fringe was more traditional, and I really enjoyed their quick set. The first band may have played three long jams while I was there. The one in the middle was a pedal steel freak out, in that lots was going on with that instrument while the rest of the band had a groove that nearly reminded me of Tortoise. Great to get out on a Thursday night of all new bands and a new venue.
I joined Jesse, another Sabin dad, at this show. It was a nice pop rock show. Jesse joked that everyone looked like they could be a Sabin school parent. The opener were two guys on guitars, backed by a drummer for about half their set. They are from Olympia, WA. They ended their set with a Simon & Garfunkel cover I wasn't familiar with. Lunchbox are on Slumberland Records. They had a full band with a synthesizer too. It sounds like they traveled from California. I liked their set. The last band was local. They were the most rocking of the bunch. It was a fun night out. This place closes tight at 11 PM, so it is nice for dads.
I went to this show solo. I arrived as Glixen were in the midst of a song. During the whole song I'd not heard any vocals; I wasn't certain who the singer or leader of the band may be. I assumed it was the guy to the left, shredding his guitar during their big crunching drone. There were also two women with long straight hair playing guitar and bass. They kept swinging their hair around. I kept hoping for some sort of resolution with the music that didn't quite come. I didn't realize until it was over that it was their last epic song. Sasami came onto stage solo, wearing a sort of fancy dress or gown. She shredded her guitar metal style over a pre-progammed backing track and sang. She then moved onto less metal songs that gave me a dancy 80s Pat Benatar vibe. She mentioned how she usually tours with a metal band and she was trying something new. She ended her set by playing a French horn along to her tracks. It wasn't exactly my style, but she kept my attention with how different the music was and her energy. While the stage was being set for DIIV, the smoke machines started filling the room. Its fragrant smell brought me back to the late 80s and early 90s. They had a large screen behind the band. Come to think about it, screens are used so often that's sort of like saying "The band used microphones and amplifiers." However the videos had a couple interesting twists. The main theme throughout the evening was a vibe of a cult video promoting their lifestyle, and DIIV was part of that along, even partnering with Exxon Mobil. It was all fun and quirky. They hit the spot so well. It reminded me of the story in the house at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, or the Jejune Institute game in San Francisco years ago. Additionally, they had videos with the lyrics and it was all synchronized along with the band. This was something I'd not seen before, and I liked it. The band is fully playing live, but there are some parts that are clearly pre-recorded (synths etc.). There was one fun video where it was like the band was on a zoom meeting, and when the singer was singing, his screen would zoom larger than the others. Now that I've talked about all the effects, I'll talk about the music. This band is terrific. They have this shoe gaze meets mid 80s New Order meets Hum thing going on. It's so great to listen to. The sound was big and clear. I was near the front (behind the pit (when there was one)) and it sounded crystal clear. The singer is sort of back and to the side and leans over his microphone. In front is a guitarist who I think only sang one small bit. Stage left is the bassist, sometimes singing. All of this is through the smoke machine. Much like the music, it sort of gives one a vibe of not really wanting to engage. It was a great show.