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Birthday.
I came home from work on my birthday to find two birthday cards from my grandparents, one containing a gift certificate to Borders and the message "There must be some Borders in Providence." I hope that is so, because I won't have time to by a vacation book before I leave. I had a bite for dinner and took a shower before heading to bed early and setting my alarm for six p.m.
When I woke up, it was eight p.m. How this happened, I don't know.
I bolted out of bed and quickly called![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wintercolours, leaving her a message about why I was late. In an amazing display of speed and sprightliness, I manage to get all of my stuff together and head out the door by 8:30. (I even found one last good shirt, way in the back; no embarrassment for Tablesaw!) I was at the Knitting Factory by nine and purchased my ticket at the counter while Danny Strong grabbed a comp for him and his date. Upon entering the "Alterknit Lounge", I see, on the stage, a band taking down its equipment and, to my right, wintercolours and briel.
Deborah and Briel were both very nice. Briel seemed quiet, but Deborah and I started a quick and relaxed banter in short order. After a perfunctory clearing of the room, we went back in and Deborah rushed forward to claim a prime spot for her photography. It didn't seem to be much of a problem, since there was plenty of space around the stage for Sweetness's set.
Sweetness, the first band, were from Chula Vista. They were okay, I suppose, but I thought the lead singer was weak. I preferred the voice of the guitarist who pitched in for harmonies occasionally.
I also had a problem with the general sound of the set. See, I can be very sensitive about sound. The high pitched whine of a television set on mute can drive me to distraction, and I've already written about my feelings on vacuum cleaners. (In fact, just yesterday morning I was almost pushed to homicide because there were TWO vacuum cleaners in the office at the same time.) I also have problems with loud music, sometimes. It's hard to tell when, but occasionally, a certain mix of clashing sound will pound on my cochlea like artillery fire. Sweetness were doing that to me, especially when the drummer used his cymbals.
Of course, I've always been alone in feeling this, getting strange looks from friends as I had to walk outside to get a break so that I can hear anything other than static. So I was rather pleasantly surprised when I realized that Deborah was having almost exactly the same reaction to the sound. It's not just me!
Towards the end of the set I stepped out to use the restroom and give my ears a break. When I got back to the room, there were several people waiting outside of the door. "There's no room in there," said one. "I just came from in there," I replied, and I proceeded to muscle my way back up to Deborah and Briel and the front of the stage. If I thought this was bad, it was only going to get worse.
When Sweetness ended their set, there was a rush of people to greet Deborah. (All female. Someone had mentioned earlier that she was glad Deborah had brought a guy to the show to "cut down on the screaming girl factor." I started to see what she meant. The fanbase for this band is definitely Y-chromasome-biased.) There was also a rush of people in general toward the stage. The nice pathway that Deborah had hoped to use to circle the stage for fine, fine photos was no more. Also, we couldn't find another group of people who were supposed to be there,cruciverbalist, senescence, estivalfiend and megustamayer. I elbowed my way back to scan the room. Then out of the room. Then out of the club to find the four of them waiting forlornly outside. The show was, apparently, sold out, and they could not get in. I elbowed back in to confer with Deborah who, because of her photo assignment, could not leave the room. More elbows. Outside, I told the Fab Four that the show would be over in an hour (11:30), and if they could hang around Hollywood till then, Deborah would appreciate it. She was really looking forward to meeting them. They agreed, and went off to do other things. Back in. Elbows to the umpteenth degree. I settled in to watch Common Rotation.
Common Rotation describes itself as a pop folk band, which is true enough, I guess. To me, they seemed solidly in that undefinable melange of rock and acoustic and ska and all other things "College Rock" that we used to call GWG ("Guys With Guitars"). At the low end of the spectrum of GWG are the Guys who show up at the coffee house open mic and pretend it's a concert. You listen halfheartedly but easily forget it after the songs are over, retaining only a memory of perhaps a hook that could have come from any song and the image of a guy who was either "sensitive" or "a jerk." On the other end of the spectrum is a band like Common Rotation.
Common Rotation may not have played or sung anything I hadn't heard before, but they made hearing it more enjoyable than I would have thought possible. They played every song with feverishness that was incredibly catching. Everything was extremely well choreographed, even the many improvisational flourishes. The bits between songs were also excellent. Brief and funny, with a rhythm of its own, their patter perpetuated a palpable pulse throughout the entire show. (I notice now that I've written that Sweetness did a set and Common Rotation did a show. I stand by this distinction for reasons that should be obvious.) They started at an incredibly high level of excitement and never let it drop once. One would have to be dead not to have a good time at the show. Unsurprisingly, I had a good time.
After their show was over, the band came out to do an encore, prompting someone from the venue to inform them that they had gone long and they needed to get off the stage so that the next act could set up. So they did their encore acoustic. I think they missed the point. Deborah said they've done this before and expressed a fear that this endearing disregard for authority might get them introuble with LA venues. It got us in trouble a bit. By the time they were done, it was midnight. I was already supposed to be at work, andcruciverbalist and crew had already been waiting outside for a while. Deborah and I rushed out and said hi. I also said goodbye, since I was going to work. Maggie handed me my late Xmas/birthday gift, a special Holiday Mix CD. I ran off to work, grabbed some breakfast/lunch at McDonalds, ate it on the road, and managed to make it into the office by one a.m.
A fine night. A new friend made. A new band found. Now, I must finish my packing.
When I woke up, it was eight p.m. How this happened, I don't know.
I bolted out of bed and quickly called
wintercolours, leaving her a message about why I was late. In an amazing display of speed and sprightliness, I manage to get all of my stuff together and head out the door by 8:30. (I even found one last good shirt, way in the back; no embarrassment for Tablesaw!) I was at the Knitting Factory by nine and purchased my ticket at the counter while Danny Strong grabbed a comp for him and his date. Upon entering the "Alterknit Lounge", I see, on the stage, a band taking down its equipment and, to my right, wintercolours and briel.Deborah and Briel were both very nice. Briel seemed quiet, but Deborah and I started a quick and relaxed banter in short order. After a perfunctory clearing of the room, we went back in and Deborah rushed forward to claim a prime spot for her photography. It didn't seem to be much of a problem, since there was plenty of space around the stage for Sweetness's set.
Sweetness, the first band, were from Chula Vista. They were okay, I suppose, but I thought the lead singer was weak. I preferred the voice of the guitarist who pitched in for harmonies occasionally.
I also had a problem with the general sound of the set. See, I can be very sensitive about sound. The high pitched whine of a television set on mute can drive me to distraction, and I've already written about my feelings on vacuum cleaners. (In fact, just yesterday morning I was almost pushed to homicide because there were TWO vacuum cleaners in the office at the same time.) I also have problems with loud music, sometimes. It's hard to tell when, but occasionally, a certain mix of clashing sound will pound on my cochlea like artillery fire. Sweetness were doing that to me, especially when the drummer used his cymbals.
Of course, I've always been alone in feeling this, getting strange looks from friends as I had to walk outside to get a break so that I can hear anything other than static. So I was rather pleasantly surprised when I realized that Deborah was having almost exactly the same reaction to the sound. It's not just me!
Towards the end of the set I stepped out to use the restroom and give my ears a break. When I got back to the room, there were several people waiting outside of the door. "There's no room in there," said one. "I just came from in there," I replied, and I proceeded to muscle my way back up to Deborah and Briel and the front of the stage. If I thought this was bad, it was only going to get worse.
When Sweetness ended their set, there was a rush of people to greet Deborah. (All female. Someone had mentioned earlier that she was glad Deborah had brought a guy to the show to "cut down on the screaming girl factor." I started to see what she meant. The fanbase for this band is definitely Y-chromasome-biased.) There was also a rush of people in general toward the stage. The nice pathway that Deborah had hoped to use to circle the stage for fine, fine photos was no more. Also, we couldn't find another group of people who were supposed to be there,
cruciverbalist, senescence, estivalfiend and megustamayer. I elbowed my way back to scan the room. Then out of the room. Then out of the club to find the four of them waiting forlornly outside. The show was, apparently, sold out, and they could not get in. I elbowed back in to confer with Deborah who, because of her photo assignment, could not leave the room. More elbows. Outside, I told the Fab Four that the show would be over in an hour (11:30), and if they could hang around Hollywood till then, Deborah would appreciate it. She was really looking forward to meeting them. They agreed, and went off to do other things. Back in. Elbows to the umpteenth degree. I settled in to watch Common Rotation.Common Rotation describes itself as a pop folk band, which is true enough, I guess. To me, they seemed solidly in that undefinable melange of rock and acoustic and ska and all other things "College Rock" that we used to call GWG ("Guys With Guitars"). At the low end of the spectrum of GWG are the Guys who show up at the coffee house open mic and pretend it's a concert. You listen halfheartedly but easily forget it after the songs are over, retaining only a memory of perhaps a hook that could have come from any song and the image of a guy who was either "sensitive" or "a jerk." On the other end of the spectrum is a band like Common Rotation.
Common Rotation may not have played or sung anything I hadn't heard before, but they made hearing it more enjoyable than I would have thought possible. They played every song with feverishness that was incredibly catching. Everything was extremely well choreographed, even the many improvisational flourishes. The bits between songs were also excellent. Brief and funny, with a rhythm of its own, their patter perpetuated a palpable pulse throughout the entire show. (I notice now that I've written that Sweetness did a set and Common Rotation did a show. I stand by this distinction for reasons that should be obvious.) They started at an incredibly high level of excitement and never let it drop once. One would have to be dead not to have a good time at the show. Unsurprisingly, I had a good time.
After their show was over, the band came out to do an encore, prompting someone from the venue to inform them that they had gone long and they needed to get off the stage so that the next act could set up. So they did their encore acoustic. I think they missed the point. Deborah said they've done this before and expressed a fear that this endearing disregard for authority might get them introuble with LA venues. It got us in trouble a bit. By the time they were done, it was midnight. I was already supposed to be at work, and
cruciverbalist and crew had already been waiting outside for a while. Deborah and I rushed out and said hi. I also said goodbye, since I was going to work. Maggie handed me my late Xmas/birthday gift, a special Holiday Mix CD. I ran off to work, grabbed some breakfast/lunch at McDonalds, ate it on the road, and managed to make it into the office by one a.m.A fine night. A new friend made. A new band found. Now, I must finish my packing.
no subject
Sweetness
(Anonymous) 2003-09-17 11:42 am (UTC)(link)I own the record label to which Sweetness is signed. I was just doing a google search to see what has been said about the band, and your journal entry came up.
I'll probably keep the comments away from the band as sensitive musicians can be a real hassle to deal with, and the last thing a young band needs is a blow to their confidence. But thanks for the constructive criticism, I guess. I'd love to send you a copy of their CD and/or 7". You know, so you could maybe give them another listen. Live shows are always tough because so much depends on the sound man's understanding of the band.
Anyway, I'm not a LiveJournal user, but you can contact me at sammy@cbkrecords.com. Take care.
--Sammy