The following takes place between 11:00 PM and 2:00 AM.
We’re almost done with the night, but it’s been pretty busy so I was almost not going to be able to blog this on the night of. Good quality of music, in any case. Very enjoyable night at the bar, and though it’s very eclectic, it’s more so than I’m used to. And more explanation of why YOU should come down to the bar on the nights that I work here. This is a marketing ploy, I’m going to be transparent. But seriously, come down. It’s interesting.
The bill:
Weatherground
emi kasai band
The Last Holy Fools
Right Hand Band
Blue Night Haze
Weatherground was a delightful surprise – well, I shouldn’t say that they surprised me with their sound since I’ve had a cd of theirs for a while, but they did surprise me by bringing in a painter for the show! And oil, no less. Er, I think it’s oil. That was pretty cool. Weatherground’s sound is a chill, sedate (which is not a bad thing) Nick Cave/Nick Drake/other guys named Nick sound. I can imagine drinking wine to this music. I wonder what they’re going to sound like when they get another drummer? Or if I put reverb on the vocals?
emi kasai band is a band I’ve been waiting to play our Saturday nights for along time, and I’m not just saying that because I have a little crush on Emi herself. She has a great voice and amazing stage presence (her banter in between songs is so energetic it just rubs off on you), but I must give her accompaniment the credit that’s due. The rhythm section of this band is so amazingly tight – one of the best rock bass players at this venue is in this band. And moreover, for a 7 piece funk/rock band, everyone seems to know each others’ parts well enough to not step on each others’ toes (um, musically. If there’s such a thing as musical toes. I guess.). I was also impressed that they had played a show literally blocks away and less than a few hours ago. And they were all in pretty damn good shape for having played a show already. This band is deep rooted in the Little Tokyo scene, so of course it’s awesome to have them play home court. I hope they’re available more often for our nights but it seems they’re up to speed in playing out a lot.
The Last Holy Fools I’ve always enjoyed in the same manner as the bands that I listened to in the 90′s – not that grungy sound, it was that mid-90′s alternative that fell by the wayside because of the pop influx in the latter half of the 90′s. Well, there’s some Pixies and Pavement in there, of course, but it’s refreshing to hear this sound and not the stereotypical indie pop everybody seems to make these days. Good stuff; I’m a sucker for music that comes out of previously overlooked periods. Maybe next time they’ll remember to bring their CDs…
Right Hand Band – another chill sound, but kind of an acoustic (that runs through effects), drunken swagger of an alt country/folk band. I would listen to this music on a long drive if I had their CD. Or… wait, do I have their CD? I think I do. And right now they are covering Bob Seger. Awesome. Sounds pretty good with the reverb they asked me to kick up. A little time has passed since the cover, and the songs are widening in diversity and HOLY SHIT they just totally rocked right now and I didn’t expect that to happen! Ok, well, apparently they’re chill to a point. Until they rock.
Blue Night Haze tends to keep getting shafted by filling the last spot – so it’s a good thing they’re coming back on Sept 8 in a reasonable slot (10:00) because they have totally earned their stripes at our venue. More Blue Night Haze updates to come.
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That seems to be it. Until next weekend!
