So this is the first time (that I can at least recall) where I have seen 5 shows in one week. I try every once and a while to see 3 shows in a row, and I usually give myself a week off after that, but this was a lot more harder to do than that usually is. Though, in the end, it was totally worth it. Here is the way my week full of great music went:
Monday (The Special Purpose – Rendezvous Jewelbox Theater):
It is always great to see a two set Special Purpose show, especially at the Rendezvous. If you haven’t been to the Rendezvous, it is a “hole in the wall” venue that eventually had a bar and dining room added to it. It seats about 50 people so it always has an intimate feeling. Plus the room is setup for natural sound (usually the only thing hooked up to the PA is the vocals), so I have always been able to pull great recordings. The Special Purpose did a great show. They debuted two songs, a Tim “Phatty Fatty Dong” Symons original called “Cheetah” and covered “Air” by Talking Heads.
Tuesday (Fall City – High Dive):
It has been about 3 months since I have seen a Fall City show. They always play a great classic rock show. They played a lot of songs that I have heard in the past, but they also debuted some new ones, which is great to see. This was my first time truly video taping them (I have used their camcorders in the past for two of there shows) and I am presently surprised with the outcome.
Wednesday:
Work. Home. Sleep.
Thursday (Rocky Votolato & Night Canopy – The Triple Door):
It is always nice to go to a show and not worry about taping. I really wanted to tape this show. In fact, I was going to try to get my friend Rachel who knows Rocky to try to get the ok to tape, but alas we both decided that it would be best just to enjoy the show. This was my first time going to a show at the Triple Door. I have heard so many great things about this place and I pictured it as a big version of Jazzbones (a small restaurant/live music venue in Tacoma). My mental visual was a lot different as far as looks, but it was the size that I was expecting. The sound there is awesome and they had wonderful selection of Asian food (I was expecting the normal burger and fries setup).
Both bands performed really well. It was my first time seeing Night Canopy, and I wasn’t disappointed. Rocky played an great set which included a lot of the songs off of the new album “The Brag and Cuss” and older songs like “Makers”, “Cell Mates/Mix Tapes” and his rendition of “Plastic Jesus”.
Friday & Saturday (1st Annual Skokomish Valley Music Festival):
This was first two day concert festival that I have taped at (I did see a String Cheese Incident festival down at Horning’s Hideout in Oregon, but I didn’t tape), and I definitely had a great time. I met a lot of great people and enjoyed some great music. The festival took place at the Skokomish Valley Grange Hall in Shelton. Shelton is a little farm town about 30 minutes from Olympia. The Grange Hall is a really small place that used to be a school. The sound is great for such a small area. The first night had three acts. Sideways Reign played first and they really impressed me. I would say one of the best acts of the festival. Heliotroupe played second and did a good job. High Ceiling finished off the night with an amazing set. Unfortunately, my battery died during their set and I decided to just hit the sack (most due to being tired and aggravated).
The second day started off good. I woke up around 9 (I always wake up early) and went out for some food. When I got back I decided to park my car closer to friends, Moe & Jason. When I came up to say hi to them, I meet Danae Dean and her boyfriend Scott. I mentioned to her that I was recording the show and she asked if I could record her and I said I would. Danae went one around 2 PM and did a good, mellow acoustic set. She has a really nice voice and her guitar playing is great too. She was joined by a harmonica player for the last two songs of the set. I decided to keep the tape rolling for the rest of the bands while I hanged outside with my friends. I caught tidbits of each of these bands (in order): No Meddle Ground, Aeolin, Twice Baked and The Sweatshop Band. No Meddle Ground and Twice Baked both did a bad job, IMO. No Meddle Ground sounded ok in some parts, but most the time they seemed completely out of sync. Twice Baked were good musicians but all of their songs were dedicated to weed. One or two songs about weed are ok but after a while it just gets annoying. When I walked in on Aeolin’s set, I heard a dead-on cover of Dave Matthews Band’s “Typical Situation”. I am a huge Dave Matthews Band fan (even though I prefer to listen to nerdcore and electronica lately) and it was great seeing a band actually doing a great cover. They ended their set with the DMB version of “All Along the Watchtower”. The Sweatshop band also played a great set. High Ceiling came up after The Sweatshop Band and played an excellent set. The Special Purpose played after them and did a very nice funk set. They were joined by Gabe Olsen of High Ceiling on percussion for a few songs. For the last set, John and Chris from The Special Purpose joined Trail and others from High Ceiling for a group called “The High Purpose”. Jason from Aelion played percussion for most then have the set, then Gabe took over for the rest. They ended about 5 in the morning. The set was all improv and instrumental and all of the players did a great job jamming with each other.
Sunday
Woke up around 9. Left about 10:30 and got home about noon. Tried to blog but was too tired. Definitely the greatest week in a really long time and I would do it again.
