this must be the place....goin strong , yeah baby!!!

Sunday, July 27, 2014

The Coathangers @ Fitzgeralds (htown) + Red 7, 7/25/14 & 7/26/14

Hard to find a starting point on this one....just got done seeing The Coathangers at Red 7.  The Austin show was fine, there was nothing wrong with it, but I had a weirdly giddy sense of self-verification or something, because the Houston show was way better, and I had a feeling ahead of time that it was just a good idea to go see them in Houston, and that that was one of the reasons.  It was perfect, because I got to see and actually chill with my friends in Houston, C Reed and Fernando and it was like something fun was going on that night.  Fernando made a good point about the anonymity of Houston, how sometimes thats nice.  He made the point that its cool to be a part of something where its like you are plugged in to people, like more how Austin is, and like how its kinda a boring life like you go to work and then you go home and then you go to bed, but he made a really good point that sometimes that's nice too.  I missed White Fang both shows, the first time because we couldnt get band practice together until 4:30 PM, so i didnt leave Austin until after that, and then it turned out to be an early show ("doors at 8?  does that mean these bands will play at 10?" why are only 2 bands listed? ... then the 2nd time I just got off work at like midnite and went pretty much straight down there.  It sucked because the drinkin' vibe on the back stoop at work was really nice, a really good vibe, i just stayed for 1 quick small (16oz) beer.  It was kinda hilarious to miss them that way, like it kinda sucked, that was half the reason i wanted to go to the show in Houston, but anyways, I just saw both their bands, and we listened to some of their cool old merch that I picked up on the drive back to Austin.

So yeah, they Houston show for Coathangers was way better.  The main thing I would say was better was just the vibe.  We got to that show right before the start of their set and you could just tell they had been drankin' and were loose and just in a good mood.  Then the energy of the crowd turend out to be great, there were some older fans there, but also there was like a critical mass of people in their early 20s, and you could really feel the excitement of that crowd in the mosh pit.  There was some pretty good moshing in there.  It was the right energy, it made it fun.      

The vibe of the crowd for sure felt like the main difference. also Austin it was outdoors, hot, and there was another band that was playing, which is always shitty.  The sound was better in Austin, I will give it that.  No moshing, it just seemed like ppl were bobbing their heads but like they were fuckin me up when i was trying to bob my head.  Also I was hung over as shit all day today, I wonder if the band was the same way.  Anyways I dont really feel about writing it, theres not much to say, it was still a good show, its just i felt like their je ne sais quoi that makes me like them was a lot more present at the houston show.  where the fun is

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Friday, July 11, 2014

Real Live Tigers // Airplane Mode @ CuCs, 7/9/14

peace out to max homie musical polyglot and seemingly permanent scene fixture Sean Padilla.  Sean is moving on to future pastures with his family on the East Coast, somehow i forget if its Virginia or North Carolina.  By my count, he was currently active in Real Live Tigers, Zest of Yore, SHMU, and his long running songwriting vehicle Cockerspaniels which was solo for many years and in recent years has a full band.  Also he was a known dude in this town for having a sweet ass van bearing the inscription "sometimes you have to fight to get a little peace" with his afroed likeness on it, and he was a great community resource for recording and posting a shit ton of shows online which would have otherwise been lost to history. Also, he really likes Guided By Voices, somehow that seems like an important detail. :)  

Scope his Youtube Channel

The dude was in the upper echelon of Austin musicians, and his departure ranks up there with that time Nick Hennies moved to upstate New York.  I feel bad for all the musicians he plays with, because he is irreplaceable as a musician, and hes the type of dude that is irreplaceable as a dude.  Those dudes are probably in for some dark months while time slowly heals the wound in their heart of not having their buddy around, but as they say "life goes on."   I love you all

Anyways, last night was his last night in town.  Hes been doing a lot of shows lately, I feel like pretty much everyone had their chance to go and see one lately.  I was a little late on the train, working nights currently.  I just went to the show last night, and things worked out for me super, because the bands where I know someone in the band were listed first but ended up playing last, so I got to catch him on stage, and also a killer Airplane Mode set.  Sean was on drums in Real Live Tigers.  They were good, Cheer Ups sounds really good up close by the stage, at least last night.  Airplane Mode

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