Sunday, February 21, 2010

"Short Bursts"

[The title is track nine from We Were Promised Jetpacks' album These Four Walls]

Friday's show @ The End was amazing. Even though the show started an hour late, I could've done without the first band (their name eludes me, something like cole slaw), John was wound up tighter than a dollar watch, and I was suffering from too little sleep and the early stages of sinus funk...I had a blast. That's such an understatement. I can't think of another word right now though.

First off, I went straight to the merch table and got WWPJ's new EP which has three new songs and two new versions of songs previously released on These Four Walls. I would've gotten a shirt but they only had med/large. (I ordered one online instead the next day) We each got a beer, which didn't sit well with me since I'd only been up a few hours from working the night before. (The first burp after my Yuengling Lager was a rough reminder of the last time I saw this band in ATL, and ended up puking at the rest stop somewhere between ATL and Nashville.) This particular venue only sold beer though, no liquor. I made a mental note to purchase a flask for my whisky.

John was in a horrible mood, and that threatened to bring me down...almost. He looked like he might jump out of his skin, and muttered to himself that he couldn't wait for this to be over. His knee was hurting, so I'm sure that didn't help. Neither did the four philosophical aspiring musicians behind us, who talked about nothing and everything very loudly up until the first band started. At one point I told him to go home and I'd take a cab, but he suffered through ;) I think he enjoyed WWPJ though.

As I said, the first band didn't do anything for me. Just wasn't feeling it, though I'll admit their drummer was good. He broke more than one stick that night. Finding shards of them on the ground led me to a mental image of having to bust out some ICU skills should someone get impaled.

The second band, Bad Veins, were great. I ended up buying their CD after the show. Just two guys, drums, guitar, keyboard, a reel-to-reel, and a telephone. I've only listened to the album once so far, so we'll see if it has staying power.

*sigh* We Were Promised Jetpacks..... I just love those guys, totally smitten kitten here. Seriously, this borders on an unhealthy obsession that rivals my idee fixe with Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series lol.

They opened with 'A Half Built House' that faded into 'Keeping Warm' which I loved because they didn't play either song in ATL last time. After that, they did most of the album except Conductor and An Almighty Thud. Their new one, A Far Cry, kicked ass! Very powerful song, dark in an oh-so-good way.

When the show ended, I was glad to see many "new" fans stop by the merch table to pick up CDs. For a minute, I thought we wouldn't get a chance to speak to the guys. John clearly wanted to get home, and it was 1am already. As fate would have it, I ran into Darren Lackie (drums). I said something lame like "kick ass show." Imagine my surprise when he remembered me from the ATL show. Okay, here's where the warring feelings kick in. I'm partially flattered that he would remember a fan, their name, and city after all the traveling they do but there's the lingering mortification of what I might have said/done to make myself memorable. For those of you who are acquainted with my drunken behavior, you'll agree that there are any number of things said or done that would qualify as memorable (both good and bad, hopefully more the former than the latter).

Since I was quite inebriated the last time I saw them, I don't even remember telling them my name [very sheepish grin]. The rest of our conversation is a blur, because I was racking my brain about what stupid things I might have said or done the night of September 27, 2009.

Anyway, we briefly said hi to Sean Smith (bass) before leaving. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Adam Thompson (vocals/guitar) or Micheal Palmer (guitar and namesake of my MC's husband in Blood Song) :( And much to my dismay, no pictures this time around. I was hesitant to ask. As a fan, you don't want to seem crazy, needy, etc. because if you already have one picture with the band, why would you need another one? Because I want another one, damn it. You can never have too many pictures taken with your favorite bands. I was a good girl though and didn't push.

Halfway home, I realized we'd forgotten to close out our bar tab, so back to The End we go. It was a little depressing to see them taking all the gear down, and hardly any fans hanging out after the show. Am I really getting that old, or do people not do that anymore? To me that's half the fun of going to live shows; trying to meet up with the band, a few drinks, laughs, etc. If John hadn't been in such a bad mood, I'd have stayed and bought a round for the band. But with three kids and grandma waiting at home...I guess I can't do that anymore *melancholy sigh*

Fast forward to present day. I mentioned the EP has two songs (different versions) from the first album. One of them is a hard hitting angst filled song called 'Short Bursts.' I tried very hard not to like the new version. I have a mild aversion to change. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The new version is still angst filled, just much more toned down. You still get the raw emotion out of it though.

I listened to 'A Far Cry' and 'Short Bursts' countless times Saturday night at work. After about the fifteenth time I realized this would be a hard fight. And damn it, try as I might...I like the damn song, almost as much as the original version. That's saying a lot since it was one of my top three off that album. I think I may even find inspiration for a scene or two in Blood Song from it.

Now the post-show glow is wearing off. And I'm sad not knowing how long it will be until their next show or album. (The only other live shows that made me feel like that were Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings. They were nearly spiritual experiences.) I guess I'll have to survive somehow off youtube clips and such. A very hard existence I assure you. Oh well, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed they'll be playing somewhere in Scotland this May, or maybe Amsterdam.

p.s. at least I'm not suffering from a three day hangover this time around.

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