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Saturday night I went with my friend Gina to the White Rabbit, a new bar in Fremont replacing ToST, to staff a table for KEXP at a show featuring Gabriel Mintz, with Pwrfl Power and the Finches opening. The standard disclaimer applies: my blog, my opinions, not the official view of KEXP.
I mentioned recently in my 2010 concerts list that I was considering doing monthly summaries of concerts more often, as it's not unusual for me to go to a show and just have one or two things to say about each band. This was exactly that kind of concert, but as I've already written separate posts about the other shows I've been to this month and as I don't expect to attend any others before the end of the month, I might as well do the write-up now.
So, the Finches were a folk-rock band with some lovely vocals and harmonies. They're the kind of band that can use whistling in a song and do it well (as indeed they did). Although their style isn't one I generally get excited about, their music was really nice and I did enjoy their performance. Pwrfl Power turned out to be surprisingly exciting and fun. I had a vague idea he was a singer-songwriter type, and he did start out playing charming introspective songs that still weren't the type of thing I really love. He also tended to ramble a bit whether speaking or playing. But as his set went on, he caught my attention with unexpected shifts into freestyle rocking out at the end of songs, more in a rockabilly or blues style. This built up to him finishing his set by doing a somersault roll while still playing his guitar, knocking over his microphone stand. He definitely won me over as someone to watch. Finally, Gabriel Mintz played a batch of new songs on acoustic guitar, accompanied by Sam Anderson from Hey Marseilles (and a few other bands) on cello. Unlike the previous shows I've seen, Mintz was kind of Dylanesque this time, with quiet folky songs that didn't grab my attention like his more rocking stuff has. I ended up engaged in conversation and was caught by surprise when the set ended. Still, I know he's good and I look forward to hearing more from him.
The lighting was pretty dim, so I just took a couple photos of each act and even from fairly close to the stage they didn't come out very well, but you can see them in my set on Flickr.
I've been curious to check out the White Rabbit since it opened in February, and I'm pleased to say it's pretty cool—not much different from how I remember ToST, but still seems like a nice place where I'd like to hang out some more. Also worth mentioning the staff were very nice and generous to us. I'll definitely be back.
Edit to add: I have to say, I kind of want the White Rabbit to be more of a goth bar, and I believe the reason I feel that way is mainly because of The Matrix. But then I suppose I wouldn't feel so comfortable there, not being goth myself.
I mentioned recently in my 2010 concerts list that I was considering doing monthly summaries of concerts more often, as it's not unusual for me to go to a show and just have one or two things to say about each band. This was exactly that kind of concert, but as I've already written separate posts about the other shows I've been to this month and as I don't expect to attend any others before the end of the month, I might as well do the write-up now.
So, the Finches were a folk-rock band with some lovely vocals and harmonies. They're the kind of band that can use whistling in a song and do it well (as indeed they did). Although their style isn't one I generally get excited about, their music was really nice and I did enjoy their performance. Pwrfl Power turned out to be surprisingly exciting and fun. I had a vague idea he was a singer-songwriter type, and he did start out playing charming introspective songs that still weren't the type of thing I really love. He also tended to ramble a bit whether speaking or playing. But as his set went on, he caught my attention with unexpected shifts into freestyle rocking out at the end of songs, more in a rockabilly or blues style. This built up to him finishing his set by doing a somersault roll while still playing his guitar, knocking over his microphone stand. He definitely won me over as someone to watch. Finally, Gabriel Mintz played a batch of new songs on acoustic guitar, accompanied by Sam Anderson from Hey Marseilles (and a few other bands) on cello. Unlike the previous shows I've seen, Mintz was kind of Dylanesque this time, with quiet folky songs that didn't grab my attention like his more rocking stuff has. I ended up engaged in conversation and was caught by surprise when the set ended. Still, I know he's good and I look forward to hearing more from him.
The lighting was pretty dim, so I just took a couple photos of each act and even from fairly close to the stage they didn't come out very well, but you can see them in my set on Flickr.
I've been curious to check out the White Rabbit since it opened in February, and I'm pleased to say it's pretty cool—not much different from how I remember ToST, but still seems like a nice place where I'd like to hang out some more. Also worth mentioning the staff were very nice and generous to us. I'll definitely be back.
Edit to add: I have to say, I kind of want the White Rabbit to be more of a goth bar, and I believe the reason I feel that way is mainly because of The Matrix. But then I suppose I wouldn't feel so comfortable there, not being goth myself.
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