Heading up to Sacramento was usual laissez faire, a quick 1.5 hour drive.
First stop was at Flanders‘ hotel, where he put in some time at his office. Steve and I channel surfed; Bob & Mike sat in a Jacuzzi together. I know… that sounds weird.
Got to Club Retro around 6 pm and LUCKY for us they had a dinner of Lasagna, Caesar salad, and brownies already (and cheerfully) prepared. Can’t exactly explain why, but this really hit the spot. No, I know why: how can you go wrong with lasagna??
Met and hung out with some of the other bands (My Unsaid Everything and Radio Suicide) after we loaded our equipment into the backstage area. I set up merch, the guys just walked around and passed the time. At one point, the club always has a “meeting” with the bands. The primary reason is the club is on church grounds and therefore church affiliated. So, no swearing, no drugs/alcohol (obviously) and just use general common sense on most everything else. The cool thing is the people running Retro are great and you never get the sense you’re being hounded (if you’re the reactionary type to rules and whatnot). My basic vibe in all of this is “hey man, just looking forward to playing the show.”
We ended up going on 3rd of 5, and opened with Independent. Oh yea, our good friends from Red Collar (RIP) were there. Jesse the drummer is joining the Marines, but what I didn’t know was that Jason the guitar player was also joining the forces too (Navy). They both planned on shipping out in the next 3 months and were both sporting new haircuts; not quite buzzed but I bet they had cut their hair for the simple reason so they could ease into that notion of being completely emasculated by basic training haha. Honestly, I’m super proud of these guys.They’re the reason, pure and simple why it’s so easy to separate the notion of support for the troops from that vile feeling of complete disgust due to the incompetence of our commander in chief and his droogs. It should go without saying, but it really is two different things and not mutually exclusive. These two guys are just the most prime examples of how everyone should be humbled by the decision they’ve made to defend our country. Jason, Jesse, from the bottom of my heart: thank you in advance for your service.
Cody, the bassist from Red Collar, also showed up and he’s always a fricking breath of fresh air. He has this controlled, cheerful mania about him which I think will serve him well in life. I don’t know why I’m sounding so contemplative, but these ideas are just coming out as I write, and why stop now?
We also played Won’t Be a Next Time from my first CD. Hadn’t played that song in a year.
Here’s the entire set:
Independent
Won’t Be a Next Time
Forgive+Forget
Milkshake (by request)
Man on a Mission
Say What You Will
Sadly, there are always short sets at Club Retro, but we made the best of it. Right before Say What You Will, I invited the crowd on to the stage hehehe. I think I took some pics; I’ll post if they came out well.
But that’s what’s so great about Sacramento: the people. I really get this great feeling when we go up there, and just think this show (as well as the other 2 we have played) give me this sense that we’ve got the makings of something special happening.
Mike hung out with Eric from the band Rona. They’re a groovy 3 piece that packs a punch. I realize that sounded like a quote from a dumb band bio, but it’s true. I spoke to Eric at the end of the night as well, and hopefully we can partner up more shows with them.
We bid Sacramento farewell, and headed south to Los Angeles at around 12:30 AM. Got home around 7, and dropped off the gear, the UHaul, and the boys in the Choir.
Best part of it all?
Safe and sound.
Riverside show this Friday. Don’t forget to get your summer shirt!
