Sponsord Links:
The show opened with a band called The Polyester Starfish. I’m not going to say that they were great, but they weren’t too bad for a warm-up-the-crowd act. Apparently they’ll send you a CD with some live music on it for free if you e-mail them your address.
Mike Doughty played next and performed just as expected (which is to say he played well and was very entertaining). He played a new song which I didn’t recognize but sounded good. The rest of the show was pretty much like Smofe + Smang.
The surprise of the night (for me) was just how good Rusted Root was. I truely thought that they had to have gotten soft over the years. To my joy, I found my assumptions were wrong. I am amazed by their raw musicality. Every member of the band is a master of many different instruments. Half of the fun was trying to guess which ones they’d pick up next. It’s clear that they enjoy what they’re doing. I’m not nearly doing their preformance justice with this description so I’m going to try to get my hands on a bootleg of the show to share how really good it was.
I took a bunch of pictures at the show too. I brought the film to Wallgreens on the way home. I’ll go pick up the prints tomorrow morning and should have them scanned and viewable by the afternoon.
I’m going to go listen to some Rusted Root now…
[UPDATE: The idiots at Walgreens don't know how to make photo prints correctly so I need to take the negatives to a real photo place. At least I only had to pay $2 for processing. Maybe this is an indication that I need a new digital camera.]
My opinion is we did not fit with those two acts. However in a more rock element would we have been a better band in your opinion? Put us with Stone Temple Pilots and your review would have probably been more positive. Seriously, what could we have done better in your opinion or do you agree it was not a good match. We are always open for suggestions.
Well at least you said we did not suck. Keep in mind that the reason for the Starfish opened was because we won that spot via Clear Channel and Volkswagon. It is a battle of the bands that stretches over 20 cities. Putting us with Mike and Rusted Root would be like putting Ani Defranco with The Smashing Pumpkins. The Pumpkin’s fans would would say: “We’re not going to say that she was great, but she wasn’t too bad for a warm-up-the-crowd act”.
As you’ve probably already read, I’m a huge fan of Doughty so I was going to the show psyched to see him play. I didn’t see any indication that anyone was playing before him, so when you came on it was a bit of a surprise. I completely agree that the musical styles weren’t a good fit. I hadn’t intended to write a review of your performance. If I had, I would have commented on how well you played guitar (I was impressed). I probably would have commented on your hat as well.
If you were in Cleveland again sometime I’d go out to see you again.
I see from your website that you’re hoping to make it back to Cleveland sometime in the next few months. If you do, I’ll make sure to go to the show and post an actual review afterward.