Roger and I escaped to Copley Symphony Hall last night to see Sigur Ros. Personally, not a huge fan but I enjoyed my evening of chill music with lyrics that I couldn’t really decipher. The opening band (can’t remember their name sadly), I actually liked. Again, lyrics were indistinguishable but the energy was that of a band of gypsies playing in a fancy recording studio.

Sigur Ros gave a stellar performance with mood setting backdrops of video and lighted globes. The crowd was a mixed bag. Mostly they behaved themselves. It always gets to me the way that regular club goers often don’t respect the nature of the fancier venues. Sigur Ros has the option of playing other venues in town (Spreckel’s, Viejas, OAT, etc.) but he chose to play at Symphony Hall. The acoustics are probably the main reason. But with that he needs to understand his audience too which for the most part are individuals who rarely (if ever) have stepped foot in a fancy theatre in their lives.

The culture and the tone setting of the show was preset due to the fact that it was at Copley Symphony Hall. The culture was confirmed by the actions and behaviors of the opening act. They did not rev the audience up. They performed just as a symphony performs… little to no crowd interaction, using musical transitions instead of telling stories. Even 94/9 respected the place. Instead of banners hanging everywhere, they were given easals on which to place the sign, very classy.

As I said before, the audience was mostly good, perhaps their parents brought them to a symphony or a theater performance when they were younger. There were a couple of guys (drunk guys) that were absorbed in the music and felt the overwhelming desire to dance and attempted to convince the rest of the theatre to dance as well.

One guy, probably the same guy who was yelling loudly during songs, decided to dance all the way down the aisle. After the security and ushers tried to escort him back to his seat, he decided to yell, cursing at the whole theatre the fact that he was not permitted to dance. It ended up taking 4-5 people to get him back to his seat… yeah, they let the guy stay.

I have to say that I like dancing. But I also have a understanding that there is a time and place. If you want to dance to Sigur Ros, go to Big Sonic Chill night at the AC or wait until he goes to a different venue.

However, I did notice that neither the drunk dancing or the other guy down front who kept trying to get people to stand up the whole night, had any “friends”. He may have come with people, but they were no where to be seen as soon as they started acting up. And you know that these guys aren’t coming to shows alone. I can’t see how they ever get out of the house… I mean, once a friend makes a fool of themselves in a public place like that, wouldn’t you never want to hang out at a show with them again? Maybe it is just me. Grow up.

“You still can’t hide from the ugly truth…” – Matthew Sweet

The truth behind Matthew Sweet’s popularity is still a mystery to me. Last night’s show at the Belly Up, I was mesmerized by the crowd that turned up. I consider myself a fan of Matthew Sweet after Roger introduced his music to me when we first started dating. But I am still trying to figure out if there is a deeper meaning to being a Matthew Sweet fan. Last night’s crowd was filled with characters that I really could only link together one commonality: a connection to nostalgic memories of being a loser (or actually still a loser).

For those who were there, I hate to offend. But watching the single guy bopping his head to the music clutching his vinyl record to be signed after the show and the older couple that sat the entire show except for the five songs that they knew, where they got up excitedly and sang along… I had to wonder.

If you were there, think about it. Look deep inside and ask yourself, “why do I like Matthew Sweet?” His music is actually quite average. He has one hit per album (as Chuck Klosterman so nicely put it). They are not complex songs. And certainly not hard rocking dance songs (as some did not seem to realize last night). So why? I can only attribute it to the same feeling as when watching a John Cusack movie. Their is a connection to the persona… a feeling of love and loss, a feeling of longing for someone else or to be someone else. I guess I sometimes connect this feeling to a sad state of disillusionment that so many “losers” are associated with. Perhaps I am attaching much more profound reasoning than the reality that some people just like Matthew Sweet just because…

Last night’s show was the first show of a mini tour (4 dates) in Southern California, in preparation for his larger tour in October. It was obvious that this was the case within the first song of the set where none of their three guitarists could remember the chords to the song. They crashed right through it… The rest of the show was not as bad but you could see the concentration on their faces as they peered at one another, trying to remember how to play each song.

Today is the official date that his album, Sunshine Lies is released, but the CD was available for purchase at last night’s show. He actually was offering to the first 50 people who bought the album a chance to meet him after the show. There was roughly 250 people at the show, maybe 25 people bought CDs. I am sorry to say, Matthew Sweet, you are not the big shot you think you are… well at least not here in San Diego.

As we drove home, Roger and I discussed whether the Belly Up was the appropriate venue for Matthew Sweet to play in San Diego. He did not sell out the show, not even close. His crowd would not dare step into the Casbah and Anthology is too upscale. The only place we could think of is a smaller showroom at one of the casinos. What does that say about his draw to loserdom?

Finding time to type out all the fun things swirling in my head seems near impossible. Right now, I have fifteen minutes before I need to be off to my parents house for dinner. The plan after that is to head to the Casbah for the Silent Comedy, Or the Whale, Hotel St. George. But we will see, staying for the headliner on a Sunday night is a very tough thing nowadays. So I will do my best to at least recap last night’s events.

Sara Petite and the Sugar Daddies opened for Steve Poltz and the Cynics at the Belly Up. Sara with her country twang that really only seems to appear when she is singing, livened up the crowd with originals and a few covers. It was a good hour long set…perfect.

Steve took the stage to a packed house with an additional Cynic (besides Patrick Dennis and Chris Hoffey), Shawn Rohlf from the 7th Day Buskers. The show was in typical Steve fashion, full of stories that seem spontanious, but have been performed over and over to the point of near scriptedness. There were definitely amazing moments… Patrick dressing in a dress and blond wig singing “You Were Meant for Me” with Steve, Frank Lee Drennen showing up throwing empty plastic cups at Steve, and Steve inviting both sound guys at the Belly Up (O from the Cheap Leis and Martin) to play Waterfalls and Dick’s Automotive… which neither had ever played these songs before.

The hour long encore, typical of Steve in the old days, was a bit much for the Belly Up crowd (and the Cynics… Patrick left the stage twice thinking that the show was over). My feet were a bit sore from the night but I was definitely satisfied with my fill of Steve from this show. He play to all requests and did an ultra-powerful rendition of “Rain” that gave me the shivers.

At about 4 p.m. on Sunday I get a call from one of my friends saying that he has an extra ticket to see Burt Bacharach at the Summer Pops at the Embarcadero. I LOVE Burt Bacharach. He has been among the artists that I would like to see before they pass away (or quit touring altogether). Among this group includes Etta James (who I am seeing in September), Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Robert Plant… I am sure there is more that I am forgetting.

Burt Bacharach is a legend in songwriting and composing. He is the man behind many popular songs that were sung by Dionne Warwick, Luther Vandross, Tom Jones, the Drifters and many more. He has influenced many artists over the history of his career. I really shouldn’t need to tout him. His music speaks for itself, especially when accompanied by the San Diego Symphony. I could feel the rises and falls of the power and emotion that he consiously put behind each song. This is how it is supposed to be heard.

Halfway through the program, my now drunk friend convinced me to move to the front. I was hesitant, but knowing that he was pissing off the people where we were sitting, I felt maybe we could find a more tolerable neighbor. And we did… two rows from the front. The first two songs of the second set I was fearing that we may be removed from our seats since my friend was now singing loudly and poorly along with the music… as well as taking time in between one of the sets to shout “Your the man!!!” to Burt Bacharach, who graciously smiled in our direction.

Luckily for me and the rest of the crowd (sadly for my friend), my friend fell asleep until the last couple of songs. My friend ended up missing Burt Bacharach singing “A House is Not a Home” and “Alfie” as well as small parts of other pieces in his weak, fading voice. It was serene and sad all at once. I got the feeling that he would not be singing much longer and that hearing his voice in song was something that I needed to cherish. Seeing someone age in front of your eyes brings sadness but also appreciation for what that person has gone through to get this far. I can’t turn back the clock to have seen him and other acts in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s but I can let everything that is happening right now sink in, so I can share my stories with future generations.

Sunday, I woke up not wanting to do anything. Laying around the whole day in bed sounded like a great plan to me. Roger and I had talked about finding time to make it down to the Handlery Hotel (yes, in Hotel Circle) to watch Lady Dottie & the Diamonds perform poolside. Sunday seemed like the perfect opportunity to do this, if I could just make it out of bed.

Once out of bed, around 11:30 a.m. or so, we ate a bit of lunch before heading down. We made it there around 12:30 p.m. just in time to get the last lounge chairs available. I believe that having the lounge chairs was key in the lounging part of my day. It was sort of mellow at that time. The band had not started playing, athough the scheduled time to start was posted as 12 noon. In fact Nate was the only one there, with his gear set up and ready to go.

By the time the rest of the band rolled in and set up to start playing, it was about 1:15 p.m. Nobody seemed to care. I know I didn’t. I was just happy soaking up the sun with the rest of the scensters arriving.

The day was pretty much like that. The size of the pool area is much bigger than that of the Lafayette. There is bar with wait staff that come to you for orders (much less often then you want them to) and very limited choices of food. I estimate that there was about 150 people there by the time that we had left including hotel patrons (though few), scensters with and without kids, and some Casbah staff including Tim Mays. We left around 4:15 p.m. as they were starting their third set.

At one point this 13 year old kid, Miles, took over drumming for Nucci for half of a set. He was incredible. If you didn’t know any better, you may have thought that he was a regular part of the band. Meanwhile, Nucci got a break from drumming to drink. Perfect.

In the end, I managed to leave with a toasted stomach but awake enough to head out to the Summer Pops that evening.