Alright, it's gig time, what t-shirt am I gonna wear?

This weekend I stepped out to the Firebird for what turned out to be a perfectly awesome rock show.

We Landed on the Moon!: The flexibility and energy of this band is amazing. It is of course always great to hear someone playing some good music, which they surely did, but what really got me is how much fun they have doin' their thing. It's infectious. But not like "oh noes! I am disease-ridden!" More in a good way. Like, there has been an outbreak of rock n roll. People everywhere are coming down with it. Symptoms include smiles and wild dancing. Pleased be advised there is no cure; the only available option is to let the disease run its course, so if you find you are suffering the effects of this illness please report to the front of the stage for treatment.

Blind Eyes: What can I say about them? Local band, three white guys in standard arrangement. I was not wowed. I'm not knocking the idea of three white guys in a local band, mind you. I can think of at least one such group that has always impressed. But them... I believe I heard someone refer to them as "Bland Eyes", and that pretty well sums it up. My attention was not grabbed by the complexity or energy of the music, or by the depth of the lyrics. I did think they had a slightly interesting sound with their use of a blues guitar in a rock band, but it wasn't strong enough to stand out and make up for the band's overall shortcomings.

Elsinore: And speaking of complexity... I don't have any of their records, but I've now seen Elsinore a good three or four times. They're not local, but they come through St. Louis somewhat regular. It's only at this last show that I'm beginning to understand how much they've got going on in some of their songs. Somehow they managed to blend a beat that kicks with something as beautiful and sweet as a sea breeze. It's only because of their lead singer, I feel, that they are able to pull this off. The rest of the band is fairly adept as well, but it's he who really brings it all home. I was of two minds, torn between wanting to dance around and just bask in the music; ultimately I settled for dividing myself in two and using each half of my body to do both at the same time. The stage presence wasn't quite as strong as I've seen it be in the past - the last time they came through the lead singer was cracking jokes and bantering back and forth with the crowd - but I'm more than willing to forgive that as they were on day 28 of 28 of their tour.

But wait, there's more! Have some video goodness...





When I die, I sure hope I don't have pie all over my face...