This week’s shows

I wanted to do this entry Monday – little busier at work than I thought, but this project should be done by next Monday.

But I digress. Tuesday was a very long day with shows before and after work. My friend Linda won passes to see the Pat McGee Band at the 104 (radio station) lounge. Only problem? We had to be there at 6:45. It took some effort, but we made it on time. They played five songs and then signed autographs and posed for pictures with everyone. The current lineup of the band includes Todd Wright (of GetawayCar and formerly of the Excentrics) on keys and backing vocals, and it was fun to run into him and chat. My pictures of the show are here (and I deleted half the ones I took). They got started a little late because of sound problems, but I was out of there by 8:30.

After work, I headed over to the 9:30 club to see The Darkness. I met up with Hannah and Dave in the line to get in, but we had one little problem – 2 tix for 3 people. I’m usually pretty good about getting tix, but these went on sale while I was in Whistler, and they sold out in 30 minutes. Face was $20, and I refused to pay more than $40. I found a pair on Craigslist last week, but I was still looking for the last one. I found one the day before the show, but I couldn’t meet up with the seller before the show, and he said he wouldn’t be there until 8:30, an hour after doors opened. By the time we got up to the doors, there was no sign of him, so Hannah went in to claim a spot, while Dave and I waited and watched the fun parade of people, with and without tix. The guy showed about 5 minutes late, and we headed in.

Hannah had a good space on the Balcony, and we were right on time, as The Wildhearts went on about 10 minutes after we got inside. There were good – a weird mixture of Motorhead (look), King’s X (vocals) and Alice In Chains (sound). It was a loud night, too. Even with my earplugs it was loud. They had a good 45 minutes set, then we had a shorter than expected wait for the headliners (barely enough time to get my hefeweizen).

Much has been said about The Darkness. Here’s my impression: they bring alive the best thing about the classic bands of the 70s, especially Queen. A loud, flamboyant frontman with a great falsetto who loves to interact with the crowd, a tight band playing songs with great hooks, they put a fantastic show. Even some of the jaded hipsters I see post on the 9:30 forums were impressed. They brought the rock, and it was fun.

The other show this week is Christine Lavin Friday at The Barns at Wolf Trap. She’s a folkie, don’t know too much about her, she’s Jill’s choice.