Mar
17
2010

St. Patties Day

Mark & Emmett, Los Guys, Strange Young Things & Hairforce

PhotosWednesday, March 17, 2010 - 11:38:25 pm
(Posted Under: Tempe Music Scene Tempe Music Scene, Music Music, Live Shows)
Okay, so St. Pattie's Day was done in style by us this year. All centered around local music, of course!

RT O'Sullivans - Superstition Springs - Mark Zubia & Emmett DeGuerva / Los Guys

Photobox ImageI think it's the first time I've done anything for St. Pattie's Day, and it was a lot of fun! The day started out at RT O'Sullivans in Mesa, with Mark Zubia and Emmett DeGuerva. Getting their early in the day meant that we got a table reasonable close to the stage which was nice. Actually, Emmett spotted us when we came in, and signaled us to a table up the front.

Photobox ImageFollowing Mark & Emmett were Los Guys. Y'know, that Mark Zubia, he's is a hard worker. [smile] We'd questioned whether Brad and Jamie were going to get to see more of Josh Kennedy, however it was Tony Martinez on pedal steel rather than Josh on lead guitar. Which did make me think how Tempe is probably the only place in the world where the amount of pedal steel we see is okay. Definitely every time I've seen Tony play - and there has been no shortage of such times - it's never overbearing or something I get sick of. Which, generally speaking, pedal steel for me needs to be used in great moderation.

The most notable part of the set was when the guys did Planets, the old Chimeras tune. That was definitely cool, and not something that I would have expected. Other than Gasoline I've never seen any old Chimeras stuff played by Mark.

Photobox ImageThere was no shortage of green attire throughout the day. I was lucky enough to have my signature Hard Rock Green Day shirt to wear. Sans that, I don't think I have anything else green to wear. It was certainly a green day, green shirts, green hats, green beer...

It was a beautiful day for it too - very sunny day. Which prompted much moving around the table to chase the ever disappearing shade from the tables umbrella. All the same, it's hard to beat an outdoor gig on a sunny day. Plus, it made for some great photos and videos.

By the time Los Guys had finished their first set, it was time for us to head over to the Superstition Springs location for Strange Young Things. Our plan had been to come back afterwards and hopefully catch the end of Tramps & Thieves. We checked with the woman on the way out, to be told that we couldn't get back in if we came back - well, not without paying the $10 cover that started at 3pm. Pretty stupid, and Katie told her so. And they did seem pretty hardcore about that. PC was walking out as we were, and commented on us being troopers, having had been there for most of the day (much like himself). Which made for the us finally introducing ourselves to PC! Given how often we see him, it was something that needed to happen, and did today. So as we walked out, the bouncer stopped him to tell him that he couldn't get back in if he left. "I'm with the band. I get paid whether I'm there to play the second set or not." ha! [smile] I can only assume they let him back in. [wink]

RT O'Sullivans - Superstition Springs - Strange Young Things

Photobox ImageThe drive out to the Superstition Spring location was longer than I'd expected. We'd initially planned to see Shelby there at midday, however that changed, and with the distance, it was probably for the best when it comes to gas. We got there pretty much on 5pm, and attempted to confirm that Strange Young Things were on next before paying the cover. No-one knew. So we just took a leap of faith, and paid the $10. And hence were not disappointed as we heard Bang The Dash being played somewhere off in the distance - which prompted us to pick up the pace and find the stage.

Photobox ImageThe boys were in fine rock 'n roll form once we found the stage. Katie's "I'm With Coco" was not lost on the boys, getting multiple mentions from the stage. Seeing these guys play outdoors and on a big stage was really worth every cent of the cover, as was the fact that they played for an hour an a half, which is probably one of the longest sets we've seen.

Brad and Jamie were suitably impressed, which we enjoyed, given that they're more or less our favorite local band. The 5pm start time, plus it not being 21+ (I don't think) didn't stop the band from freaking out the normals, nor did it censor Corey, so it was great that Brad and Jamie got to see them in their usual element and not watered down. There were some problems with some of their covers, which does nothing but illustrate that they are the pure essence of a rock 'n roll band. Fuck virtuosity, just get up there, rock out and have fun! With that said, not a beat was missed with the originals.

Photobox ImageThe huge stage didn't stop Corey from leaving it multiple times, in pure Corey fashion. I was particularly impressed when Corey, with guitar on, grabbed the mic stand, walked to the edge of the stage, paused and then continued to jump off the stage. Y'know, just to do his 'singing in front of the stage' thing he does. Major impressive, and minorly concerning moments before (I had an urge to run up and grab the mic stand for him, envisioning a disaster of broken bones!). But he landed perfectly, and proceeded to do the rest of their final song (Lonely Hearts Are Wild) from in front of the stage.

At the end of the set their were some call outs for more. So it was surprising to me when they all exited through the back of the stage. It's hard to get these guys off the stage even when no-one is calling for more! But it wasn't long before they were all back on the stage and pulled out one of their new / in the works songs "School". An absolutely great hour and a half of rock 'n roll!

Throughout the performance I was glad to at least notice one waitress sporting a "Fuck Strange Young Things" sticker. We hung out for a while so that Brad and Jamie could meet Corey and purchase a t-shirt. We're like the fact that Corey's mug is going to be worn around in Ames, Iowa when they get back.

Scottsdale - Scottsdale Block Party - Hairforce

Photobox ImageAfterwards we took off for Scottsdale. In the car I noticed that I was kinda tired. I don't know if it was the beer and sitting in the sun all day, or being drained from an hour an a half of Strange Young Things. [wink] Probably both. It was a race to get their before 8pm to take advantage of the $5 cover (rather than $20), and we made it just in the nick of time. After a bit of a walk around, with no idea of when Hairforce was playing, we went to Dos Gringos for some food. For a Scottsdale place it was pretty cool, despite being extremely noisy. After eating, we killed time waiting for Hairforce. Unfortunately there wasn't that much to do, we saw a bit of Kinch (not a favorite, but they're huge in the valley for whatever reason).

Hairforce finally played at around 10:30pm, opening with Nothin' But A Good Time. Nice! Not only does Bobby Scott...err...Scotch [wink] look the part, I was pretty impressed by what a good Bret Michaels vocal rendition he does! I was already sold on this band (for a cover/tribute band) long before I'd seen them, but opening with not only a Poison song, but the one that made me a Poison fan was too cool! Surprisingly, on drums was Rich, making the lineup that of Violet Wild other than Josh. I'm not sure what is up with Rich - whether he's a new addition, or was just sitting in with them last night. We stayed for a bunch of songs (Nothin' But A Good Time, You Give Love A Bad Name, TNT, I Believe In A Thing Called Love, Rock Me Like A Hurricane, Sweet Child O'Mine) before heading off because everyone was fairly tired after such a full day of music.
Now Playing: The Replacements - Alex Chilton

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