my first introduction to this band was through a really good friend, jesse. he was the first guy to play bass in my band and was always like a brother to me. he's married now and moved far away but i still love him. he used to burn cds for me of bands he thought i would like. he was really good at knowing too. like, for instance, he's friends with this guy whose brother was the guitarist in a band called stellastarr* so he bought me their cds as they came out. i instantly fell in love with the swirly guitar and the beautiful songs. they have since become one of my favorite bands and i'm sad to say that i never got to see them before they stopped being a band, but my love stays strong. (and don't worry, this is all related to the jesus & mary chain; just hang in there and enjoy the magic of my story.)
jesse also burned a copy of darklands along with some live tracks for me, and again - instant love. that guitar. that voice. what's not to like? "happy when it rains" went on almost every mix cd i made for other people. so much love. when i heard they were touring i got really excited; when i heard they were playing the union transfer in philly, i got really REALLY excited. i bought 2 tickets because boyfriend chris (remember him?) wanted to go. we broke up before the show which was nice, because i got to go by myself and not worry about him upsetting me the whole time. plus i saw some friends there, 2 girls who used to work at the record store with me, and got to hang out and talk with them instead, and that's way better.
the other person i saw there? oh, just mike, the guitarist from stellastarr*, no big deal or anything (just kidding; it took me half an hour to convince myself it was ok to go say hi to him) (also, i TOLD YOU this was all related). so i had mentioned that this guy's brother is friends with jesse and all those guys that i am now friends with. so, years ago, we all went to see him do a solo performance at some local bar, and i met him that night, and that was it. so i wasn't sure if he would even remember me but i decided to risk it anyway. either he actually did remember me or he was just being polite, but he did talk to me for a while. i showed him the stellastarr* button that was on my bag and he was like "NO WAY! that's so cool!" he knows my bandmates, so he asked about them, i told him how the band is doing, invited him to some shows, whatever. overall, it was a very cool conversation and it totally made my night. and the band hadn't even played yet!
but when they did...oh my lord. i had been warned that they're terrible live. sure - they're slightly unorganized, which admittedly is quite a feat for a band that's been around as long as they have. there was a ton of unnecessary feedback between songs. but the songs hit me right in my gut. ever get goosebumps listening to music? it's like the best feeling ever, right? yeah. i had that ALL NIGHT. especially when they did "happy when it rains." there's just something about hearing and seeing the band live, when they do your favorite song...hard to describe. if i had just fallen over dead at the end of the night i would have been ok with that. that's how happy it made me. i'm not really sure what else to say about the show; i would recommend going to see them if you ever have the chance. they might suck the night that you go see them, but they might do your favorite song and then you can die happy like i'm going to.
september 8, 2012: a night of pure unadulterated bliss and shitty pictures.
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