Editor's note: My two go-to photogs left this concert god-awful early so I'm using pictures of my friend Heidi's cats, Toby and Mittens instead of pictures of the bands.
That being said, I do wish that I could say some positive things about Kickstand Band but I found myself outside during the majority of their set. From what I heard, it was great, and when I finally did trek inside to the tune of co-vocalist Gordon Smith doing Rachel Leigh Cooke proud with a cover of Josie and The Pussycats' "Pretend To Be Nice", a Hot Half guilty pleasure for years, I was definitely pleased and a bit bummed that my need for nicotine had kept my on the back porch of PJ's, a bit too far from the fuzzy, sun soaked sound of Kickstand Band. The fact that their a fairly new outfit, however, bodes well for me catching the trio again in the near future around my proverbial hood.
The Daredevil Christopher Wright is the kind of band that, since my last time seeing them last autumn, I have been waiting eagerly to see again. I know a lot of people like to see bands multiple times but when you go to a lot of concerts and the whole experience of live music loses a bit of it's charm, bands you go for repeat performances get to be few and far between, unless we're talking about absolute favorite bands of ever because let's face it, I'd follow Okkervil River across the country if I weren't afraid I'd creep out lead singer Will Sheff with my constant staring at him, but anyhow, fact of the matter is that The Daredevil always puts on a superb show with the Wisconsin natives churning out a sound that's surprisingly loud and energetic for them being a Midwestern folk trio. Naturally, however, I was most pleased with the most subdued number in their set, a song written about the lasting affect of Elliott Smith's music on singer Jon Sunde, "War Stories", a song that I hadn't heard the band play before but had taken an immediate shine to upon first hearing In Defense of a Broken Back, the trio's debut LP, mainly because Sunde and I have an adoration for the late Smith in common, but also because the lilting guitar and heartfelt lyrics signify the tangible emotion of a musician losing their hero, and everyone loves a sad song. Well... This gal does anyhow.
I feel as if I've seen the night's headliners Lightning Love is all walks of my life, and in varying degrees of sobriety as well. From an under-attended gig at the Majestic with Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin to a packed-to-the-gills New Year's eve show in Cincinnati, Lightning Love is a band I've come to appreciate for the following reasons, some of which I have probably stated before: One: Lyricist Leah Diehl sings songs about my life. That time I accidentally cheated on that one boyfriend I had meant to dump before? I've got "Good Time" to remind me of that. The time (or times) I lost a friend because I said something stupid while drunk and couldn't remember for the life of me in the a.m. why people were mad at me? Oh, hey, "Friends". And of course there's "Everyone I Know" to help me reminisce about, well, everyone I know. Two: The band gets better each time I see them, no lie, and getting to watch them in a crowd of thirty or so devoted local fans feels special because if there's any justice in awesome art, Lightning Love will be playing a lot bigger shows before long. They're just one ringing endorsement form Stereogum away from an opening slot with Miniature Tigers. (Yes, I'm totally only saying this because I really want someone important to take note of the fact that these bands would be a match made in indie pop heaven.) Three: I like to dance. And I don't get to dance nearly as often as I would like. However, put me in a Lightning Love show and it's game over. Did I dance until my feet bled this time? Yep! Thanks to that blister from a late night walk to the lake the evening before that popped! And I'm proud of that because no band inspires me to dance by myself like Lightning Love does. Ironically, the type of lookers that I usually find at Lightning Love shows usually inspire nothing but the utmost shyness in me but something about Diehl's self-deprecating and honest lyrics combine with the "hooks abound!" music melts any self-consciousness I might have.
