So, damn, that Pillows concert was faaaaaaaaantastic -- everything I hoped it could be and more!
My sister and I left about an hour before the concert (my brother couldn't go, unfortunately, because he developed a bad headache during the course of the day; I felt so bad for him :(), and there was still a fairly lengthy line around the venue, The Glass House in Pomona, for anyone who lives nearby. We were treated to some entertainment, though, because there was a death metal band playing in a bar like 10 feet from us. Death metal bands make me lol. If your voice were strong, wouldn't "death metal vocalist" be the easiest gig ever? You don't even have to write anything; you just growl and grunt, because nobody can understand you, anyway.
We got in not long after the posted 7 p.m. start, but concerts never start at the posted time, so there was more waiting. (In the immortal words of Beck to Bender: "We have to get to the concert and make the audience wait for it to start!") But the wait wasn't too bad, so meh. I just wanted to make that Futurama reference. lol self-indulgence
Anyway, there were three bands playing before The Pillows hit the stage -- POP CHOCOLAT, monokuro and noodles. POP CHOCOLAT was a solid opening band; they were sort of nervous, because it was their first time in America at all, much less performing here, but the audience made them feel pretty welcome. They weren't amazing; however, they had some pretty catchy tunes, so I enjoyed them! I also like that the bassist was the clear leader of the band. Bassists need more love.
The music on monokuro's MySpace page doesn't really do them any justice at all. They put on a hell of a show, and the lead singer especially seemed to relish the pure showmanship of being onstage in front of a good-sized crowd. You know how Russell does the whole "I am a golden god!" thing on the roof in Almost Famous? That was the lead singer the whole set, basically lol.
When thinking about it after the show, monokuro struck me as the kind of bad that might sound a bit sloppy on their album but would blow you away live, and my suspicions were proved correct, haha. (Based on the MySpace songs, anyway.) I liked the lead singer right away because he wore that shirt with the design from Sonic Youth's Goo album lol. Actually, monokuro kind of sounded like what Sonic Youth might be if they were a snotty punk band. I thoroughly enjoyed them!
Noodles weren't quite as maniacally energetic as monokuro, but they made up for it by being a hell of a polished band. The lead guitarist mentioned that they had toured in America before; however, even if she had not said anything, I would have been able to tell. They had that kind of aura about them -- they just seemed really experienced. That swagger was especially awesome after the guitarist ripped off a few cool solos. She's this very unassuming figure, and then she just badassed (yes, I made it a verb) away on stage. It was great.
But as fun as those bands were, everyone came to see The Pillows, and they tore the friggin' house down. It helps, of course, that everyone knew their songs, but hell, you don't play 20+ years without knowing how to work a crowd and whip them into a frenzy at will. From the opening notes of "I Think I Can", the crowd was putty in their hands, haha. Those of you who have met me know that I'm not a super energetic guy, but even I couldn't help but bounce around and sing along until I nearly lost my voice. The power of The Pillows is fearsome!
I don't know why it always amazes me, but I can't help but be blown away by how much listening to music live adds to the experience. The whole time I was thinking, "I can't believe I'm hearing this only 10 feet away from me!!" (Probably goes without saying, but the sounds of the world were muted for about an hour after the concert. It was loud in there!) I knew The Pillows would get to all of their songs that are famous stateside because they know their audience, but more than anything, I wanted to hear "Hybrid Rainbow" and "Advice" ... and then the band played them back to back, and my head just about exploded due to the sheer awesome.
So, yeah, fantastic night of music. If any of you ever has the opportunity -- however slight -- of seeing The Pillows live, then you have to do so. I couldn't have had a better time; best $20 I'll spend for a good while.
(The only slight low point was a few people who were rude about crowd surfing and moshing. I don't really have a problem with either activity -- if people enjoy it, and they're not hurting anyone, then why not? But you have to be self-aware with it: Stay away from people who don't want to participate; don't ruin their experience. I had to go into Big Brother HULK mode for a moment to keep a big, sweaty crowd surfer from crushing my sister lol. Apparently he wouldn't even give the courtesy, "Hey, guys, carry me!"; he just jumped on people. That's just bullshit. Follow crowd etiquette, you dipshit. Almost as bad are the assholes who try to be ironic by moshing during a slow-paced song. Man, fuck you. Nobody thinks you're funny.)
