Socks. Rocked. Clean. Off. 

12 Nov 2006

As I mentioned earlier, last night I headed over to The Paradise to see Dear Leader have their "CD Release Party", which, as you know, is really just a concert where you can buy their CD. As such, I know own the CD. More on that later.

It all started off with a wonderful T ride from Davis, where I watched 6 Outbound trains go by, then an Inbound train zoom right by the platform, before finally, my chariot arrived. Oh, glorious T, it's no wonder everyone hates you! Further complicated by a 20 minute wait on Park Street, waiting for the B line to arrive, I finally got to The Paradise at about 9:15.

I met up with a couple of my friends and we headed in, making a stop before it got crowded to pick up the new CD.

The first band was Mohair. It's always a bit disorienting to walk into a venue and get slammed by huge waves of rock music coming from a guy dressed in a ruffled shirt and tight Freddy Mercury tights, and with the hair of the dude from The Darkness. But, damn, did they rock the 50 people who showed up early enough to see them. I highly advise checking out "Keep It Together" on their Myspace page.

The Plain Janes played second. I'd heard of them many times, but never actually heard them. The first half of their set was, sadly, a little boring. A little too mellow after Mohair had just napalmed the place with style and charm. They finished up strong enough, and given that they're a local band that (like Dear Leader) features a member of the now defunct The Sheila Divine, they've got a loyal following who seemed entertained.

Finally, Dear Leader took the stage. They started out with a bunch of tracks off the new album, including the fantabulous "Nightmare Alleys" (which I featured on my last podcast). They mixed in some older songs, including "Ready the Brave", which I hadn't heard them play in a little while. The band was completely on, the crowd was completely into it, and it was probably one of the more fun shows I've been to in a while, with only one drunk person falling down near me. Sadly, however, as they finished the set, they had yet to play "Monuments and Shrines" which is a balls-out rocking song live (and on CD!). Given how much energy it takes to sing it, I figured it was going to be a no show.

Oh, but I was wrong. The band came out for an encore (naturally) and wrapped the show up with the kicking live version of "A Nation Once Again" and a really really good take on "Monuments and Shrines".

I left with my ears ringing, my new CD, and a ride back to my car in Davis (since my friends are awesome).

"But, Ryan," you might say, "was it a good show?"

Yes. Yes, it was.

After two listens, the new CD is also ridiculously awesotastic. So go to Newbury Comics and buy "The Alarmist" from Dear Leader. It makes a great stocking stuffer. I've also gotten a little motivation to hopefully throw together another podcast, probably focusing on the show (or maybe just a Dear Leader-centric one, to spread the love a little further). Hopefully that will be coming tomorrow.

I'd also love to add some pictures, except my camera takes awful pictures and no one has posted any pics on Flickr yet. But when someone does, I will find them. Oh yes, I will find them.

In the meantime, here's a picture of Mohair from another show (thanks Flickr! and thanks nevbrown, who ever you might be):