West Indian Girl

great american music hall aug 1, 2005

i like san fran for a few reasons, one reason is simply because my name is in it. the other and main reason is that sf has some of the coolest venues in the country to play period. adding to list of cool clubs we have played in san fran comes the great american music hall. this place was awesome and once again i must applaud the sf crowd – music lovers til the end. sometimes i wish we could play there every month. this show was exciting just because i felt like the band was really in a zone now. the show started off a bit slow – maybe that had to do with the fact that we play so damn early on this tour (and usually right after we all eat dinner). im so not into starting shows at 8pm — i mean people are still walking in. anyway, no big deal. we ended up playing well and having a great time. after the show we sold a bunch of lithos. funny thing about that is that i also sold a bunch of lithos in philly too…hmmm, what does that mean? possibly the appreciation of cool rock art only thrives in sf and philly? hmmm, probably. i’m way into fans buying lithos cos i think those lithos are a killer piece of the west indian girl tour history.

as fate would have it all of us had lost our digital cameras by the time we hit sf. well, techincally mariqueen took a picture of the marquee and then lost hers. having no pix is a drag because this blog thrives on visuals. little did i know there was one guy with a camera there. this man…gregory crane. gregory was kind enough to send me all the other shots you see on this page. little did he know he would be the only one to visually chronicle our first show at the great american. to see more of his photography check out his website right here. thanks gregory – you’re a savior. since i sell merch after we play i usually get to hear all of turin brakes sets and i really think they’re a great live band. they end up sounding like pink floyd by the end of their set and that’s never a bad thing.

Mariqueen’s Mind

The City: i’ve been to san francisco eighty bajillion times and never get tired of my trips. this time around we were located in what seemed to be “little saigon”. excuse me great american music hall, why would you want to be located near a strip club and a bunch of fish joints? i don’t get it.

The Venue: it was beautiful. really regal. the dressing rooms were downstairs and they epitomize the word room. they were huge and we even had a seperate little room to obsess over our faces in. besides having great little snacks and drinks to provide, the best part of the whole downstairs was that it was like a seperate little hangout hall for the musicians. we had our own super big bathroom with a shower if needed, but seriously, who really takes showers at venues… not me… and they had tea for days not to mention we could smoke everywhere. as far as the stage was concerned, it felt great being up there. the great american music hall is a place you want to fill up to capacity and have one of the best musical performances of your life. i hope one day we can do it.

The Show: well, it was alright. i don’t know… we thought we were supposed to start at nine and instead we started at eight. pretty whack. this performance didn’t really stand out so much. i think it was because everyone was so spaced out… that used to be ideal for us, but the more we’ve played the closer we like to be to each other. it’s important for me to feel all four of the boys’ energy. i didn’t really get a good dose of any of them. i gave this show a seven out of ten.

What Were You Thinking While Playing: “why are we playing so early?” “i hope i don’t fall out of this dress”… “[siggggh] everyone is so far away”… “these monitors are awesome”… and then at some point in the set i just turn my mind off and coast. that’s how it is every single time we play. get into it.

Interesting Things After The Show: nothing really. honestly, i just hung out with the band and dayna and some randoms. highlights include running into andrew and him cooing at my dress. if only he wasn’t so sick… andrew, darling, i adore you… i hope the next time we come to san fran we can hang. after awhile i decided to peep into turin brakes’ dressing rooms and hung out with gale’s girlfriend and was even able to snag me some free records. after packing up i curled up like a little fetus in the back of the burban and passed out. go rock n roll go.

Carter’s Conscience

San Francisco– This time around we played at the Great American Music hall, which is a beautiful old ballroom. The decor dates back about a hundred years, and the people that work there informed us that it used to be a brothel. We didn’t get to chill out in San Fran this time around, but it was cool to see all our San Fran friends again! The Newbolds we’re front row and rocking, Andrew from jambase was there, and the Manville crew was out as well. . . thanks for saying whats up everyone, wish we could’ve stayed longer! The set for me got off to a weird start. The ghosts of the club were haunting me. I absolutely tanked the beggining of Northern Sky. I hit a wrong pedal and it took me a few clicks and wrong turns to get the train back on the tracks. But we pulled it together, and the room was absolutely a pleasure to play in. C ya San Fran, thanx again

gale and olly aka turin brakespaul siminon is one of my bass icons
SET LIST – per request of samantha street
still lost
northern sky
trip (xtended version)
miles from monterey
hollywood
out of pink (new song)
what are you afraid of (xtended version)

F.TEN