West Indian Girl

Silverlake, CA

lewscious outside spaceland 3.24

Fran’s Flashback
almost a year later and we’re back at spaceland playing to a sell out crowd. on the bill – roman numerals and slow signal fade. this show and bill was a strong one. hands down probably our best and most inspired performance in los angeles to date! lots of love in the air for this show. we played a bunch of new songs like “rise from the dead”, “running back” and “blue wave”. we even got the crowd to sing along on blue wave. yes you read that right…a crowd at spaceland was actually singing along. after the show i also saw the image of jesus appear in the dew covering my car’s windshield. it truly was a miraculous night in so many ways. the pic below of is of scott sterling and joe puleio – 2 of my very good friends. after the show i ended up hanging out at joes house until 5 in the morning. want another person’s thoughts on the show – click here for a csun review.

dressing room and rider wrap up: there is only one spaceland. it’s in our backyard and it’s considered a mini indie mecca by musicians far and wide.

the facilities 17 points. at least there is a little backstage area at spaceland that is, literally, back stage. it’s cool because you can enter the stage from a door right next to the drum kit. that room serves as each band’s dressing room but usually by the time you play the other bands are out of there cos it’s so small. i like that little area cos it’s a good place to have the obligatory pre show band huddle/mini pep rally/pow wow. no private bathroom, not sure about wi-fi, parking was right out front and load in was an easy roll. their merch set up is decent and there’s a big room for all the smokers.

rider/amenities 10 points. beer, water and towels. the rock n roll basics. for that the basics gets you 10 points. good restaurants right around the corner though.

stage, sound, lights 15 points. for a small club the stage is great. it can fit all of us so that’s a plus right there. the sound is also fine. carlos was mixing the show and he always gets the most out of that place. more basszzzzzzzz carlos. lights…i dont remember but i think they were ok.

promoter 20 points. jennifer teft – my michigan sweetheart. she’s become a great supporter of the band. who do i call when i want to bitch about my booking agent?…jennifer is always there for me. she must have done a great job because the place was sold out. they had us listed online and seemed to be on top of their game with the promotion. posters were prominantly on display in the club. good to see.

staff 20 points. the phrase out of sight out of mind seems apropos here. didnt have any problems with them so that’s always good. if staff become a non issue and let you do what you want it usually insures a high score from me.

intangibles 10 points. the fact that jennifer said it was one of the most fun times she’s had at a show means a lot. plus she loved my boys from kc and partied with them all night. that’s hospitality.

TOTAL OVERALL SCORE = 92. spaceland you get the most improved award as you totally buried your old score from last year. (click here for a detailed explanation of my scoring system’s categories). there’s something really special about playing spaceland. it’s intimate, its indie, its indiemate. something tells me a residency is right around the corner.

Tony’s Take
you see that elizabethan collar around my neck. you think i like this shit? it’s bullshit that’s what it is. im not sure if this was fran’s sick idea of a joke but he kept this thing on me while i was in his fucking truck. unbelievable. i’ve been licking my paws raw but that’s only because he hasnt been taking me running lately. doesnt he get it? he’s too self absorbed sometimes to notice who his real friends are. im that asswipes best friend. at least he checked on me a dozen times during the evening. it’s all good. i will be his monkey for a while just to lull him into a false sense of security. the show….who cares, get this fucking thing off me.

billy from roman numerals doing the load out dance