No movies...
Well, I didn't see a movie over the weekend... So it goes. I guess that phase of seeing lots of movies is passing now.
I did go see a show Thursday though.
Langhorne Slim, Eugene Mirman and Loquat at the Bottom of the Hill
In life I am either five to ten to fifteen minutes late for things, or I am thirty minutes early. Thursday night at the Bottom of the Hill, the show said it was going to start at 9:00, with doors at 8:30. I showed up at 8:00. A big part of the problem is that I live on the opposite side of the bay, and traffic is unpredictable.
So at 8:30 I finally made my way into the club. No one was there of course. There was a guy by the door filling out some paperwork. He was sitting right by the cash register so I figured he was taking tickets, but he looked just like Langhorne Slim. Turns out he was Langhorne Slim. Thank goodness. Bottom of the Hill didn't have the Narnak guest list right there at the door so I probably wouldn't have gotten in if he hadn't been there and straightened it out. Turns out the Narnak guest list was behind the bar. Maybe if I hadn't been so early it would have made its way to the door in a timely manner.
I spoke with Langhorne a little before the show. He was glad to hear that I liked his CD and had given it four stars. I asked him about touring. He has been touring on and off for two years, with this tour being his longest stint at one month. Unfortunately, he hasn't been bringing a band with him. Actually, once the show started, I saw that the band wasn't really necessary.
Langhorne's songs are really good, and honestly they don't need the full band to come across well. There are songs on the CD that are just Langhorne and guitar, and then there are the barn-burners. Even without his band, these full-band songs come across great. Langhorne's voice sounds exactly the way it does on the album, and it has a lot of character. Langhorne himself had a lot of character. He bantered a bit with the crowd, even in the middle of songs at times. I'm always impressed with someone that changes up lyrics on the fly, or starts talking in the middle of a song with out stopping the music and then picks up right where they left off. It takes a good sense of timing and rhythm to pull that off.
My biggest gripe with the show was the four jack asses that would not shut up. They were standing right in the middle of the floor, speaking loudly to each other. I think it was basically just one guy doing most of the loud talking, but he was loud. Whenever Langhorne came to a quiet part, these guys could be heard talking over the P.A.
Luckily, Langhorne also got the crowd involved and had some sing alongs and shouting parts. The crowd reacted well.
On Langhorne's last song (which actually turned into his second to last song) there is a part on the album where a couple of horn players come in and play a solo and what not. Langhorne pulled the song off well without the horns. He did his little dances, and he got the crowd to call out “yeah.” Of course, the loud guy had to call out inappropriately at some point, causing Langhorne to comment “I can't tell if this guy is for me or against me.”
Loud guy and his friends replied “For!”
“Okay. I'll be playing this song at your wedding.” Some people cheered and laughed a little, but every body loved it when Langhorne added with a yell “And at your funeral!” before busting back into his song.
So after Langhorne, it was time for the comedians. Wait a minute… Comedians? That's right. I guess this is the new cool thing; comics touring with bands and playing rock clubs. I've been to some comedy clubs, and I've always had a good time. I figured this should make for a good night of entertainment, and I was right.
Eugene Mirman is the one listed on the bill, but there was another comedian as well who “opened” for Eugene. He was great, but I can't remember his name… Sorry opening-comic-guy. He did a lot of his bits with pre-recorded stuff and props. It was pretty funny. Then Eugene Mirman came on. I found out that night that Eugene had been in Home Movies, a cartoon that I once watched religiously on Adult Swim. However, because I am an idiot, I couldn't really place his voice. I am wondering if he was one of the kids and they did something to his voice after the fact to make it sound more like a little kid. I never check the credits on those things… Regardless, Eugene was funny as well. He had a couple of phone calls he had recorded that he played back, as well as a couple of short videos to show as well.
At first, I wasn’t sure about all the prerecorded stuff these comedians were using. The first comic really interacted with his prerecorded stuff and I realized that it might be a little like a band that has a bunch of sequenced crap going on in their music. I would listen to that and not be bothered by it, so why let this distract me? Eugene just let the recording and videos play and stood to the side. Oh well, they were really funny.
Eugene Mirman finished up at 11:00. I looked at my watch. It said 11:00. Imagine that. Loquat was up next. As far as I can tell, Loquat wasn't on the tour. It seemed like the comics were touring and bring Langhorne along for support. The tour itself would then open for acts around the country. I didn't actually ask anybody though. It could be that the tour just hit rock clubs without opening for anyone. It was a great show, and I would recommend seeing it.
At any rate, I didn't stay for Loquat. I've never heard of them before anyways. I was tired and I had to work the next day. I didn't want to wait around fifteen to thirty minutes to see if I was going to like a band that I would then either have to stay around another hour for or be pissed I had wasted a half hour on.
Sorry Loquat.
I did go see a show Thursday though.
Langhorne Slim, Eugene Mirman and Loquat at the Bottom of the Hill
In life I am either five to ten to fifteen minutes late for things, or I am thirty minutes early. Thursday night at the Bottom of the Hill, the show said it was going to start at 9:00, with doors at 8:30. I showed up at 8:00. A big part of the problem is that I live on the opposite side of the bay, and traffic is unpredictable.
So at 8:30 I finally made my way into the club. No one was there of course. There was a guy by the door filling out some paperwork. He was sitting right by the cash register so I figured he was taking tickets, but he looked just like Langhorne Slim. Turns out he was Langhorne Slim. Thank goodness. Bottom of the Hill didn't have the Narnak guest list right there at the door so I probably wouldn't have gotten in if he hadn't been there and straightened it out. Turns out the Narnak guest list was behind the bar. Maybe if I hadn't been so early it would have made its way to the door in a timely manner.
I spoke with Langhorne a little before the show. He was glad to hear that I liked his CD and had given it four stars. I asked him about touring. He has been touring on and off for two years, with this tour being his longest stint at one month. Unfortunately, he hasn't been bringing a band with him. Actually, once the show started, I saw that the band wasn't really necessary.
Langhorne's songs are really good, and honestly they don't need the full band to come across well. There are songs on the CD that are just Langhorne and guitar, and then there are the barn-burners. Even without his band, these full-band songs come across great. Langhorne's voice sounds exactly the way it does on the album, and it has a lot of character. Langhorne himself had a lot of character. He bantered a bit with the crowd, even in the middle of songs at times. I'm always impressed with someone that changes up lyrics on the fly, or starts talking in the middle of a song with out stopping the music and then picks up right where they left off. It takes a good sense of timing and rhythm to pull that off.
My biggest gripe with the show was the four jack asses that would not shut up. They were standing right in the middle of the floor, speaking loudly to each other. I think it was basically just one guy doing most of the loud talking, but he was loud. Whenever Langhorne came to a quiet part, these guys could be heard talking over the P.A.
Luckily, Langhorne also got the crowd involved and had some sing alongs and shouting parts. The crowd reacted well.
On Langhorne's last song (which actually turned into his second to last song) there is a part on the album where a couple of horn players come in and play a solo and what not. Langhorne pulled the song off well without the horns. He did his little dances, and he got the crowd to call out “yeah.” Of course, the loud guy had to call out inappropriately at some point, causing Langhorne to comment “I can't tell if this guy is for me or against me.”
Loud guy and his friends replied “For!”
“Okay. I'll be playing this song at your wedding.” Some people cheered and laughed a little, but every body loved it when Langhorne added with a yell “And at your funeral!” before busting back into his song.
So after Langhorne, it was time for the comedians. Wait a minute… Comedians? That's right. I guess this is the new cool thing; comics touring with bands and playing rock clubs. I've been to some comedy clubs, and I've always had a good time. I figured this should make for a good night of entertainment, and I was right.
Eugene Mirman is the one listed on the bill, but there was another comedian as well who “opened” for Eugene. He was great, but I can't remember his name… Sorry opening-comic-guy. He did a lot of his bits with pre-recorded stuff and props. It was pretty funny. Then Eugene Mirman came on. I found out that night that Eugene had been in Home Movies, a cartoon that I once watched religiously on Adult Swim. However, because I am an idiot, I couldn't really place his voice. I am wondering if he was one of the kids and they did something to his voice after the fact to make it sound more like a little kid. I never check the credits on those things… Regardless, Eugene was funny as well. He had a couple of phone calls he had recorded that he played back, as well as a couple of short videos to show as well.
At first, I wasn’t sure about all the prerecorded stuff these comedians were using. The first comic really interacted with his prerecorded stuff and I realized that it might be a little like a band that has a bunch of sequenced crap going on in their music. I would listen to that and not be bothered by it, so why let this distract me? Eugene just let the recording and videos play and stood to the side. Oh well, they were really funny.
Eugene Mirman finished up at 11:00. I looked at my watch. It said 11:00. Imagine that. Loquat was up next. As far as I can tell, Loquat wasn't on the tour. It seemed like the comics were touring and bring Langhorne along for support. The tour itself would then open for acts around the country. I didn't actually ask anybody though. It could be that the tour just hit rock clubs without opening for anyone. It was a great show, and I would recommend seeing it.
At any rate, I didn't stay for Loquat. I've never heard of them before anyways. I was tired and I had to work the next day. I didn't want to wait around fifteen to thirty minutes to see if I was going to like a band that I would then either have to stay around another hour for or be pissed I had wasted a half hour on.
Sorry Loquat.