Rock Report - October 6th, 2012

Last week brought an old friend to Barcelona. Sid, the drummer from Me Mom & Morgentaler, the band I joined the first time I dropped out of university, was in town with his family. It was great to catch up. I hadn't seen him since a rather drunken New Year's Eve party several years ago. We went from terrace to bar, from beer to mojitos, and chatted about a range of things. One particularly interesting story was that of the sandpaper handjob his most recent band got from the music industry. Only the details differ in yet another "major label expresses interest in your group, throws money at you, wastes your time, kills your career" narrative that I and others I know have lived through. It's a sad reality that what is perceived to be the peak of your music trajectory is often just the last foothold next to a sharp cliff.
And yet, we persevere.
This weekend was Les Fat Jones' first out of town gig. And by out of town, I mean outside any town.

The venue

Next to the venue

The show was nominally in Torrello, a collection of houses about 80km north of Barcelona. Situated on the outskirts of town meant in one direction lay a church and some buildings, and in the other, trees. We played with 2 other bands: Twisted Nails, a heavy groove and riff band (think Queens of the Stone Age) and Zero Absolu, a solo guy with keyboards, guitars and pedals who built really intricate soundscapes and then screamed over them.
The people at the venue and the other musician were all friendly and helpful. Thank God, because right before our set, the bass amp crapped out and we needed to borrow one.

Not something you want to see five minutes before set time

During the third song, the PA died, leaving me with no amplification for my keyboard or vocals. After some desperate scrambling by the board, sound returned in a weakened state. Yet despite these setbacks, we played well and I had a good time. Driving to the middle of nowhere and playing for a couple dozen people still seems like a decent way to spend a Saturday evening. Especially when you have no career depending on it. Part time rocker is turning out to be as much fun as full time rocker, without the stress.
Tomorrow, we play in Barcelona. If you're in town, come on down.