The show I just saw...

[torph]

re: the shows i recently saw -

i was lucky enough to jump on the road with Apollo Sunshine for a long weekend a coupla weeks back. i was their tour manager for a tour w/ the duo last year and they've since become good buddies. this was their recent tour with Dr. Dog. 1 night w/ the Dog in SF, one night headlining in Visalia in the central valley, then meet backup with Dr. Dog in LA for a show at The Troubadour.

They came to the Independent- which is still the best room in SF by a long stretch. I was excited to see Dr. Dog for the first time, and even more excited to see Apollo with the addition Quentin Stoltzfus to their lineup. Quentin has recorded a bunch of records as Mazarin over the years and Apollo has worked with him a for a while on different projects. actually they are currently on tour opening for OK GO with the same lineup (Apollo w/ Quentin) but calling themselves BLACK STOLTZFUS and playing exclusively from the Mazarin cataloge.

Anyway, I had read Bear's blog about the show he caught so I had some idea of what to expect. basically, Apollo is on a serious trip into exploratory territory. They started each night with a really thick wall-of-sound jam that segwayed into 'Lord' which had a huge drum jam in the middle. They also have new material from their upcoming record that they've been previewing. And they have been doing some AMAZING Mazarin tunes (New American Apathy, Your Advice)...

Some people who caught the SF show were a little freaked out. The whole set was very dark each night. I straight up saw kids walk out of the Visalia show with their fingers in their ears. It was loud, as always.

I fucking LOVED it. I love seeing a band in flux, trying new things, taking risks. they were doing all those things passionately. The music was as as weird as ever... But loose in all the best senses of that word. The Troubadour show was sold out. Apollo had the place wrapped around every strange sound they were making. I had caught Dr. Dog's set in pieces in SF and was not blown away. Considering all the hype around them (and I LOVE their records) I had high expectations and felt a little let down by what I saw the 1st night. Well, they KILLED it in LA. Dr. Dog is as strong as anyone out there who's doing what they are doing. Good stuff.

In the words of jamBase: Go see live music