Lap 1

The Emerald Lounge is a dive bar - which is not to say that it's dirty and crawling with rats but that it's dark and empty. There are two rooms, a front room with a bar and a few booths then a back room with a jukebox, little tables and a small stage where bands play. The latter is, of course, why I go there. I don't mind that it's dark and sparse on the entertainments (no darts, pool tables or even a Golden Tee) but I don't like how quickly (and how often) it fills up with smoke.

Downtown Phoenix is a little closer to me but in Tempe they have no smoking in the bars.
I still smell like smoke this morning but I can breathe so I'm doing alright.

Anyway I caught the first of four consecutive shows last night; Colorstore with Goodbye Blue Monday and Tierra del Fuego. It was probably the most crowded I've seen the Emerald Lounge, though quite a few folks wandered out after Tierra del Fuego. (Not quite as extreme as the last show I saw there; I was shocked by how many people showed up for Curium, Blink, Half-Handed Cloud and Fatigo... but 50% were there for Curium (and left after they played) and another 40% were in the remaining three bands.)

GBM are from San Diego and are starting out on a three week tour that takes them as far as New York before looping back through Denver and Billings... which makes for a lot of driving. I was quite impressed by how strong they sounded, enough to buy their new CD and wish I had more cash on me. First impression the sound struck me as similar to early ATDI (biggest difference being the vocals), to make a rough, rough comparison.

Colorstore might've been off a little bit but part of that may be that they've been playing quite a bit of new music that they were working on during their break. Still a good show, though.

After showering and breakfast I shall be off to Hollywood for the next two laps, Electrelane and Bad Religion... after which I'm driving back to Phoenix for Father's Day/my older sister's birthday (hopefully bearing gifts from Amoeba) and Dressy Bessy.