Never having put together a concert before, Dave and I were nervous for probably a straight week for the concert, but Saturday was especially nerve-wracking. It wasn’t that we were unprepared – I think we were making sure our asses were covered for the last month or so – but more that something would go wrong, be missed, etc. I said repeatedly that I was going to be nervous until I saw people I didn’t know walking through the door.
Around 7 we went and picked up pizza and wings, since we only provide the best for the rock stars we bring to town – and that’s what they asked for anyway. Once we got to the venue, however, no one was there to open it, and Dave and I learned a valuable lesson – always get someone’s phone number who works at the venue. E-mail is fine, but when it gets down to brass tacks, phone numbers work best. So, we milled around for about 45 minutes, trying to find numbers until someone showed up to open who told us that we were early, and load time wasn’t until 8 anyway. So that sucked, but we all eventually got inside, warmed up, and the bands did their respective soundchecks.
Walri came running in the door around 9:30 or so, drums and amps in hand, and started playing around 10. They’ve played Bug Jar often, so they knew what to do. They tend more toward the psychedelic vein, but everyone enjoyed their set – as evidenced by their lead singer Amos telling me that they had sold out all their CDs. That was nice to hear.
The Static Jacks were up next, and while we gave them an hour, Henry told me they only had about 45 minutes worth of stuff – especially since the band rips through each song. Their performance was excellent – mixing in a couple of new tracks. For a venue where not many had heard them before (their previous gig in Rochester drew about 6 people – me, 3 of my friends and 2 others) – the crowd was into it.
These Electric Lives rounded out the show, and they are a fun band to watch. It’s easy to tell that they are having a good time, and with it being their first time in Rochester, they told us repeatedly that they were going to bring it. I missed a good portion of their set since I was talking with people, meeting new people, but what I did hear was excellent.
We are very thankful for all the help from everyone – from the venue to the bands to the bartenders – to our friends who came out to support us. We hope to continue to put on shows in Rochester, and have other ideas already in the works. But for our first show, this was memorable, and that is thanks to everyone who assisted us in making it come together. We learned a lot over the entire process, and hope to be able to put together a lot more concerts in Rochester. We have some pictures below, though we didn’t get our act in gear with the camera or iPhone until after Walri was finished, so we apologize to those guys.
A big thanks to all from the humbled Tympanogram team. Let’s do it again sometime.
Well done guys, well done indeed.
I thought I'd stop by and say hello. I loved the show and meeting Andy (I was the guy with the beard by the right speaker, my “home”). I'll also plug my own blog which is more about things to do in Rochester, but most of it is live music.
Sorry if I didn't speak with you, Andy was the diplomatic one that evening whilst I was off enjoying the show. Perhaps next time.
Best time on Saturday! You guys should be extremely proud of yourselves. You exposed me to new music (that I really liked) and may not have had the opportunity to learn about. Have another concert soon ok?