It's really an unexpected show. I feel so lucky that I was there.
After the summer schedule was all set and done. I did a little research for the local venue of Riverside. However, it sucked the big suck. The truth is that LA do have a large market of gig-goer, but when it comes to business, they were all limited in the central LA county or O.C. Well, it's not big deal after all, since I'm here for my graduate study. Getting a degree and learning computer science is the first priority. So I can totally accept it. It's not like in the Bay Area which is so close to San Jose and has fast and convenient transportation to downtown SF and Berkeley. Still, I found a venue call The Glass House in Pomona, which is not that far from UCR. There're great artists have been there, such as Explosion in the Sky, Rilo Kiley, Ladytron, Blonde Redhead and Dashboard Confessional. Take a glance at the show schedule, not bad. Finch, Tokyo Police Club, CSS, Vampire Weekend and....BLOC PARTY!!!
Jeez! I can't believe that there's a chance to see such a festival-headline like Bloc Party in a small venue. From the pics on its official website, it's probably smaller than The Fillmore in SF. However, the problem is how can I get home after the show? And How can I get a single ticket when the show's already sold out? (Especially when the scalpers on eBay rip-off badly.)
I knew Craiglist will be my last chance. Unfortunately there's little tickets there, seems that all the ticket holders are real fans. That's cool for notorious SoCal scene, haha. Anyway I posted an add and didn't expect any response. But things always happen when you don't expect much. A girl called Ashleigh, who is a die-hard fan of Bloc Party, accidentally got a spare ticket and willing to give me a ride as long as I can pay the gas. I almost think that I was punk'd or something when I receive the call, seriously. Anyway, big band in small venue, I know it's like dream come true!!
I took Metrolink train to Pomona in the afternoon. BTW, the repeated scenery outside the window somehow reminds me the music video of Star Guitar by The Chemical Brothers.
When I got there, Ashleigh was already there. And there's Alex, we talked something pointless which I can barely remember before the show, haha. They are really nice people. then of course, we did heard something during the rehearsal. There's new single Mercury and other old stuff. Ashleigh'd love to see them do Skeleton, but I've check the setlist of Fuji Rock and don't think they'll do it. Doesn't matter, because we're pretty early and looks like we can made it the front row dead center!
Doors 7:00pm, but the show 9:00pm!! All fans were kept waiting and freaking starved to dead. Hopefully, Does It Offend You, Yeah? took the stage first and they're really cool. I heard them from Nine Inch Nails' tour sampler. Just like Crystal Castle and Deerhunter, they join the tour and support NIN as well. Really have to say that both Trent Renzor and Bloc Party choose the right band. The twisted synth sound with grooving beats made their music like Daft Punk meet Hot Chip, and maybe perform a bit like LCD Soundsystem.
Anyway their stuff was excited and everybody was dancing. I love the black guitarist's outfit, totally old school/disco/'80 feeling. The Last song was the hit, "We Are Rockstars." The crowd simply went crazy. So many sweaty chicks around me pushing and shoving. I felt so like a perv...but still enjoy the music, not chicks, of course lol.
1 comment:
thats amazing story.
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