Stefinitely Maybe
08-31-2007, 05:38 AM
I missed the Pickups at Coachella and I was on the guestlist for last night's show because my ex-band were supporting, so I decided to go and check them out.
My ex-band played a decent set, although I still think a couple of them lack presence on stage, and the guy who replaced me on bass doesn't sing at all - he doesn't even have a mic - whereas I used to sing a lot of backing vocals. So a lot of the harmonies and vocal parts of the songs have been left out, and it sounds weird to me, but I guess you wouldn't notice it if you were hearing the songs for the first time. Anyway, they sounded okay, and the crowd reaction was all right, but not amazing.
In between bands some Japanese dude came up to me in the crowd and said he was a fan of my ex-band and he had been following us for a long time and he recognised me as the ex-bassist, from myspace. It was a little weird. He shook my hand and nodded his head a lot and seemed excited. I left to get a drink.
Then the Pickups came on and rocked the place. That drummer is a MACHINE. They played for about 90 minutes and the crowd loved it. They finished with a quieter song, sung by the female bassist, which reminded me a little of Bull In The Heather. The singer had a lot of energy and really connected with the crowd too. However, all of the songs sounded pretty samey, and there was nothing I could really sing along to or distinguish as a catchy tune. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't really feel the need to see them again, and I own the album, but rarely listen to it.
So, it was a good show. I think my ex-band have better tunes, but need to work on their stage presence, whilst the opposite is true for the Pickups.
My ex-band played a decent set, although I still think a couple of them lack presence on stage, and the guy who replaced me on bass doesn't sing at all - he doesn't even have a mic - whereas I used to sing a lot of backing vocals. So a lot of the harmonies and vocal parts of the songs have been left out, and it sounds weird to me, but I guess you wouldn't notice it if you were hearing the songs for the first time. Anyway, they sounded okay, and the crowd reaction was all right, but not amazing.
In between bands some Japanese dude came up to me in the crowd and said he was a fan of my ex-band and he had been following us for a long time and he recognised me as the ex-bassist, from myspace. It was a little weird. He shook my hand and nodded his head a lot and seemed excited. I left to get a drink.
Then the Pickups came on and rocked the place. That drummer is a MACHINE. They played for about 90 minutes and the crowd loved it. They finished with a quieter song, sung by the female bassist, which reminded me a little of Bull In The Heather. The singer had a lot of energy and really connected with the crowd too. However, all of the songs sounded pretty samey, and there was nothing I could really sing along to or distinguish as a catchy tune. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't really feel the need to see them again, and I own the album, but rarely listen to it.
So, it was a good show. I think my ex-band have better tunes, but need to work on their stage presence, whilst the opposite is true for the Pickups.