Good Vibes and Good Causes
After a full day of Warped Tour, would you go on to do two days of two shows? Some people may say no. For me, the answer is a yes. This may be how I earned the nickname that spawned this site. Although with it being a Saturday, I got a full night’s rest. I would start over at the Marquee Theatre and end my music adventure between three spaces in the Yucca Tap Room center.
Up first was the big reason I was at the Marquee, to watch the Banter grace the bigger stage. I have watched Kim perform for a few years now individually and gradually building up this band. I’m excited to see her grow her music career further. Leading off the Katastro show is one of the biggest I have seen for The Banter thus far. Bringing great vibes and fun music, they showed they felt at home on this stage. The Banter continues to grow and I look forward to what that brings with it.
After vacating the auditorium because the between band didn’t do much for me, I returned for Good Boy Daisy to hit that stage. This marks the first time to see the full band since they played New Year’s Eve in Gilbert. These kids bring a whole bunch of enthusiasm to that stage. From Molly on stage right to their additional guitarist full of expressions on stage left, they full of character. They look like they know how to play to that crowd, looking perfectly comfortable. Performing to an audience full of support and newcomers, it looked like Good Boy Daisy won over everyone.
After their performance, I ducked out to catch the latter half of the Rock to Cure Cancer event. Starting at Yucca, I saw of the coolest bands this night in Downtown Brown. If there was a band that was just goofy and entertaining, this is them. They managed to make a running joke through the entire set over the uttering of “Yee-ah!” Their music is diverse, from a punk rock to a funky groove. Believe the hype of Downtown Brown, because they were one of my favorites of the night.
Being a three venue event, next it had me running over to catch some of Contradiktion at Fifty One West. One of my favorite punk acts in the valley. Expressions everywhere you look in their performance. Of course, when every time I talk about them I compare Billie, lead vocals and guitar, to Billie Joe Armstrong you probably should expect that. The other Billy, on drums and spelt slightly different, appears to be meshing well for them. Include their new stuff performed with the prior of their catalog, and you have a great performance here. There’s no way I don’t tell you to catch Contradiktion next time.
Right next door was Corky’s Leather Jacket, right off the new album release, rocking the Double Nickels Collective. Seeing a band perform in a store mostly of records and other little shops, it brings a fantastic atmosphere. These guys are a band that took a second show to get into, but since then I love the performances they put on. They bring good old fashioned punk rock and political attitudes. Rocking with comic books just over their shoulder added to the charm of the set. Another night of good music from Corky’s Leather Jacket.
Back to Yucca I bounced over for Torn at the Seam. A punk, reggae, and ska infusion makes for a solid set. The surprise of my night was seeing Jeremy, of Contradiktion, rocking bass with them. Only a set removed from his band’s set, he was playing like a champ for Torn at the Seam. Not only that, they closed with Billie, his bandmate, jumping up for vocals. Torn at the Seam’s set was certainly a good way to close the night on what I thought was the last band.
However, that was not all, as Oscar Rock ended up assembling a band to close out the night. I am not sure what to refer to this band as, although with Sho Wie in it, I will loosely refer to it as Nomada 103. Combined with the bass player that Oscar had with him tonight, they made for a good set of cumbia and rock. However, at this point, my three days felt like they were finally catching up to me. I snapped a couple shots and enjoyed the rest of the set from a bar stool. The music adventure was a success.
