 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
I can't quite say why we headed up to Cambridge with no tickets, but Cynthia and I almost got burned in the process. After driving around the packed streets of Cambridge for a good half hour, I took a deep, defeated breath and pulled into a pay parking lot, not wanting to miss Whiskey & Co.
We got to the door, only to watch both our hearts drop with the taped "Sold Out" sign. Not quite knowing what to do (I was more pissed about paying for parking for nothing instead of driving a few hours), we stood there like a couple of frozen mimes. One guy offered us a ticket, but we needed two. Eventually, a woman who found out Lucero wasn't going on until 11:30 sold me her ticket, just as some guy handed Cynthia a free ticket. Relieved and hungry, we got food, getting back in time for Whiskey & Co.
The singer of Whiskey & Co. seemed completely fucked up. She barely moved on stage; once in a while rocking back and forth or dancing like a worn out stripper. Her voice was just as good as it is on their albums, and the rest of the band had a lot of energy (especially the acoustic guitar player). Their set seemed to go by quick, playing favorites such as "High Tonight," "Barroom Women," "Catch My Fall," "High Life" and "Nightlife."
Bobby Bare Jr. bored me to death. He sounded like a college indie country rock jam band that focused on experimentation. An interesting idea, and one that most of the crowd enjoyed, but I couldn't stand them. They seemed too full of their music, as the songs would go on for a long time without much need (the first song lasted about eight minutes). I wasn't a huge fan of Bare's voice, which didn't help. Their drummer, who looked like Kenny Aronoff, pissed me off by playing with sunglasses.
Not enjoying the music, combined with the intense heat in the club and the fact that I was falling asleep, led Cynthia and I to leave the Middle East in search of sugar. My first choice was a 7-11, but we decided on a CVS after not wanting to walk in the cold any longer (it turns out the 7-11 was directly across the street). We got back at about 11:09, thinking that Lucero would be setting up, only to be disappointed by watching Bobby Bare Jr. play for about another five minutes, which mostly consisted of feedback and drumming.
We were standing near the stairs, not quite wanting to join the overheated crowd. This worked out to our advantage because we got to see two people get kicked out, sort of. We didn't see the first person get the boot, but we did get to see some girl arguing with security for a good five minutes, losing every argument she made. The second person walked down the stairs before the ticket taker told her she had to go because she couldn't even walk on her own.
Pretty much right on time, Lucero took the stage. The crowd was super excited, and I found myself pretty much squished between a couple people as my body was somehow distorted to fit (think Tetris). The sweat was pouring from every body in the place, which made for an uncomfortable experience, as did watching people mosh to an alt country punk band that mostly plays sad songs (one of those kids got kicked out). Lucero themselves played a great set, pretty much going from one song to the other, with only a little talking in between. They were incredibly tight, which was surprising seeing as how their bassist could barely keep his eyes open, and it was a lot of fun singing along to every song they played, playing their best songs off of each album.
A guy got (at least I think he did) kicked out for going onstage to buy singer Ben Nichols a drink. An appreciative Nichols told the crowd that they don't have to risk getting kicked out just to get him a drink. His voice was great, full of the sad energy that drives this band. Some of the songs they played were "My Best Girl," "That Much Further West," "Slow Dancing," "Chain Link Fence," "Joining the Army," "Tonight Ain't Gonna Be Good," "Across the River" (a different version than the album), "Sixteen," "I Can Get Us Out Here Tonight," "Nineteen Seventy Nine," and others. We left after about an hour because of the heat (and we both heard most of the songs that we wanted to hear) and the getting back home close to 2 a.m., something neither of us were used to anymore.