gig review: rocinante/sex (with jon)/the heavenly states @ the attic

[rone]

When Kim and i went to see We Followed Tigers, i really enjoyed one of the opening bands, Rocinante.  Their guitarist mentioned they'd be playing at The Attic on the 29th, so on that day i headed to Santa Cruz.  After getting a damned speeding ticket on the way there (all my fault, wasn't paying attention to my speed and i was coming down the Hwy 17 hill), i parked and headed into a well-lit and decorated space.  I had their Mate Chino tea while i waited for the band to set up.

Rocinante opened and played all of their 5 songs, which were all excellent.  I pestered them again to set up a Web presence and press a disc.  They have my work e-mail, so i hope they send me some info soon.  I'm not sure how to describe their music with any accuracy; it's rock with definite gusto, but not peppy.  The songs were deep but not complicated.

After them, it was Sex (with Jon)'s turn.  They had a theremin on stage and a knob twiddler to the side (who, during one song, performed a trombone solo).  They were definitely wacky, and they had a lot of fun covering Pink Floyd's "See Emily Play".  The thereminist and the guitarist (Jon) alternated singing duties.

I'd watched the lead singer for The Heavenly States moping around while the other bands played.  Then he came on stage with the rest of the band and he lit up like he reached back to flick on the Stage Presence switch.  They rocked out hard, although they started off with their single, and i think they should've saved that for later in the set.  Near the end of their set, in between songs we could hear the thumping techno from the gay bar downstairs, but it didn't get in the way of the show.

Tonight, Kim and i are going to see Michael Penn at Cafe du Nord... right now, in fact.  Bye bye.