Fresno Famous

This weekend was part one of a mini Fresno tour that has us playing three shows in less than a week and concludes this Wednesday at the Bel-Tower (w/ Whatever That Means, Lonely Revolts, 32's, Iwanaga and Eindrah). Here's the flier.

12/3/2011@Chinatown Youth Center

Not the greatest turnout, but we walked away with some cash in hand, which is more than we can say for a lot of shows. As a bonus, we got to see some old friends and play with two truly inspiring bands.

Tyrannosaurus Zebra: They bailed last-minute to play another show. I can't fault them so much because the other show was probably better attended, but they weren't quite honest about it and that seems like kind of a dick move. Plus, I was excited to see them and now I will  have to catch them some other time. Oh well. Update: I could be wrong on all this. If I am, let me know so I can apologize.

Kinship: Sonically, one of the most interesting bands I've heard in awhile. I read them described as existing at the "intersection of the 90's and now," which seem pretty acurate. There were some grunge moments for sure and some moments that reminded me of '90-era Kyuss. Heavy. Distortion. On. Everything. Great vocals and good inter-play between the two guitars. Serious want to see these guys again soon.

Werebear: Probably my favorite local band at the moment. Super catchy fun songs with punk-ish overtones. Singer/guitarist Cristobal Carrillo played keyboards on several songs that reminded me of Mommy and Daddy (who played one of my favorite Tokyo Garden shows EVER). There was a sort of looseness to the whole set, but the guys seem to be having so much fun that even the hiccups (switching back and forth from guitar to keyboard) were totally endearing. Their 3-song E.P. is on repeat. See these guys ASAP!

Our set: Somewhere around song seven or eight I realize there's someone on stage with us and he's jumping around and trying to sing along. It takes me a moment more to realize he has no idea how the song goes. Still, he's super excited and bouncing around like we're besties and I figure, why not let him sing some. So, I got a backup singer for the night. In between songs he keeps trying to get us to play some Too Short song none of us knows. After the set, he gets kicked from the venue. Apparently he's a Chinatown local named Marcus. There is video of him here.

12/4/2011@Audie's  

This was a totally last-minute show we helped set up for Trashkannon, who were on a quick tour and needed one more stop before getting back to San Jose. Now, Sunday night + last minute = not a great turnout. Still, it was a super fun show.

Seemed to be the theme of the weekend.

Still Stoked: This is a new project from Maximo Garcia. Like, just-started-the-day-before new. Apparently, they wrote a bunch of songs while busking on the streets in San Francisco. It's a folk-punk trio, though there are plans to bring in a drummer and bass player. Anyway, really funny, quirky cool songs. Totally assessible, yet edgy-enough to keep the punkers interested. It'll  be great to see how they progress.

Trashkannon: You have to feel bad for everyone who missed this show. Well, not everyone. There are probably lots of people who don't like this kind of in-your-face fun-loving party-punk-rock. There are lots of people who do. Those people missed out. The band describes itself as hardcore comedic goonpunk. Let's see: Hardcore? Yes, though not hard-core, hard-core. A lot of the songs had a GWAR kind-of-vibe. In fact thinking about it now, they're a lot like GWAR minues the giant costumes. Which brings us to ... Comedic? Totally. It was a set full of laughter. I don't know what goonpunk means, so I'll leave that one. Highlight of the set: A sort-of cover of Queen's "Bicycle Race." Oh yeah, they also covered 4 Non Blondes. 

Our set: Let's see. No one crowded the stage to tried to take the microphone from me. Other than that, it was pretty much your typical It'll Grow Back show.