An rock and roll concert full of hipsters left me feeling oddly content.
Haikustrip #22: Last week, I drove with a friend for two hours to Sacramento to see David Bazan play Control, one of his old Pedro the Lion albums. My friend is a big Bazan fan, and has turned me into a fan, too.
Since I’m late to the party and am still getting acquainted with his catalog and genre, I wasn’t sure of what to expect at the show. Of course, I knew the venue (the Blue Lamp) because I’ve played there a few times, but little else.
I can tell you he draws a very different crowd than the Hellbusters do, or the bands I’ve played with in Sacramento. Not better or worse exactly, just different. Everybody was really polite and docile. The kind of crowd where nobody pushes forward, and they say “excuse me” when squeezing past you to go get a beer or something.
The observation about the hipster glasses (which I also was wearing) and the epic beards is quite accurate; fully 25% of the crowd sported beards longer than three inches. Lots of flat brimmed hats and flannel and surplus jackets. A few neck tattoos. Skinny jeans. Thrift store leather. That kind of thing.
The place was packed. Bazan did Q&A in the middle of his set, which I found remarkable. Never seen that before. There was no moshing. There were no fights. I observed nobody terribly impaired by chemicals. There was no vomit.
It was hard to believe I was at a rock and roll show. But the music was great and the show was totally satisfying, even if the subject matter of Control was pretty damn depressing, and we left happy.
We got caught in a snowstorm on the way home, and it took over four hours due to the weather. Still totally worth it.
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Photo credit: Todd Mauldin, used with permission