venue: great american music hall (sold out!)
artist: pains of being pure at heart (pobpah) with catwalk & twin shadow
who: ro
when: 19 april 2011 (tuesday)
doors open at 7p
ro and i headed up to the city at 5p so we could have dinner at tommy's joynt. we got there so early, we had prime parking. this is rare in the tenderloin district of the city. i had the corned beef and pastrami sandwich. it is the most tasty meaty sandwich, ever. that is my default item there. we finished in time to make it into the great american music hall just after the doors opened and scored prime seats in the balcony. as we looked around, we saw others filling up the balcony seats in the same situation we were in. we were now too old to stand at concerts. so we get there early to get these seats. previously, in my days with my former partner in crime, betty, we barely made the show as she was always late. i am so glad those days are over.
the first time i saw pobpah, i was sort of on this blind date but not really. it was when i met my ex, john, through a college friend of mine. she asked for a favor, to take her friend out during his first trip to san francisco. he and i ended up at the pobpah show in the fall of 2009. i spent the whole time chatting with john that i didn't get a chance to see what the band looked like. if i had, i might have freaked out. ro warned me that when he saw them at sxsw, he thought the lead singer (kip) looked a lot like my ex, ted. i didn't believe ro at first but when they came on, i had to get over the initial reaction that kip looked so much like emo-ted. i couldn't watch him for a bit.
for once, the opening bands were pretty good. catwalk was surprising. and then twin shadow came on and it was as if he was headlining. i have an inkling that the show sold out because of him. the crowd below went wild when he came on. his music was reminiscent of 80's new wave with a hint of rock and roll. it was very catchy and a bit too pop for my taste but i'll have to give him another listen before i can make a proper decision.
when pobpah was preparing to get on stage, i noticed this large gap of space between the mic stands and the drummer. i mean, he was way back there. i'd never seen bands set up this way. then i found out why. kip, the guitarist and bassist all use this space to dance (sometimes in unison) or stretch out their legs. i wasn't sure which. they do this one step back thing. kip's vocals are soft and almost feminine. i should say dreamy but it is more fem than dreamy. they are clearly influenced by the shoegazer genre. their songs are romantic and some are on the edge of cheesiness. their latest cd, belong, is quite good. i am still enjoying it in its entirety.
rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ heart in your heartbreak
