Cateye36's San Jose LMBO Show Recap
Here’s my second attempt at writing a recap—with minimal sleep too! I attended the LMBO show in San Jose, California but had never heard of the venue…..I knew the San Diego show was at the Hard Rock Café (bought tickets, didn’t go, cool place); the Los Angeles show was at the Viper Room (bought tickets, didn’t go, trendy place); and now here I was at the Angels Club in San Jose (bought tickets, used them, cabaret place? Hey, isn’t that a euphemism for stripper joint)???
Well, it was not the same kind of venue as Hard Rock or Viper….if anyone wants to call the number and listen to the sexy, sultry voice that is used to entice—I’m sure men—to attend the club, email me! LMAO!
I don’t mean to offend, but if everyone had followed the simple rules below, I would have enjoyed myself a hell of lot more! I am also including some observations that will probably make me unpopular…
1) Tall people stand in back—short people in front! Yeah, I’m 5’3” on a good day.
2) If you come with your significant other (spouse, boy/girlfriend), please no PDA or swing dancing. Your space is limited so STOP running into me! GRRRRR Oh yeah, please try to “separate” from each other….holding hands/putting your arms around each other is sweet, but doing so the entire time makes you a solid wall two-people thick!
3) If you want to take pics, fine! But try to do it at the beginning, middle and end of the show. Wazzup with the standing there holding the camera the WHOLE time? Are you there to LISTEN to the show or use it as a photo op for Taylor? I mean, the whole time?
4) Just because I leave some personal space between me and the person in front of me (maybe one foot), that is NOT an invitation to come from behind and move up in front of me!!
5) When standing in line for almost two hours, try to think of something else to talk about other than Taylor…this goes for men and women……take me for example….my conversation also included: who the cuter brother was in Supernatural, why the original Law & Order sucked now, some political discussions (we ARE from Calif, after all), and was Angels a strip club or not. And by the way, how can some fans be soooo fanatical!!! A woman found an article in a local rag in one of those “free mags” holders, came back to the line and showed everyone, and many people ran to get their own copy……..
Ok, now I got that off my chest…..here’s my review of the performance…
LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LMBO was wonderful, rocking, and did excellently without Taylor. I would have been ecstatic just to hear their set! I don’t know the songs, but my friend and I danced and rocked to the beat the whole time! (Of course, that would mean we didn’t move below the waist so we didn’t take up more space, but the top half shimmied and boogied)! I’m probably going to fudge up the band member’s names, but here’s my attempt at individual recognition.
Brian played that keyboard like Keanu rode the bus in the movie “Speed”. If he let up, we would allllll come to a bad ending….BUT he played his heart out and we survived--WOW!
Sam was jamming as well…..he had the “look” of a blues traveler….didn’t come across as a poseur at all…..he played, we were all uplifted, and a bunch of people became part of the “blue-eyed soul” movement…..
The sax player wailed………and did things to his sax that I’ve not heard before…..it wasn’t even against the law! But it sure made me prick up my ears……Lisa Simpson could take lessons from this guy, and she played well on the Simpsons!!!
The bass guitarist, damn I forgot his name too! I honestly don’t know what to say about him other than he sounded excellent as well!
Zippy banged his little heart out in front of us all…..by himself…..and no one minded! He also has a great singing voice—I thought he sounded a bit like Taylor! No band is complete without a great drummer, and he filled the bill….
Remember the four elements in the world: earth, wind, fire and water? Well, LMBO is comprised of these four elements plus one (let’s pretend that would be gold)—they are important individually, but the synergistic energy that’s created by them as a group is unholy!!!
Oh yeah, then a guy named Taylor Hicks showed up…..you all know the kudos he gets (he sounds good, he looks good, his crotch looks good, his butt looks good, gel or no gel…..whatevah)…..He was the Zeus to the five elements……see how I’m combining mythology with science? I don’t know if it makes sense, but it seems apropos…..
Let’s see….the songs (don’t kill me if I butcher song names) I know the titles of that he sang are: Hold On To Your Love, Heart and Soul, Hell of a Day (extended version …..lots of added lines—improvised or practiced, I don’t know), Soul Thing, What I’d Say, and some other songs. He sang them fast, slow and bluesy…..he reminded me of a man in solitary confinement who needs to do something to pass time by….and thought no one was watching him even though the warden has a camera in his cell….he was soooo into the music and the singing that the audience melted away…..he sang with his eyes closed quite a bit…..probably scared him at times when he opened them up and saw all those eyes on him!!! He would then try to involve the audience by using eye contact….I don’t know, but it sure worked for me.
Lastly, he sang “Thank you For Letting Me By Myself, Again”…. I took it as a B-I-G F*** YOU to TPTB, to the America Idol show, and to the fans that want him to stay in the AI bubble……and people cheered like crazy! Before he sang it, he said (paraphrasing here): “I’m gonna sing something I haven’t sung in a long time”…and started the song…..
Oh yeah, he ended his set by doing a series of karate kicks……I don’t know why…..but it just seemed right!
The good news and the bad news.
First, the good news: It was one of the BEST shows I’ve seen in a long time. I live in the LA area, so I am lucky to be exposed to quite a bit of entertainment. It was also one of the best birthdays I’ve had…..my friend turned to me at midnight, said the obligatory Happy Birthday, and we continued to rock!
Bad news: The bar manager told us that the venue held up to 500 people…..I honestly believe there were about 80-100 people there. After Taylor sang his first set, some people left…..when LMBO finished up, there was about 30 people left…….
