there are certain sounds that always bring me back to the happy-go-lucky carefree days of my childhood: my mother's smiling whisper, afternoon school recess, and the indestructible toy glockenspeil. but before i knew it i reached my tween years and without any notice the inevitable young adultchild that i had become the frequent sounds had changed to the parental stare of judgment, that dreaded computer hum and the at most two year shelf-life of the mp3 player (you know which one i'm talking about...genius btw). but let's talk about the glockenspeil. a percussion instrument that's similar to the xylophone except the glockenspeil has metal bars unlike the wooden bars of the xylophone. what makes the glockenspeil special is it's pitch. higher than the xylophone it seems more delicate of a sound like that of a bell and you remember what teacher says what happens when a bell rings...in this case a dutchman is getting lit ;) fyi: glockenspeil enthusiasts know that the original glockenspeil had used bells instead of the metal bars. its subtle but it gives you goosebumps when applied correctly which freelance whales does perfectly.
I had bought the tickets in advance after listening to their debut album, "Weathervanes." apparently i have seen/heard Freelance before: they had opened for Fanfarlo: one my favorite bands of 2009-present day. by association i was introduced to Freelance Whales by their album i went to their concert. and from what i read their favorite venue to play is in the subway stops of Brooklyn which is one reason The Echo is an ideal place..their home away from home?
Upon further reading, Weathervanes tells the "story of a boy who falls in love with a ghost." which certainly the story for most Angelinos myself included...when i was younger i often looked up to the moon and whispered to myself with hope and optimism, "somwhere [my soulmate is] looking at the same moon" which has changed slightly to: as i look over the los angeles basin: through the cluster of skyscrapers, thousands of buildings, through the congested freeways, underneath the smog, and amongst the millions of people, "that mofo is somewhere down there." yet still hopeful.
Freelance Whales' music is multilayered so much that you feel there's a hellofa lot going on which can be overwhelming but when its arranged so sweetly its as good as Freelance. every single band member of freelance offers their vocals during many of their songs which in turn gets the crowd getting involved as well. song after song at the sold out freelance concert everyone was singing and moving to the music which you can't help but join in as well.
as for Bear in Heaven and Cymbals Eat Guitars. I had gone to the show for Freelance Whales (as many other people in attendance had done as well) the lineup wasn't ideal as Freelance had gone first. by the time i ordered and drank my first alcoholic stress reliever Freelance was finished with their set :( on any other evening i would have probably enjoyed the other two bands. but i couldn't get into it. however, i took a listen to Bear in Heaven's album, "Beast Rest Forth Mouth" and i enjoyed psychedelic/electronic blend i'll probably save it for the much anticipated roadtrip. as for cymbals eat guitars if you enjoy the guitar solo he's your guy. i, however, enjoyed the bass and drums...but i think the main attraction to this group is the guitar. lets not forget about the keyboards (even if i couldn't hear it that much..sorta just waiting for this guy to bring the band bottled water..but he was there playing along). if the gallons of sweat on the stage and on the first row of concert enthusiasts is any indication of how intense this guy plays well then you've got yourself a winner: get him a stuffed animal and some cotton candy and let's go to the carnival!
enjoy the music.
on the topic of character attributes: rudeness. talking on your cellphone in a movie theater: rude. when there's traffic on the 101 and an asinine driver cuts in front of you: rude. taking the last bit of cotton candy that doesn't belong to you: rude. not responding to a friend: rude. positive or negative it as i'm told can help quite a bit. getting what you want at the cost of someone else's feelings: not so rude? more times than not i find myself standing directly behind someone who just arrived at any given concert venue. they pushed their way through and found the spot they wanted to stand in which coincidentally is the same spot i've already been standing in. i'm no tall glass of water BUT i do have feelings dude do not stand in front of me: rude. except he/she sought what they wanted and went for it. now they have the perfect pole position to enjoy the concert. maybe there's not as much of thin line between rude and that's life. either way consideration never hurt anybody. speaking of consideration or lack thereof, dude i don't care if you're the cousin twice removed from the bass player. stop yelling it to the person you're trying to impress. either take it outside or away from people who are trying to enjoy the music. whatever you were saying probably could have been written in an email, ichat, facebook message (everyone actually enjoys receiving notifications) or maybe quite possibly wait til after the concert...think about it. i paid with money that i worked for and not with money i really don't care for and would like to burn on loud obnoxious people.
enjoy the music (except for that guy who insisted on yelling and wasn't part of the musical acts you can enjoy bad karma).
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