It’s been a busy week at work for me, so apologize for not being around on the site much lately. I’m psyched because I finally got my photos uploaded from a busy end of last week for me, and I can finally reflect on this killer music that I got to see. Last Thursday night brought the boys in Apollo Sunshine and Big Light together at 12 Galaxies, a cool club right in the heart of the Mission district. I enjoyed the show quite a bit front to back, and still managed to get home and make it to work by 9am the next day. Not bad.
The opening set by Big Light ended up running a bit long, obviously because they were playing to a pretty friendly crowd of hometown friends. Musically, I wasn’t all that blown away but I wouldn’t mind catching them again if the mood was right. It wasn’t that the band did anything majorly wrong. It just seemed like they were playing their heart out and really getting deep into their own music, except it just kinda fell flat to me. It seemed like they were trying harder than they normally would, as if they actually believed they were truly playing their heart out but they were stuck in that moment instead of actually being lost in it. There was just something about it that didn’t really jive with me, so we’ll have to see what comes of them next as they get out on the road and get comfortable in front of the crowds, especially festivals. They’re playing High Sierra Music Festival this weekend, so I have no doubt that we’ll more from these guys and they’ll continue to progress as a cohesive unit.
Apollo Sunshine got ready and set up soon after the opening set teardown, and only took a five minute break or so before they got right to the music. The new stuff sounded absolutely fantastic, but the highlights for me were definitely “666: The Coming of The New World Government,” “Magnolia,” and “Better Change Your Mind,” the three songs I was probably most familiar with. There was some great new stuff, though. The JamBase crew was there, too, and their review reminded me that the autoharp got used once or twice, which seems to be all the rages these days (ahem, “Touch Me I’m Going to Scream Part II”). Also, there was this amazing bass-driven song that just kinda grooved for a good couple minutes. After the song stopped, the band looked somewhat surprised like they hadn’t nailed the song like they wanted to, but I remember it being a standout.
There’s some solid stuff coming out of this band lately. I can’t wait to hear the new album. This show on the Archive from March is somewhat close to what I was hearing that night, except that killer bass track is missing from the performance that evening. Also, there’s that new single which you can watch them play live below:
Apollo Sunshine – “666: The Coming of the New World…” [YouTube]
Finally, I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit this but I decided to start trying out my hand at semi-professional concert photography at this show. You’ll notice that the only photos I’m actually putting in this post are the ones that came straight from my iPhone, because well, none of the photos that came off the SLR are usable. At least at first glance. I may drop them in at some point, maybe as a before and after thing. “This is the first time I went to shoot photos…this is what my photos look like now…” etc. etc. I think you can still get a feel for the night by checking out what I was able to snap up close and with computer-aided auto light adjustment.
Oh well. Everyone’s a beginner when you start, so expect better photos from me soon. I need Paul to write me a tutorial. Scroll on for the cameraphone flashback…
Big Light
Apollo Sunshine
My full set of photos is up on the LMB Flickr page. Check it.
