I saw this band about a year ago here in Chicago. This time around I attended the show in Milwaukee with my brother and his girlfriend at The Rave/Eagles Ballroom. What is interesting about this venue is that there is in fact four venues housed within the same building. This show took place in the 800 person capacity room in the basement of the building. If you have a chance to catch a show in this small venue check it out. The show was not sold out and there were probably only a few hundred people there. This band is not quite as popular in Milwaukee as they are here in Chicago. This may be due to Chicago being a haven for indie rock snobs… who knows. Anywho, the audience consisted of a weird variety of people. Hippies, middle age folks, younger kids, indie rockers – you name it and they were there.
Anyways, some notes on the show: We situated ourselves in the front row and had a perfect view of the band… and their hair. Let me repeat that… and their HAIR. For kicks, check out pictures of these guys online. They have a ton of hair. Now in regards to their sound, they have been compared to a mix of Neil Young, southern rock and the Flaming Lips. Essentially this is an easy band to like. Poppy enough, rocking enough, etc. etc. They put on a great show and have consistent music. Put simply, they love to perform and will entertain you.
I think that the highlight of the performance was the inflatable ghost that they had on stage for the encore. It was probably about six feet tall and had a glowing light in its head. During the encore the guitarist’s cable got hooked to the bottom of the ghost… so when the guitarist moved, the ghost moved. He took notice of this and decided to have the ghost move in time with the music. Good stuff. Nothing beats a dancing ghost!
Oh and as a bonus I am now 2 for 2 in regards to getting set lists at MMJ shows. People in Milwaukee must not like set lists… this was the easiest one I have ever gotten. I just asked a security guy to hand it to me. No competition for it whatsoever. Crazy Wisconsin folks, put down the cheese and crappy beer.. try to get a set list if you like the band !!!!
Sorry you missed out on the debauchery in Chicago Leah…
As a side note gyros are good after a night of drinking. Thank you Grecian Delight ! – Evan.
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