Monday, April 13, 2009

Surprise!

Carrie's birthday was on March 29 but she didn't get to enjoy it because she was swamped with work.  I decided to throw a post-birthday surprise party in conjunction with her mom so she could finally hang with her friends.  Success!  She had no idea.  I got a cake from Sweet Mandy B's (best place ever).  Almond cake with coffee frosting - it was phenomenal.  After the fact, we went to Joe's on Weed for the "farewell" concert by a local cover band called Then Again.  The reason why farewell is in quotes is because the ticket said "Farewell Concert '09," which I found to be hilarious.  Something tells me they'll be back but in the meantime, I won't hold my breath.  For the exact reason why our 80's party was awesome (great playlist, not the overplayed standards), these guys weren't.  First, they played Sweet Child of Mine by Guns n' Roses but didn't play the guitar solo due to lack of talent, which is really the only reason to play this song.  They played the standards, and only the standards, including what I think are the top three most hackneyed (love that word) songs in this quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy:

1.  Journey - Don't Stop Believin
2.  Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me
3.  Bon Jovi - Livin On A Prayer

For #3, not only did they cop out again by not going up an octave on the last chorus, THEY PLAYED THE SONG TWICE!!!!  Once acoustic, then regular later on.  This is completely unacceptable behavior as a cover band, or any band.  The fourth Bon Jovi song signaled it was long past time to go.   Oh, and as you can see, if you didn't know already, I'm an unapologetic music snob.  

One bright spot - they had a guest singer who came on periodically and was very good.  I took a video, which will hopefully work.  The singer's name is Gina Glocksen.  American Idol buffs may know her as a top 10 finalist in the sixth season.  I saw her sing somewhere before and therefore knew this fact despite not being an American Idol buff.  I don't watch it, I promise!  Anyways, she does a great Kelly Clarkson impression, except it may be hard to tell because the sound quality is bad until the chorus.  

"My Life Would Suck Without Then Again featuring Gina Glocksen"


Bottom line: As far as cover bands go, Then Again is definitely no Monsters of Mock.  

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