An Evening With The Raveonettes

I had the pleasure of seeing The Raveonettes at The El Rey Theater last Tuesday... and they put on SUCH a great show!

I met Matt there and we got there pretty early - well 7:30 for an 8:00 show - and we got to stand right in FRONT of the stage! It was the closest I've ever been at a concert and it was SO fun!

But every positive has to have a negative. This negative was the opening band, Be Your Own Pet.
Now coming out they looked cool. They were a bunch of 19 year old rockers who had been performing for 3 years. They had the retro-hip cool, a punky blonde singer, etc. It seemed like a recipe for success.

Then the music started. It was so loud I think I leaked a little brain fluid. Then it sorta sounded like everyone was screaming all at once while getting kicked in the balls.

And I'm pretty sure EVERYONE had balls-that-were-being-kicked.
I think she has like 50 balls. That were being kicked. Even the guitars had balls, and yes, the guitars were kicked. HARD.
Halfway through the performance, I started thinking of alternate titles for them.
"Ball Stompers"
"My nuts hurt worse then your ears"
"I wish your head pain"
"You'll feel this in the morning"None of them really stuck. I was kind of fond of "Ear Bleeding Symphony", but then something miraculous happened. The singer started shaking, tucked into a Sonic The Hedgehog style pose, and proceeded to run about the stage, slamming into the guys and knocking the microphone post over on my head (I caught it, so no lawsuit). Kinda like a blonde Tasmanian Devil.

She then did something.... amazing.
She pulled her Go**amn hair out.
Yeah, I know, but look at the photo.

Closer!
CLOSER!


YES people, I sh** you not, she pulled her freaking hair out LIVE on stage. It was something to behold.

After the ball-stomping-screeching stopped, the girl behind me in the crowd tapped me on the shoulder politely and said...
"Uhm... did... did she just pull her hair out?"
I can't make this stuff up.

So here's a big shout out to Be Your Own Pet. I will suffer for 30 minutes of your excruciatingly bad 'music' if you pull your hair out, anytime, any place. Now granted, I have no musical talent of any form, but even I would draw the line and ripping follicles for a show. You my peeps!

OK, after they swept the hair up (not kidding) they set up for my favorite Danish 50's/60's Americana style music band: THE RAVEONETTES!!!!!!!!
And Lordy Lordy I was so close!
So close I saw the whole set list! I was like....
"Hey Sune... how about Love In A Trashcan? Oh wait... that's in 2 songs. Cool man, you do your thing."
Hey SDG (Superhot Drummer Girl) - what'd those drums do to you?
Hey SDG - ever play Rock Band?
Sharin looks like Jesus here. Hi baby Jeebus!
"We are so close! WOO!"
Matt's now a fan of The Raveonettes! Altho I think he secretly liked Ear Bleeding Hair Assassination better. OMG I just named them! Yay!
They did a fantastic set of songs, some new, some old, all the hits.
I loved the lighting too... but really, being close enough to be sweat upon was the kicker.
But I think Sharin sweats rainbows. Of gold.....
KIDDING! Platinum!
With puppies and kittens!
Me = in heaven! See, the Extendo-Arm(TM) comes in even handier in concerts!
"Look ma, no zoom needed!"

I have to confess, I did get an accidental Stalker Eyes(TM). I know what you are thinking - was Angela there? Sadly, my babygirl was at home - however, Manuel, the papparazzi who was snapping photos, was apparently a wee bit angry I was upstaging his camera skillz...
"I KEEEELL YOUUUUU WITH YOUR DIRRRTTYYY EXTENDED-ARMO, BLANCO NINO!"
Seriously, look at that expression! I'm surprised I made it home in one piece!

I did take a few videos, check this one out "Here Comes Mary". I highly recommend going to their website and buying their music if you like it! They were incredible live and I had a blast!



Well, it's all in a night's ... work.