Califone @ Neurolux
I'd been ramping up to this Califone show for a while. Band I love, first show I'd see in Boise, first chance to check out the nearest nightlife, get out of nesting-homebody mode for a night, etc. So I went.
Top 5 Reasons Neurolux Rocks
5. Ample, free, close parking
4. Cheap & good beer on tap
3. Space for sitting and space for standing
2. $5 cover to see CALIFONE
1. Acoustics that don't require earplugs. Lemme repeat that. A sweet venue where you don't. need. earplugs. I never thought I'd see the day.
5 Unranked Thoughts on Califone
5. They ramble a lot more live, but mostly it works, except that some of the gentler sounds get lost.
4. Rutili looks a little bit like a young Woody Allen.
3. When the drunk girl screamed in between songs, a bellowy screechy terrible sound, you could see Rutili clench his jaw and pretend not to have noticed her. Later he refused to play Michigan Girls until she shut up. Finally, she shut up. Except some other drunk guys in the back started orgling.
2. They were remarkably good-natured about all the noise. Turns out Boise people have bad concert manners. There was no encore.
1. I think that if I go to see them live again it'll need to be somewhere where I know people won't be rude and loud. I talked to one of the guys after the show at the merch table (got a silkscreen poster, ya!) and he indicated some frustration with trying to play quiet music in a loud place. No kidding.
Top 5 Types of Cute Guys at the Show, By Appeal
5. Bald-and-spectacled, left early
4. Skinny barely-legals hunched into hoodies
3. Hipster types, but with friendlier faces
2. NATURAL HIPSTERS*
1. Gangly-and-friendly professional musician with sly friend in tow
* In case you were wondering:
Basically, Califone were excellent and the crowd sucked. Except, that is, for this nice guy who ended up sitting next to me as part of a slow shuffling and moving about in between sets - long after I'd pretty much given up on making any friends, actually.
I arrived pretty early to the show - that is, the time when the opener was scheduled to start. Silly me. I went up to the bar to get a beer and wait and caught a dark-haired, bearded guy out of the corner of my eye, sidling toward me. The bartender flipped two coasters our way, assuming I was either with the guy or about to be. I felt a little awkward, though, so I never caught the guy's eye and walked off with my drink to find a seat. At first I felt dumb for missing a chance to make conversation with someone, for behaving like a shy bumpkin instead of a confident newcomer. I didn't feel so bad a few minutes later when I glanced back and saw him leaning salaciously over some blonde. Ew. Besides, he decidedly resembled B. Grainier. Double ew.
I smiled at a few other people with whom I was able to make eye contact but didn't really get any conversation going with anyone. Most people were attending as couples or loud groups anyway. So I settled in to be quiet and just listen. A few minutes later I found myself chatting with an animated and friendly guy close to my age, new to the area like me, who'd come to the show on a whim and dragged his roommate along. We name-checked some bands, talked about Califone, cracked some jokes, and in general had a bit of fun conversation. Turns out he plays in the Boise Philharmonic. He was excited for us to hang out next time I'm in Boise, so I'm excited too - I've got someone to hang out in Boise with! The city is suddenly a thousand times less intimidating. (I mean, Boise's small, and very navigable, but there's just something about not having to explore it solo) I'll be back up there this weekend for the farmer's markets (and possibly a contradance), so hopefully we can meet up then. We'll see...
p.s. He says he can totally get me free tix to the orchestra's performances. Champion!