Generally if I'm going to walk into Jake's, it's only going to be on a Thursday night (because come on, who can pass up giant mugs of 25 cent beer?), and I know before stepping foot in the place that I'm going to be surrounded on all sides by fratastic flat billed hats and polo shirts. It's the sacrifice I make for cheap booze.
(Photos by David Hassell)
So when I walked in Wednesday night I was more than pleasantly surprised (and kind of mystified) at my surroundings. It was like all the kids from The Vid decided to take a field trip down the street (and who could blame them either, dollar PBR all night!). But it made me like being at Jake's much, much more than I usually do.
And not only was the atmosphere unobjectionable, the music was awesome too (another thing I've become accustomed to at Jake's are the mediocre cover bands that play the same sets every. single. time.). I rolled in around 10:30 and unfortunately missed all of Kentucky Nightmare's set except for the last minute or so of their last song. I was bummed. But anyway, that last minute was awesome, so I'm sure the rest of the set was great too. Hopefully I'll catch them again soon.
I hadn't heard Nurses before last night, but my virgin ears were pleased with their performance. It was fairly keyboard and drum heavy, which is good. I'm a pretty big fan of keyboards and drums. The band was really into their entire set too, which is so important. They actually got so much support from the crowd that members in the audience were calling for an encore after they finished up their last song--and I've never heard that for an opening band. Kind of wouldn't minded if they played one more song, either.
But they didn't, and the show moved on. Maps & Atlases rocked just as much as I remember them rocking last spring when they opened for Margot & the Nuclear So and So's at the Buskirk-Chumley. I was just as impressed last night as I was last spring, especially with their guitar work. It's not often you see a band utilizing the high end of the fret board that way, and its definitely something different (in a really good way).
My only problem with their set was the length-it just seemed way too short. But I guess this is a good thing, in a way.
I've always thought Jake's was a perfect place for live music, and have always been dissapointed at their inability to utilize this as much as possible with good music, so I'm really glad they're finally on track to get it right.
- Post by Deanna Krinn - Photos by David Hassell
