It's a sunny Wednesday afternoon. Where am I going with a backpack?
The fun headboard, the painted walls, the lamps. I must be at a McMenamins Hotel.
Each room is named after a song and I was excited to have the "Louie, Louie" room. The very nice desk clerk told me that the song was recorded just up the street.
Here's a map of the whole hotel layout.
And here's my room's "Louie Louie" painting.
Why am I here on a weeknight? Why to see fun., of course.
You know, FUN. The band's name is fun.? It's the worst name ever, because no one has any idea what the band's name is. It's like a mini "Who's on first" conversation every time I bring them up. But if you have been anywhere near radio (including pop radio, alternative and adult contemporary formats) in the last year, you've heard fun.
Notice the ticket says "A December To Remember"? And notice it's March? The show was postponed twice, I was supposed to go on December 19, but they moved it to March. Because I decided too late I wanted to see the band, the show was sold out, so I stayed in the hotel and was able to buy a ticket.
How was fun.? fun. was fun. The band Family of the Year opened and they were great to watch. They said we were an "amazing" crowd. This was very flattering, although I'm sure they say that to all the crowds. Here's a clip from the show. This song was clearly their big hit as the sing-along got very loud. I particularly enjoyed watching the bass player, whose hair and stage mannerisms were straight out of 1994. I say that with love.
fun. was a good time. They were apparently jet-lagged, but enjoyed us as a crowd as evidenced by this clip. I was interested to see how they would sound live as there are only three of them, and yet many more sounds on their songs than three musicians can make. They solved this by having additional musicians on stage. I particularly enjoyed watching Emily Moore (at least that's what Wikipedia says her name is) who played a lot of instruments. I learned the lead singer's sister lives in Portland, which was an interesting fact. And I particularly enjoyed hearing "The Gambler." Here's a clip of "Carry On."
Notice the ticket says "A December To Remember"? And notice it's March? The show was postponed twice, I was supposed to go on December 19, but they moved it to March. Because I decided too late I wanted to see the band, the show was sold out, so I stayed in the hotel and was able to buy a ticket.
How was fun.? fun. was fun. The band Family of the Year opened and they were great to watch. They said we were an "amazing" crowd. This was very flattering, although I'm sure they say that to all the crowds. Here's a clip from the show. This song was clearly their big hit as the sing-along got very loud. I particularly enjoyed watching the bass player, whose hair and stage mannerisms were straight out of 1994. I say that with love.
fun. was a good time. They were apparently jet-lagged, but enjoyed us as a crowd as evidenced by this clip. I was interested to see how they would sound live as there are only three of them, and yet many more sounds on their songs than three musicians can make. They solved this by having additional musicians on stage. I particularly enjoyed watching Emily Moore (at least that's what Wikipedia says her name is) who played a lot of instruments. I learned the lead singer's sister lives in Portland, which was an interesting fact. And I particularly enjoyed hearing "The Gambler." Here's a clip of "Carry On."
Thanks for including the clips with your post. I'm enjoying listening to them as I type. I'm like this Family of the Year song. I'm glad you had such a nice time. And as this is appearing on O&A and not Orange Door, I assume Matt did not join you for the fun. :)
ReplyDeleteI love how the lead singer keeps smiling at the crowd as they are singling with him. I love singing with bands. Though I have been told to hush by my companions before. I know, we came to see and here them, not me. But oh how I love being part of the collective whole! Its such a nice song.
ReplyDeleteNope. Matt does not find fun. fun. In fact, they drive him crazy, due to overplaying. And WHO DOESN'T LIKE SINGING ALONG AT CONCERTS????? They completely don't get it. If I were a singer in a band, or in a band at all, I'd be thrilled when people sang along because it meant that my songs were known by people.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, I've heard that Hero song twice in two days. It seems to be picking up speed on the radio playlists here. Or maybe it has been being played and I just never heard it. I really only hear radio in the car and I'm not often in the car lately.
AND. Though it was very weird to have 1/3 of the crowd filming bits and pieces of the concert, it's kind of fun that it turns up on YouTube. I was particularly delighted to find the banter, as it was amusing. And, truth be told, I couldn't see all that well, so watching people's phones gave me a better view.
Back to the singing issue.
ReplyDeleteFor instance. A moment that wouldn't happen if people didn't sing along: when the singer sings a part and then holds his microphone out to the audience. If everyone was just listening, there wouldn't be any lyrics at that point. That wouldn't be fun.
And, to quote Bob Seger, from "Rock and Roll Never Forgets": The rafters will be rining because the beat's so strong. The crowd will be swaying and singing along.
So if Bob Seger says it's a good thing, it's a good thing.
Not singing at concerts. Peh.
Thank you for validating my singing. My feelers were pretty hurt by that nameless friend's commentary. I am also quiet glad to know that we are concert compatible. Besides The Crazy Horse, have we ever? I cannot seem to bring to mind a concert outing. Whenever we would have had the opportunity to do so, our tastes were pretty far apart. And, truth be told, I am not a great remembered of these things. Did we see the Nylons at the BRF together, or was that only Smilee-ville? We must have seen something together at the "See you there at the Fair" WIF. Being old stinks, I just can't remember...
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm jealous that you got to see fun.! I love them. They came through Austin a couple of months back but I didn't hear about it until the night of the concert so I never even got to decide if I might like to drive down to see them. :(
ReplyDelete