hello! it was a weekend filled with love:

Stars @ House of BLues San Diego
8mm @ THe Roxy
Swell Season @ 4th&B

i say love because all 3 bands are what love sounds like. So, expect a few posts by the end of the week. I’m swamped with life right now so bear with me…

~AT

PS: im seeing KT Tunstall @ The Avalon on tuesday so expect that as well.

The openers were terrible- a cock rock band that didn’t fit called culture killers and miss derringer who looked great but she had no presence and we could barely hear her.

Anyways, onto the show. I’ve seen IAMX 3 times before- my first time in London and the 2nd and 3rd time in Los Angeles at Safari Sam’s.
Tonight, were standing between Tom and Chris to the left side of the stage and i could see fairly well until some tall asshole pushed his way to the front. He ended up blocking my sight toward Janine (keyboards, backing vocals, bass) for most of the night. The El Rey is probably my favorite venue in Los Angeles to see shows because its a beautiful theatre and they always have pretty great sound. However, i thought the vocals could have been turned up a bit more. Also, i thought the show was missing something. The band was into the show but compared to the other IAMX shows i went to in March, it felt completely different and less impersonal. Chris and Janine wasn’t interacting with the crowd as much, it seemed like Chris was dancing less and the performance wasn’t as over the top as past shows. It was strange considering most of the crowd around me was singing and dancing along. I even recognized a handful of the people in the very front that were also at the Safari Sam shows. But, Tom was really engaging with the audience- he was working the crowd for most of the night. The set also seemed short because there weren’t that many songs played off of Kiss+ Swallow. Also, most of the great visuals that were projected last tour seemed to be for the tracks off of Kiss+ Swallow. I was disappointed that Missile and Mercy weren’t played.

Setlist :

01 - The Alternative
02 - Bring Me Back A Dog
03 - Skin Vision,
04 - After Every Party I Die (i really love this song live)
05 - The Negative Sex
06 - Nightlife
07 - President
08 - Kiss & Swallow
09 - Spit it Out
Encore:
10 - The Clash
11 - Song of Imaginary Beings
12 - Your Joy is My Low (always really fun)

Don’t get me wrong, the show was really great and the band sounded more tight than before. I still think that IAMX is probably one of the most natural performers around with amazing live shows. I mean how many performers do you see who embodies the music so fully, looks like the music they make and has a band that’s as visually stunning and sexy as the music? But, as the band gets bigger, i think the gigs will completely change and i know they will be able to accommodate the larger crowds.

The show was sponsored by Indie 103.1 at the NHM. I haven’t been back to the museum since I resigned in June. So, i jumped at the chance for a free show. But, unlike First Fridays, only the main halls were open to walk around. I didn’t think the show was that great- i think it was hard for the bands because the crowd wasn’t that into the show. When the opener, Gram Rabbit came on the crowd was unresponsive. On top of that, the stage was extremely small and Jessicka barely had enough room to move around. I did enjoy the band’s custumes though- they were satan worshipers and it was fitting due to the band’s material. During the middle of the set, interpretive dancers came out to blow bubbles into the audience. During the band’s cover of White Rabbit, a white rabbit came out on stage and bounced through the audience. I thought that was a nice touch. I’ve heard a few of the group’s songs prior to the show and i liked what i heard but live, they weren’t that inspiring. Jesicka’s voice sounded a lot more monotone, the guitars more repetitive, etc.

From what i can remember, they played:
american hookers
my book
the rest of us sleep
white rabbit
something fuzzy and a few more songs.

On to the Horrorpops, i only stayed for 4 songs. I left early because the event had started late and i was exhausted from Tegan and Sara. The bands didn’t go on until 10 when doors were at 8pm.

Gram Rabbit:

Horrorpops: