Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Thrashers Live On The Sunset Strip

Saturday night kicked serious, um, bottom.

Why?

Basically, because of this young man.

Meet Brandon. This young man Rocks. I know that lots of people say, "This Rocks," and, "That Rocks," and all they mean is that they consider those things to be very cool. Well, those people need to discontinue their use of the word, "Rock," because Rock is a real thing. You cannot Rock unless you are playing rock music, live, for an audience. That is when you Rock.

And Brandon Rocks.

Brandon is my friend Scott's nine year old son. And Brandon is in a band called The Thrashers. Now, I know people are naturally tempted to say, "Aw, how cute. A band of nine year olds." Well, Saturday night The Thrashers took the stage at the Whisky A Go Go and they played a brand of hard rock that borders on metal. So, you know, shut up already with the, "cute."

There you have it. The above picture is epic, because that is Brandon standing in front of our dining table with my hand holding a ticket in front of him to see The Thrashers perform at the Whisky A Go Go on March 21, 2010. A genuine Rock Star standing in our home. (If only there'd been time to play Wii.)

The Whisky. A rock landmark. If you need me to explain that, well, then it would be a waste of my time and yours because then Rock is clearly not your thing. But if you have ever liked a band that became famous after The Whisky was established in 1964, basically everyone who came after The Beatles, then that band played at The Whisky.

Their name in lights. How on Earth did I not pause long enough to point at their name?

We walked inside just before the band came down the stairs. Phew!

Time to rock! The moment they started their first song, they kicked the crowd's ass. Literally. They rocked the house. Barbie and I almost instantly started bouncing our heads to the beat, because this band is tight.

I snuck over to the side of the stage to snap a close pic of Brandon on the keyboard, but I could not get one of him looking my way. No, I did not shout, "Yo! Brandon! Look over here!"

Rock star lights.

My friend's son is THERE. I cannot tell you how awesomely surreal it is to see your friend's son on stage. And when I say, "my friend," allow me to elaborate. I have an extremely clear memory of sitting behind him on the first day of seventh grade science class and looking at his jacket that was covered with bowling patches. To this day I can only wish to bowl as well as twelve year old Scott. I was, for those who want to know, still eleven at the time. That was 29 years and six months go.

So, you know, the almsot thirty year long dotted line in my memory from the first day of seventh grade to the stage at the Whisky A Go Go on Saturday night represents a simply amazing journey. A shame I cannot map out that dotted line for you with google maps.

They sincerely rocked. There is nothing "kiddie" about The Thrashers. I did not think about it until now, but just the idea that young people can care about music that has nothing to do with the Disney Channel brings a tear.

The Thrashers rocked so hard that Barbie had to move closer to the stage to rock out and wave her arms.

Rock star lights, indeed.

After their set, The Thrashers went upstairs to meet with their adoring fans at their merch table. The floor had been full, which is pretty fantastic considering they are based in Northern California.

Brandon signing the back of my Thrashers poster. We bought a CD, a t-shirt for her, a t-shirt for him, and a poster.

After the show, we all met up at Mel's Drive In down the Sunset Strip.

Many a not awful meal has been served to a club goer under that roof. Yes, I chose those words carefully.

Brandon with one of his fans.

Seriously, this was a wonderful night. Ever since I went to see Electric Six last November at the Key Club, I have been keenly aware of how much I miss live music. Specifically, live music in clubs. Clubs where you stand five to twenty feet from the stage. To me, that is music. I am not a man of resolutions, but I intend to go to more live music. Fortunately that includes when The Thrashers return to the Whisky next month.

Brandon's sister, Izzy, makes a Colossal Waste appearance in the night's final pic, titled, "That sundae is as big as your head."

1 comment:

  1. Very cute and nostalgic, assuming that's a Lurie? Yo Mamma

    ReplyDelete