The Secret Machines came out and hit the audience with a wall of sound like a ton of bricks. In their atypical stage arrangement, the drummer was at the front of the stage on the left and facing his bandmates stage right. With the very first song, I could feel the bass drum thumping in my chest. It was awesome and the first song right away set the bar for one of the best performances of the year at the club. I loved the Secret Machine's brand of shoegaze-influenced indie rock, and I thought they were noticeably better than when I saw them at the 9:30 Club a year and a half ago. There was one super-slow song in the middle of the set that just seemed interminable, but otherwise every song was just amazing. The sound mix was excellent.
Best light show of the year by far, I'd say, though of course it's not like I attend every show or anything, so I cannot say definitvely, but it was one of the best I've seen at the club. Really I'd have to go back to last year's Billy Corgan show for a better light show, and I reckon that light show is unbeatable.
It was great fun hanging out with Bags and her posse. Tom Servo, I'm sorry we missed you. Hopefully next time....
