Great times in the Peach District last night! It’s always a cool vibe and a great time at the Dragonfly, but the Peachi Crew went above and beyond last night and made their “Surf’s Up” the most fun we’ve had yet!
We were in the opening slot, with two bands (Tin Armor and The Compressions) to follow, with various comedians and entertainments sprinkled throughout. We set up and sound checked, then hopped out to mingle among the incoming crowd and admire the ambiance – the Peachi Guys ‘n Gals went all out, complete with a back-projected beach scene on the wall behind the stage, hula hoops and a drink selection that was at the perfect nexus of price and tastiness. A comedienne was up first to warm things up, and brought everything from a soundtrack (Elvis singing “Be Bop a Lula”, anyone?) to mini-surfboards for instant public tomfoolery. The Peach District proved once again to be the place where anything goes, as Zach and another Peacher went toe-to-toe in a surf-off on the mini boards. Leis were doled out to the crowd – which by this point was bigger than any we’ve played to yet – and in short order they were calling out the Surfici to take the stage and get things salty!
We started our set with a straight-shot of three songs – Rumble, Joker’s Wild and our own Tough Crowd in Hartepool – which seemed to do the trick of throwing the groove down right away. The crowd proved to be a lot of fun from the start – pockets of dancing broke out right away, and beach balls were flying through the air for the entire set. There was even an appearance by a squirrel/fox-clad gyrator, complete with bushy tail and ears, and I spent the rest of the night kicking myself for missing a chance to make a joke by somehow combining Sciurus niger and a Nut Zippers reference. You don’t get that chance every day!
Brief Aside: It’s always fun to watch people cut loose to instro surf, because it seems to bring out the reckless abandon in everyone. The tried-and-true “stand and nod” works just as it does with more vocalized genres, but something about surf just encourages people to get crazy. Once one person tosses out the “Hang-Ten Egyptian” move, its like a flag in the sand that anything goes and it’s all good in the Pipeline!
And speaking of Pipeline… Yours Truly had a very un-sentient moment when he didn’t stick the drop-in for the first verse! Thankfully, if anyone but the three of us noticed it was long forgotten by the mini-solo-bridge before the last time through, as we were treated to a nice helpin’ of “nod-and-rock-approvingly-at-soloing-instrumentalists” – which is always appreciated!
Things really started cooking the last half of the set. Cassowary was a treat, as we were finally able to throw it out there in all its snarltwangy epicness. The Apes of Wrath has quickly become a crowd favorite, with the double-drum craziness of the Drumbuie and LFEC pushing the crowd right over the edge, and everyone seemed to enjoy carving up the four final songs and riding it on home with us.
Needless to say we have to throw out a big, seawatery thank you to everyone who came out and surfed it up with us last night. The three of us have been playing music for years – decades, if I’m being old and honest – and we all agreed that last night’s show was some of the most fun we’ve ever had on a stage. This was, really, the first time we’ve been able to fully cut our songs loose in front of a live crowd, and having that energy right up against the stage, breathing and breaking and cutting right along with us, was both a joy and a privilege. We just hope everyone went home with the same amped-up grins you sent us off with!
So another great time at the Peach District, and we look forward to reverberating the walls of the Dragonfly again in the near future!
— The Six-String Sapien
