I wish I could’ve gotten to the show earlier to set up. My dragging ass not only missed an opportunity to record the Bare Wires, I didn’t set up in time to get So Cow’s entire set. Combined with some weird guitar-mic issues, I properly recorded only about six songs of their face-melting set.

Listening to So Cow’s self-titled album is a bit like time travel to me. When I throw it on, it takes me back to my salad days, when I had a lot of time, little responsibility and a few punk cassettes — Descendents, Ramones, etc.

Back then my musical tastes demanded lots of energy and melody. I had been through a metal phase and found punk to be so much more powerful. It was the first music I heard that made me jump around and sing along. (Mind you, this was right before NOFX’s Punk In Drublic and Green Day’s Dookie became the mainstream definition of punk rock; I had yet to become jaded with the formula.)

If I had a cassette of So Cow’s album when I was 12, I probably would’ve worn it out while trying to ollie over bricks in a church parking lot. Brian Kelly’s songs have the pop-hooks and speed of the Descendents combined with the chord mastery of the Beatles. Or to put it simply, So Cow is a fast Beatles.

Which is why I was so surprised by the band’s comments during and after the set that the songs were played too fast. The band doesn’t sound like they’re rushing through the songs — it sounded like it had energy. Yet, before starting “Ain’t No Fun,” my mics picked up the bass player saying, “It needs to slow way the fuck down.”

But what-the-fuck-ever, decide for yourself:

One final note: though the So Cow set was great, the highlight of the night was during the Bare Wires’ last song, “Young Love.” At the climax of the song, Melton and the bassist (don’t know his name) had obviously planned to jump into the crowd. But when Matt jumped in, he unplugged his guitar, so the song went from loud and rockin’ to quiet and confused.

Maybe I’m the only one who finds that funny because I’m a critical asshole. Whatever… Subscribe to the singles club!

Things here at Lemon Session HQ have gotten seriously hectic with the Singles Club 2010 being announced and my entrance into show promotion here in the Bay Area. Between mailing dozens of records every day, and trying to find time to post fliers around Berkeley and Oakland, all the while being EXTREMELY lazy… it’s just left me with no time to do anything useful for this label.

So, onto doing something useful: Don’t forget to purchase a subscription to the Lemon Session Singles Club 2010. There’s still time to buy one, and economy be damned! — you can join for $12.* (Yes, that star means there’s stuff you should read at the bottom of this post that concerns money, mainly paying me money.) Click here to sign up.

For all youse wonderful people who have a singles club subscription and come to this blog regularly for all the free shit I give away, I happily present a live recording Snake Flower 2 from just last year.

I’ve been a fan of Snake Flower 2 ever since I saw them opening for Los Llamarada at their first show in California. I wasn’t planning on recording them and after their first song, I kicked myself for being so lazy. Since I had brought video equipment to film Los Llamarada, I should’ve at least turned on one of the cameras to capture singer/guitarist Matthew Melton, complete with shoulder-length hair, ironic mustache, and a long sleeve shirt-&-tie combo that made him look like he was attending a wedding — rocking a strat strapped so high on his body that it could’ve been an oversized necklace.

They didn’t play the tightest set but I could tell the songs were there, which inspired me to buy the $5 promo CD of their (at the time) upcoming album, Renegade Daydream. From I head that first drum roll on “Flight Of The Navigator,” I knew I had stumbled upon a hidden treasure.

Flash forward a few years to 2009, where the band, now with a new lineup and Matt on bass/vocals, opens for 4-track rockers the Idle Times. The band played a huge chunk of new material and ended with some serious hits from “Renegade.”

Here’s my recording:

While setting up the recording equipment for the show, Matt introduced me to a lady named Nicole who would be filming the show. While waiting for the band to set up, we talked a little about geek stuff like cameras and recording equipment. Turns out she was a student at Expressions college, the art college with an $80,000-a-year tuition, which gives her access FOREVER to their equipment and studios. (Sounds cool, but that is WAAAYYY to much for schooling.)

In the middle of the band’s set, I walked away from my set up to take some pictures. As I made my way through the crowd, I saw Nicole, camera-less, watching the show, while another guy stood next to her and videotaped the show. Now I’m not an expert on shooting video, but if you have two people available, why not bring two cameras? Even if you’re not trained professionally, it’s not hard to use a camera.

Also, what kind of education are you paying $80,000-a-year for if you don’t know to bring a tripod to a video shoot?

Next post — some videos from my personal collection? Fuck yes.

*The plan is 5 payments of $12 and if you are one of the first 200 to sign up, you get the newest Bundle of Fags 7″ as well as other bonuses! Buy now!