When you buy presents for people do you buy exactly what they want or do you buy something that you like, and hope they do to? I lean towards the latter, which would explain the three boxes of custom-made See’s Candies I’m hoarding now (all dark choco and mostly crunchy). A large part of the reason we throw a holiday party each years is… well… because we want to party with all our friends and have our favorite bands play. This year was no exception. The first three bands I asked to play: Avi Buffalo, Repeater, and Dios (albeit an abridged version) were all down so I knew we were heading in the right direction
Another reason we throw a party is because of The Prospector in Long Beach. It’s such a great place to gather a hundred or so people to drink some beer and hear some music. Cory, Ryan, Crash and I all got there early and grabbed a bite to eat which was the perfect way to start the night. Thanks to a coupon from a local paper, we got two steak dinners, a one-pound prime rib dinner, filet n’ lobster and some drinks for $75, amazing… right? The timing was perfect because as we finished Repeater were setting up their gear in the bar.
Repeater have been around for a while, even playing our only SXSW party a few years back, and they keep getting better. I have a feeling a large reason for this is because they just finished a lengthy recording session with legendary producer, Ross Robinson. I think the album just needs to be mastered then it should hit the streets, hopefully, mid next year.
I had asked Dios to play but a couple members were out of town so Joel and Ed brought Joel’s brother Kevin to play with them and they rocked a stripped down version that we won’t refer to as Dios (lite). Joel played last year with his other band, Underground Railroad to Candyland, and it was great to have him back again. I only got to catch about half of the set because I was giving Cory a break at the hot chocolate and ice cream table. I did hear a couple songs off their, frickin’-awesome, soon to be released album on Buddyhead and wish I coulda seen their whole set, including Brandon’s bongo jam
I’ve been on the Avi Buffalo bandwagon for quite a while now and was happy they were able to make it to the party. They had another gig earlier that evening up north so we had them play last so they wouldn’t be rushed at getting to the Prospector. Everyone was a bit tipsy by the time they hit the stage and I think this helped Avi loosen up and rock out their set a bit more than normal. The last time I saw them they were opening for Vampire Weekend at the Art Theater and they stuck to a more conventional six-to-seven song set. They did finish things off with another blistering version of “Remember Last Time.” I can only imagine not knowing of Avi and coming to see them play with that song finishing out the night. It’s a great way to make new fans and put an exclamation point on the end of a wonderful evening.
Thanks to all the bands for playing and to Reid, Wade and The Prospector. Thanks to everyone who showed up and to Cory for slinging the cocoa and Frank for the pics. Till next year…..
