Sloan

from what i'd heard, i wasn't sure what to expect from the coach house, and upon arriving, i braced for the worst. i managed to catch patrick in the hall area on the way in and we chatted for a bit and i got some pretty valuable insights on the trials and tribulations of the travelin' band.

the crowd was pretty sparse (a wednesday night, in south orange county) but those that came out witnessed a show that was nothing short of incredible. of the half-dozen times i've seen sloan, last night's performance was easily my favorite--perhaps even my favorite show of all-time, which is say a LOT. honestly, it was that good.

because of the laid-back dinner-theatre atmosphere (everyone was seated at tables) the guys came out loose and stayed that way for the entirety of the evening. a real communal feeling permeated the room and after a few songs it started to take on the air of a special fanclub only gig (not that i've ever been to such a thing, but i can imagine). there was a setlist, but the crowd would shout requests and the boys would take a few seconsd to mull each one over. ultimately they still played what they wanted, but they wound up deviating from the set-list on a number of occasions, playing lots of impromtu spur-of-the-moment stuff that i'm sure made a lot of people happy.

chris' banter was in top-form, and it appeared to me at least that the boys were clearly having a great time cutting loose. lots of smiles all around on stage.

for my money, i got to hear them close the show with my all-time favorite sloan song -- "g turns to d" -- so i went home very, very happy.

the band sounded fantastic after sounding a little too 'overcooked' at spaceland last week. the mix was clear and all of the songs sounded superb. i'm really optimistic that they'll be able to pack 'em in at the troubadour on friday. i'll be there with a posse in tow, and while i don't think it will be able to top last night's fun, it's sloan so i know it'll rock.

I find it interesting that Michael would say this was one of their best shows. I saw Sloan two years ago at this same venue and would rank that show as one of the finest concerts I have ever seen.

Last night, the sound was horrible, and the performances were way too loose. It was almost as if they weren't too concerned about how they sounded. I was expecting them to redo Losing California" after they butchered it. The song is way too good to do a half-assed version.

That said, I'll take a mediocre Sloan show over most anything else. I certainly don't mean to bash them in any way, but I have the feeling that they were looking ahead to the L.A. showcase.

Doug

I agree with Doug in saying that the sound was better two years ago. However, everything else about the show, from song selection to stage presence to in-between banter, kicked serious butt. Besides, how could you not love the whole "Passage to Bangkok" running joke? It was great to see them finish with "G Turns to D," and "Sensory Deprivation" tore the house down.

For me, though, the coolest thing about the show was meeting Patrick before the show and talking music with him (especially since I didn't recognize him at first). Really cool guy. It would be great to see Sloan get some notice playing in front of Jet-they deserve to be big in the states.

OC did NOT deserve the serving of rock it was dished up on Wednesday night via Sloan. They kicked major ass, while audience members crossed their arms in blah-ville. Can't wait to see them in L.A. on Friday nightr, where the crowd . um, GETS them.