all the photos: Raisa Patron
all the words: Amanda Pittman

I arrived early. Too early, as in rushed-straight-from-work-to-get-here-because-i-didn’t-want-to-miss-any-of Grand Ole Party (GOP), and I so could have grabbed a bite. Lucky me 9:30 has “Food Food,” and the chocolate chip brownie was a delicious appetizer to the “wienerini.”

8:56 (yes, I looked at the time) – Grand Ole Party takes the stage and I settle in the balcony.

This was my second time seeing the GOP live, and they were all out wonderful. Kristin took the stage in a sequined silver top, and black hose and shorts, not your typical drummer – but then GOP isn’t your typical band.

Their fusion of Big Band meets Pop Rock kept everyone on their toes. The audience had no idea what to expect; most– your typical suburban transplants–were there to see Rogue Wave, the band that “had that song on The OC.”

GOP opened after a quick “Hi,” hardly acknowledging the audience, but they didn’t need to. We knew they were there, in a big way. Kristen’s voice is like a 1930’s lounge singer turned Broadway star and you’re carried away with each note she belts out.

While GOP didn’t really interact with the audience, they were receptive to the unique sound. As the set moved along and Kristin continued to lose her breath, the mellow crowd bopped their heads in time with each foot tap.

When they played “Nasty Habits,” the lines “love-lust-nasty habits/make us who we are” couldn’t have seemed more direct than your mother scolding you. The guitar riffs fluttered around the drums in a 70’s funk band style, while the bass remained centered and the drums glued all the pieces together.

They ended their set with their album’s opener “Look out Young Son,” her “swagger” just added to a memorable performance, one that will hopefully introduce DC to a new sound that this scene has been lacking.

Rogue Wave – 10:04 pm

I’ve never seen Rogue Wave before this, and while I like their music, I wasn’t sure if it would be a show worth going to (besides the aforementioned GOP) mostly because of the crowd. By the time Rogue Wave was on stage the club was packed (I’m not sure if it sold out, but it had to have been pretty close) with Hollister and Abercrombie and their older siblings Banana Republic and J.Crew.

I was skeptical of how Rogue Wave would sound live, but was pleasantly surprised. Their folk-infused-surf-rock created a mellow atmosphere. Rogue’s front-man Zach Rogue had great stage presence and humor that appealed to everyone, especially during what could have been awkward silences between songs (he changed guitars for almost every song) he encouraged the drummer to “use more cowbell, Pat, explore the stage space.” I didn’t see any of the kids that were “too cool.” There were some stiffs, but after someone congratulated him on being on Letterman and he apologized for wearing the same shirt, and later while he was tuning (yet, again) he kept the crowd going with, “I am with you all night long… you know what I’m talking about” — laughs loosened everyone up.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a show with this much clapping (just about every other song). There’d be a long intro and everyone would start clapping in time, especially on one of my personal favorites “MEDICINE BALL!” I don’t know what it is about this song that won me over, but when Descended like Vultures came out I would listen to it on repeat for hours.

The highlight of their set was the drum set that swung “Bird on a Wire” into the more popular “Lake Michigan.” Zach and everyone except the bassist joined Pat on the drums. There were several extra drums set up, once they started playing them the crowd became caught up in what could have easily been a street show.

For their encore, Zach came out first and played “Ghost” (acoustic), for this the audience remained very quiet but regained consciousness when the rest of the band joined him for “California” (cue Marissa, Summer, Seth, and Ryan leaving for college), and then the not as popular (but my favorite of the night) “Love’s Lost Guarantee” and the final finale “Salesman at the day of the Parade.”

A parade it certainly was, with the ever changing sounds and instruments, it was hard to anticipate what was next, but it was certainly worth waiting for.

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