The Good Life: A Good Time

While it is difficult for some people at Central to leave campus and travel to go see a good show, I have the advantage of having a nice car and bunch of friends that love going to shows.

The weird thing about seeing The Good Life last night was the fact that it was my first show in ages that I've gone to that I wasn't part of the press and actually got to enjoy the show without having to jot down notes and spend the night behind my camera lenses.

I got off from work around 3 in the afternoon and headed straight up to UConn to pick up my friends who bought the tickets. After some quick TV watching and basketball we started our adventure to Boston's Middle East Club.
After doing 65 mph down the Mass Pike out of fear of getting another speeding ticket, (92 in a 65 in February of 2004) we finally arrive at the Riverside Train Station and get on the "T."

After about 15 stops, we get off, search for some quick dinner and hop back on the train to the club. When we get to the venue and present our tickets and ID (18+ show) we get attacked with a giant black sharpie. With two large black Xs on my hands and absolutely no chance of getting a drink tonight, I head down stairs and scope out the place. Small floor area, decent size crowd and two bars flanking the floor. Serving Pabst Blue Ribbon Tall Boys and assorted mixed drinks, I feel the need for a cold one which I will never get.

The music started around 8:30 with Fourth of July, a five-piece indie band out of Lawrence, Kansas. They were playing their last night with The Good Life and decided to just have a lot of fun. With a smooth voice and poppy instrumentals, they played really engaging music for 45 minutes. I am going to check them out later today and see what I can scrounge up online.

The music took a complete face plant after this though. Luke Temple was up next with his horrid combination of acoustic guitar and douchebaggery. The weirdest thing wasn't his uncanny ability to sound like a even wore Jack Johnson, but the fact that the crowd was having conversations that were much louder than his music. He basically failed all the way around. The sentiment to wrap this up was, "It's like going to coffeehouse, but I'm not high and there isn't any coffee."

The headliners for the night was The Good Life, one of my personal favorite bands and one I haven't been able to see live before last night. The great thing about seeing them live is the stage presence of front man Tim Kasher. The crowd always loves him and he loves them back, unless your a jerk frat-boy type that won't stop yelling in between songs. Then he hates you as does the rest of the crowd. There a few of those types of people that drink too much and can't keep their mouths shut. Beyond that, TGL played an absolutely amazing set that covered everything from their new album Help Wanted Nights to their first album Novena on a Nocturn. After the first hour, the band left the stage to a roaring chant for an encore, to which they quickly answered with another 30 minutes of music. This time around it involved some more beer and a round of shots from the openers Fourth of July. This made for a drunken, fun mess. Exactly how I would want to see The Good Life.

The club cleared out quickly after and the trek home began. The worst part of any night, especially at 1 a.m. I really need to stop going out of state for concerts on school nights cause it kills my attendance in my class and overall makes me tired. Oh well, it's too damn fun and I'll do it again for Say Anything and Bright Eyes in November.