I was extremely excited to hear about a concert being held in my neck of the woods. It is a rarity that such a show would come along that featured one of my favorite rock bands so I jumped at the opportunity and joined my friend and fellow concert/music lover Maricel for the 311 and Augustana show at the Lahaina Civic Center on Friday, August 15.
Maricel was already at the venue when I joined her at a little after 4 p.m. The show was an open aired venue located just at the back of the Civic Center grounds. Maricel and I were really there to see Augustana as we weren't fans of 311. We were among the first six people -- Augustana fans, for the most part -- in line and it was ridiculously hot. The humidity was unbearable as we continued to wait sweat in line for another hour. The doors were supposed to open at 5 p.m. but because the sound checks weren't complete (Augustana rehearsed "Rain" btw), we were hit with delay after delay until nearly a quarter till. Mari and I were extremely thirsty so when we finally got in, I went bought ridiculously overpriced beverages while she secured a spot that was literally in front-and-center of the stage.
We saw guitarist Chris Sachtleben, lead vocalist Dan Layus and the rest of the band being videotaped and interviewed on the grass just after their sound check. The show started at 6:30 p.m. with folk/ska opener Erin Smith and her band. Next up was the band of the night (to us): Augustana. Some dude from a local rock radio station introduced them and incorrectly told the audience that the band's latest album was titled "Don't Love, Don't Hurt" which prompted me to correct him by yelling "It's Can't Love, Can't Hurt!" He responded by saying that he may get punched for getting it wrong. Hey, I wouldn't go that far as to inflict physical abuse for a simple error but next time, do your research!
Dan and Co. began their 12+ song set with "Hey Now" and "I Still Ain't Over You". Then they broke out in two classics from All The Stars And Boulevards: "Wasteland" and "Stars and Boulevards". I was extremely satisfied at Dan's vox performance because he sounded just as great live as he is in a recording. He tended to shut his eyes when he sings and at times looked deep into a trance, as if he was experiencing nirvana. As for my visual experience, the lights were especially distracting from our POV and the shadows they created detracted from seeing his face clearly.
But the music was fantastic. They delivered beautiful, heartfelt tunes largely from their latest album (eight if I remember correctly) including their somber piano ballad "Twenty Years". And of course, they also played first single and latest hit "Sweet and Low". Dan returned to the keyboard to perform the song that gave the Southern California based band prime exposure, "Boston". He immediately followed with "Rain" in which he altered a lyric to include Maui. Chris intermittently sipping on Stella Artois (read: disgusting). Dan cracks a smile and a laugh mid-song. They performed "Rest, Shame, Love" and finally a Bob Dylan cover, "Baby Please Don't Go" to end their set. We tried to get the attention of two of the roadies to give us a set list that was taped to the floor, but it was futile. After seeing the set change in prep for 311, we found ourselves getting slightly closed in the by the expanding crowd and decided to leave our spots to possibly give meeting Augustana a try.
As far as we were concerned, the show was already over so it was a no-brainer for us to leave for a shot to meet the band of the night. We saw the band exit through the stage right fence gate and saw a security dude guarding it, so we went through the main entrance, ran (with my non-running Vans shoes) through a Civic Center party just to hesitate for a few moments to contemplate/strategize/not appear like we were stalkers/fan freaks.
We awkwardly walked towards them (they were chilling and drinking on those god-awful Stella Artois) and nervously approached bassist Jared Palomar. "Hi, I'm Ray." "Hi I'm Maricel". "I'm Jared. Nice to meet you. Did you guys see the show?" Of course we did! Jared was extremely friendly and introduced us to the rest of the band. (Note: He looked Asian, but we weren't sure if he was. We later found out he is half-Filipino!). Mari and I also took a photo with 4/5 of the band because Chris was M.I.A. at that very moment.
I told Dan, keyboardist and resident caveman John Vincent, and newly shorn, "naked" drummer Justin South that I saw them open for Snow Patrol at the Warfield way back in 2006 and that "California's Burning" is one of my favorite songs. After being asked where I went to school, South said he has friends who went to my college. Just as the band were heading into their van, Chris appears and we got to meet him.
The Augustana guys were cool and I had no regrets about ditching 311 in order to meet them. We did, however, get to hear Nick Hexum sing "Amber" from the parking lot, if that was any consolation. But what a neat feat Mari and I accomplished. I mean, who can say they got to meet and see one of their fave bands in their hometown? And to think I was done with shows after coming home. I was one happy kid.
