Maximum Occupancy

No but for real, the temperature has been so intense in August that multiple people in both shows were pulled out due to overheating and falling out. As a shitty bystander with no real skills, I could do nothing but make way as the staff escorted those out and made a pathway.

I am not a drinker, but the heat has been enough to prevent me from even nursing an adult beverage in the last couple of shows. Still I consider myself only lucky in that it didn’t happen to me, and caution anyone out there to stay hydrated as best as they can.

PSA done! Let’s talk the first of the two sets that I checked out in August, Clipping at Mohawk. This is one of those acts where my husband and I interests intersect. He hates musicals (boo right) but loves weird horror rap and harsh noise, I hate harsh noise (it’s lame) but love musicals and weird rap.

In fact my husband and I have been so stoked about the show, that I made him buy these tickets over a year in advance (the bots have me terrified that I will not get a ticket in time). This show was postponed for several months, but the promoters made good on honoring the tickets when a date was settled on.

It was worth the wait. I mean maybe the temperature would have been more reasonable on the original date, but it isn’t like they wasted their time.

The show starts off with two mixers and Daveed Diggs, and while their music was cohesive and sounded like perfection they also hit the stage performing with Daveed Diggs nailing his lyrics (and the speed in which he is known for delivering them) each and every time.

Their song selection is also stellar, as they are not actively promoting a specific album (although they call out the theme space album Splendor & Misery). Their set pulls from several albums, they performed fan favorites, while also stringing the songs together to tell a familiar but new narrative. It is a close second to the Ca7riel y Paco Amoroso show when it comes to theme and story.

And the performer themselves, to die for. In both acts, the vocalists are the face of the group and the names you are probably aware of (that is just the way it is). It is the vocalists in the groups who manage to hit the notes while playing an instrument that deserves accolades. After a couple of songs, Daveed Diggs made sure to introduce the pianist who joined in with their haunting vocals. I wish I paid enough attention to their name because they were amazing and such an amazing addition to the songs. I know, I am so disappointing!

And yet I want to know rub in your face that I then closed out my August shows with seeing Franz Ferdinand at Stubbs.

This was a nostalgia purchase, I listened to their first album on repeat and cut their band photos out of Spin to decorate my binders with. This was also an opportune purchase since they were part of the summer deals offered by the dreaded overlord Ticketmaster. Boooo, unless the ticket is somewhat reasonable, then I will consume god damn it!

This may have been the most packed show I have been at, at this venue. Even though it is a large outdoor space it was packed. And the mech booth line snaked forever. I did end up getting my third pick shirt, but only after I couldn’t hold the pee from chugging tall boy water cans any longer half way through the set. Let’s talk about that shall we. I was wearing an adorable one piece jumper that dragged because I wanted to make a statement. But this is a venue with port a potties and is all dusty dirt everywhere else. It was an impractical outfit choice if you are afraid of unclean bathroom situations, so yes I performed acrobatic feats of maneuvering in my dumb bitch outfit. But I still maintain I was cute!

The crowd was diverse, and may have lead to why there were so many people (who also passed out). Young, olds, college kids on their first date (barf), music youths on their first bro outing (that one was okay I guess), and lone middle age ladies like myself. Overall this crowd wanted this shit, they didn’t mind the ungodly amount of encore songs that were played and they danced!

For what I would consider to be one my age groups’ legacy rock acts, Franz Ferdinand made me proud. Their records retain their sound, while adding to their catalog. Judging them on this show, they love to perform for their crowd and will give their fans what they want. Thinking about my personal experience, they played all the need-to-hear-hits well before the encore, so I bailed after the second encore song because the heat and I needed to walk to my car and get to a gas station with light and a stall.

And I did, just barely, but I made it.