Seeing Califone Perform Live was an Experience Unlike Any Other

Last night my buddy Kirk invited me to a concert. I haven't been to a show in awhile, so I was pretty stoked to check it out. I listened to some of the band's music prior to the show, which I very much enjoyed. Kirk also let me know that there were only 50 tickets available. The show was in a small venue, so they had to limit the amount of tickets they could sell. All of these things made me even more excited to go.

The band we saw is called Califone. I had not heard of them until last Friday. Their music is cool. It is ambient. I told my dad that the music felt like a warm blanket. I enjoy the singer's voice and like how mellow the music can be from time to time. Seeing them in such a small venue had me very curious to see how it would all work. It worked wonderfully. We saw the show in the basement of someone else's home. When we drove up to the house, we did some street parking and walked to the front door. There was a board in the front that said the band name and how to get in. We walked up, were greeted by a few people and an adorable pug, and they let us in after Kirk gave them his name. We walked downstairs, found a few seats and chatted for a bit. The lead singer walked where everything was set up, tuned his guitar and waited for his drummer. The show was scheduled to start at 8pm, and that is exactly when they started.

From the jump, this was an awesome experience for me. Califone is awesome. Seeing two of the members playing live was rad. The singer/guitar player was amazing. He used a lot of effects from his pedalboard that I liked a lot. He used reverse a ton to help loop the guitar for each song. He also played a good amount of slide guitar, which is something I'm a big fan of. His voice sounded great. Being in a small room, with different acoustics could have caused some issues, but it did not. He sounded great. I also really enjoyed the lyrics. He reminds me a little bit of Bob Dylan. I believe Bob Dylan is the greatest songwriter of all time. Califone's lead singer/songwriter is not far off for me. His lyrics are very poetic. He paints a nice picture, tells a nice story. I found myself listening even harder last night. I wanted to get the full live experience. The percussionist was excellent as well. Kirk mentioned that he played and experimented like not many other percussionists out there. I agree. He was playing synthesizer at one point. He used a violin bow to make noises on his cymbals. He would use different drums that he would attach to his high hat. He played other wood instruments that added a really nice sound. He was dynamite.

All in all this was a wonderful experience for me. The band was awesome. The crowd was there to enjoy the music. No one acted up or acted out of pocket. Everyone that was there was very friendly and respectful. The venue was cool too. It was akin to going to a friend's house to hear a band, except this band was way better than your friend's band. I highly recommend going to a small show like this. This was so damn cool to see where I saw it with who I saw play live. I am forever a fan now, and I will be looking out for more shows like this in the future. What a cool experience. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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