AME @ the Roxy with Switchblade Kitty

I arrived with a friend at the The Roxy at around 9:15 p.m. When we arrived there were no bands on stage. My friend turned to me (since I was the one who said I wanted to show up at around 9 p.m. to catch the first band) and said, “This is like we showed up early to the party.” A few minutes later, Fat City Reprise came on stage. So I said to her, “We weren’t that early. Anyways, we needed to get here by 9:30 p.m. to get in for free.” She decided that she needed a smoke break. She returned perhaps ten minutes later and asked, “Who’s this band?” I replied, “It is still Fat City Reprise.” She said, “Are you sure? On the schedule outside, it says they’re the second band. We missed the first band?” Yes, we missed the first band. We were in total confusion due to our arrival time in between bands. Meanwhile, another friend arrived just at the 9:30 p.m. deadline for free entry. What does this all mean? I was sort of too distracted to focus in on Fat City Reprise. I will say this, with the electronic keyboard they have – in my opinion – a blend between rock and piano jazz. Note: Random observation that all the guys in the band have long hair except for the drummer.

The Automatic Music Explosion got introduced by Rodney on the Roq. He came up on stage and wished Jodie happy birthday. She was thrilled with it all. He led out the singing of “Happy Birthday.” He was rather modest on stage saying something like, “I’m Rodney on the Roq. I’m a DJ on KROQ. You may not have heard of me as you’re probably asleep during my show.” After the birthday wishes, AME got started off with one of their newer songs, “Get High.” They had a strong fan base there. One guy roamed the front of the stage, going from one end to the other, saying hello to various friends along the way. This indicates the level of friendship that revolves around AME. It is a friendly crowd that follows them around. Some notes: Jodie makes hanging around a bass drum and smashing tambourines into dust look sexy. Max on drums is not only the best dressed drummer, but also outdoes the band on creative facial paint usage.

Switchblade Kitty. I stayed around for Switchblade Kitty – unlike my last time at the Roxy on a Monday night. They’re a wild bunch. I won’t be posting any photos of them as google might come along and tell me to remove them. They use duck tape to hide certain strategic assets. Other than the obvious selling point, I think they actually sound rather good and have a really awesome stage presence. As for the audience, I think there were two sets that night. There is the set that stands far back from the stage and then there is the set that just wants to get fully involved in the show. See, Switchblade Kitty members have a tendency to toss their beer into the audience. So a number of folks pulled back from the stage as soon as the beer started flying. There were two guys; however who drank it all up, and were up front and soaking wet. At the end of the night when everyone was outside, at least two of the Switchblade Kitty band members walked outside and hung out with the crowd. One just walked out with her duck tape, but eventually covered up with a jacket. Note: one of the backup musicians is Matt Fuller from The Mulhollands.