Song Spotlight: Slugs' Super Sane (an evening at Bar Flores during Echo Park Rising)

Though I've photographed Echo Park Rising for years now, even I still come across something totally unexpected. Last year I shot a band or two at Bar Flores and they were using their indoor bar as the stage. Part of me was wondering why bands such as Slugs (solo set by lead singer Marissa Longstreet) and Iress were playing such a small stage. I was thinking about how rude I was going to be, having to squeeze my way to the front of the stage to take some photos. My excuse would be that I needed to get to the front of the stage as I was shooting for the festival. I did not have to worry about that, because the stage was not inside the bar. There were signs that pointed ever so upwards until I got to a large open parking lot that part of me thinks is actually connected with a separate building. As I made my way up to the stage, a most amusing encounter happened. A young woman looked me straight in the eye and so I briefly stopped to listen to her complaint, "Do you know I just spent $30 on nachos? I've never spent that much." I looked at her and responded, "That is a lot." What can I say, that does sound laughably high. 

Slugs at Bar Flores

As I was looking at the festival schedule, I will say that getting to Bar Flores at 7 p.m. to catch Slugs was my number one priority. The last time I caught Slugs was back at Echo Park Rising 2024 and it was only for a couple songs. This time around, part of me was thinking I would do the same, catch a couple songs of Slugs and then head off to another venue to catch another band before heading back to catch Iress at 8 p.m. Then Slugs opened up the set with "windows" and "Super Sane." Oh mercy, I decided to scratch the other band and stay for Slugs' full set. It was one of only two sets where I was caught a full set.

Moment of the set: Longstreet announced that she had done some Slugs silkscreen printings on long sleeve t-shirts. She mentioned that she was selling them for $25. People could head over to the merch container that she had next to the stage and use a QR code to pay. Lauren Ruth Ward started to protest. She went up to the merch container and turned to the audience, "$45 dollars." Longstreet was amused and compromised, "Okay, a sliding scale of $25 - $45." 

Slugs at Bar Flores

Moment of the set 2: Longstreet took out a disposable camera and took photos of the adoring crowd. Then a friend took a handful of photos of her. Not all the photos were taken, so additional photos were taking of Iress. 

Why is "Super Sane" the song selection here? Buzzbands has the best summary. Other sites mention that the song is about the death of a friend. Buzzbands adds context. The friend was a local concert photographer named Emery Becker who died in a motorcycle accident in 2018. He was a much beloved and talented photographer. A memorial was held at The Hi Hat (the current location of The Goldfish) and a photo gallery of his work was displayed at Happy Sundays Long Beach.

Slugs at Bar Flores

It's been a weird year.
One was born and one died.
I got reasons to be happy and I got reasons to cry

A song that always hits me in the gut.

Setlist: windows, Super Sane, Be Good, fred, Underdog, Like You, Bad Twin.