Song Spotlight (a night at The Fable): Joey Siara's I Was Half Asleep (technically The Henry Clay People tune)

Joey Siara (best known in Los Angeles for The Henry Clay People - 2003 thru 2013) played a recent In Sonic Dreams showcase at The Fable. He mentioned that he had just moved back to Los Angeles from New York. He was welcomed back via a packed house at the venue. I personally was not sure what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised as the back half of the set was dedicated to playing songs from The Henry Clay People music catalog. As for the first half of his set, he played songs from his other two bands Near Beer and Rat City Sunrise. 

Joey Siara at The Fable

Siara mentioned that he was asked by In Sonic Dreams to play a solo set, but instead he brought up a series of different musicians who joined him for specific segments of the set, "So this is a weird show, because John wanted me to play a solo show and I don't like playing solo shows."  

One of his first songs of the night was the Near Beer song called "Bob Song," which is about his grandpa, "who is not here anymore." 

Joey Siara at The Fable

The loudest cheers naturally came in the back half of the set when he played a series of The Henry Clay People indie-rock tunes. Playing alongside him was his brother Andy Siara. He told the crowd, "We practiced a couple songs at 10 o'clock in the morning yesterday. After not having played these songs for almost 10 years." 

To kind of give an idea of the audience demographics, someone yelled out, "Sunset Junction 2005." The vast majority of bands currently playing in Los Angeles probably have no clue about how massive a street festival Sunset Junction used to be. My personal encounters with The Henry Clay Band occurred in the tail end of their career. The first time I saw them was in 2010 and it was at the Greek Theatre. How about that?!?! The band was opening up for Silversun Pickups. The night also included Against Me! 

Joey Siara at The Fable

Later in the set, he called out, "I haven't done this in ten years. Is there a beer in the house!" That is an amusing statement due to the fact that my second time seeing the band was in 2012 and in my short write-up I noted that there was a shout out for beer. 

The song spotlight goes to "I Was Half Asleep" that they recorded in 2007. A song with vocals pitched high and guitars strumming away. The lyrics give you the emotional pain of the tune right from the start.

Joey Siara at The Fable

There were happier times.

I can see it in your eyes.

We'll watch the sun go down on the wrong side of the street.

Setlist: Pax Americana, Bob Song, Al Pacino, I Heart Clyde, Spider Eggs, New Bedford, Something in the Water, I Was Half Asleep, This Ain't a Scene, Bulls Through, You Can Be Timeless, Andy Sings!.