Liars and Thieves, Lost Ocean in a manic Monday musical extravaganza
Monday evening in the middle of my physical therapy fitness session I got a phone call… the voice on the other end said:

“Want to go see Lost Ocean play tonight at the Gate?”

“Sure.” I replied.

And suddenly a manic Monday filled with hundreds of phone calls; a long staff meeting, endless tasks and physical therapy had a happy ending.

“Wow! There are a lot of people here for a Monday.” I said as we arrived at the Gate.

There were around 200 kids milling about inside the Gate and outside on the grass. This was my first time to the Gate. The size of the converted gymnasium with its large elevated stage area made for a great all ages music venue.

As an added bonus in this manic Monday musical extravaganza, Liars and Thieves were about to take the stage when we arrived. I like Liars and Thieves! They get better and better every time I hear them play. They opened with Don’t Stop Get It, which was featured in the War Days student project film, and from the first notes of the song I was blown away by the Gate’s sound system. Liars and Thieves had never sounded this good! What a difference a good sound system makes. The music was crisp, clear and tight. I could actually hear all of the vocals; Tyler’s drums were pounding my heart. There was professional stage lighting! This was a real rock and roll show and Liars and Thieves and 200 or so high school kids were eating it up.

A little bit later after some great music by Liars and Thieves and an LA band called American Eyes, when my manic Monday was feeling more musical than manic, Lost Ocean took the stage. I watched as Skyler plugged in about a hundred different cords and plugs into keyboards, ambient machines, a laptop and whatever other magical music machines he has that makes Lost Ocean music so unique sounding. I don’t know how he keeps them all straight or hooks them up so fast. What would happen if he forgot to bring a few of those cords? I wondered. When the last cord was plugged in and Lost Ocean began playing I was once again blown away by the Gate’s superior sound system. This is how Lost Ocean is supposed to sound live. Just like with Liars and Thieves, the music was so crisp, clear and tight, and I could hear Skyler’s piano melodies that were sometimes rocking, sometimes classical, and sometimes jazz influenced. I stood close to the stage in the middle of high school kids and other band members who were experiencing the multi-layered and talented music of Lost Ocean for the first time. I looked around at these kid’s faces and saw amazement and enjoyment of their music. I saw girls smile and heard them gush over the Lost Ocean guy’s looks. Some other band members with varying hair styles of bushy afros, spiky punk, and a messy Ashton Kutcher all with tattoos, were standing next to me and I heard them say to each other:

“Damn. These guys are really good.”

I smiled. The guys of Lost Ocean were reaching out in such a positive way and touching the lives of high school kids and other band members with their music. Isn’t that what its all about?

Vendetta Red was the last band to take the stage in the manic Monday musical extravaganza.

“They’re pretty big time. They’ve been on MTV.” I heard someone say.

Vendetta Red was a very professional sounding rock and roll band with a rock-star lead singer that knew how to sing and put on a great show playing to the crowd and the girls. I liked that Vendetta Red paid homage to their roots and the first time they had played at the Gate.

Liars and Thieves, Lost Ocean and other great bands… turned a manic Monday—musical and it didn’t feel like a Monday anymore.  posted by Matildakay at 9:41 PM