It’s not everyday that one of your favorite rock bands comes to a small venue in your town 3 minutes from your house. So Wednesday night when I found out that MAE was playing a show at Rhino’s in an hour or so with some friends’ band, I was psyched. It’d been a good while since I was at a rock show, and my air guitar skills were getting a little rusty, if that’s possible.
I already had dinner plans at Fazoli’s with my good friend Jon Gibson, who will be serving our country overseas in a short while, so I couldn’t make it to see the first band. Second in the lineup was husband&wife, consisting of Mike Adams, Tim Felton, Will Rose, who I’ve met throughout my years in Bloomington, and another guy, Bryant Fox. I arrived mid-set and was able to enjoy their “Indie/Big Beat/Hard House” music, especially a song called “Class War”. This was some very good stuff from a cool local band, and a great way to get ready for the Multisensory Aesthetic Experience I was about to have.
A little over a year ago I was able to see MAE perform The Everglow at The Metro in Chicago, which was a great concert based on their critically acclaimed sophomore album. With much anticipation awaiting their third full-length release, Singularity hit stores in mid-August. It didn’t take me long to pick it up and rock out to songs like “Brink of Disaster”, “Crazy 8’s”, and my personal favorite, “Just Let Go”. Overall, it was a strong effort following a stellar masterpiece.
While husband&wife broke down their equipment my excitement grew. It’s rare that you get to see such a good band in such a small venue with 75 in attendance.
The roadies finished their work, the lights dimmed, and crowd turned their attention to the stage. After leaving us in anticipation for a few minutes, MAE came out and opened up with Dave singing, “I, I had a dream. Just you and me. And it was all that I want it to be. And so much more cause we could soar. No gravitity to keep me on the floor…” This set the course of the rest of the concert, a rockin’ dream with MAE, myself, and a few others. They rocked out with some tunes from all 4 records (one consisted of B-sides and acoustics), slowed things down with a few acoustic songs, and even took my request for “Someone Else’s Arms” to finish off a great rock show. Okay, they probably already planned to end with that song, but I’m sure it helped their confidence that I was yelling for them to play it.
After the concert I got to talk with the band as they were hanging out with the crowd. During the concert Dave shared that “Just Let Go” is his favorite off the new album so I struck up a conversation with him in light of our common tastes. The whole band was very humble and cool to give us a show and talk with a bunch of kids that showed up at a last minute concert that filled the gap in their touring schedule. With my neck still sore and a bit of energy still lingering, I must say that I had the wonderful Multisensory Aesthetic Experience that is MAE.
But as much as I like wreckless Camaro action, soccer has been making a comeback in my life. When I joined my first traveling team as a young boy, I was given a jersey with the #21 on the back that would stick with me for the rest of my career. Since our indoor team, Shepherd’s Hook, got sponsored by B & L Sheet Metal & Roofing, I now have another #21 soccer jersey. Our team hasn’t done that well, but my skills got me some recognition. It just so happened that a Newcastle United scout thought I could play some pro ball. Here’s a picture of my debut in St. James Park, U.K. My mom will be able to confirm this because no one else gets so intense while playing that he always has his mouth wide open. Amazing. Our next game is on Sunday, December 23 at 2:00 P.M. on Greenwich Mean Time, which is about 9 A.M. Eastern Time. Check it out.
