
I was on way way up the stairs with my chicken sandwich and waffle fries at a dining hall around campus when my dear friend Christina (a.k.a. Chris), who was walking beside me, finished a phone conversation with a friend. She had been talking with somebody about a show, so I asked her who was playing as she put her phone back into her (awesome fabric Africa-laden Invisible Children) purse/bag. She said it was Eisley and that the show started in a hour. I begged to come along, having just sold one of my textbooks back to the school for $42, I figured I could flip the $15 for the ticket. We pounded our meals down and met some kids in the parking lot who were also driving to the Fox Theater in Boulder for the show.
The show, of course, was great. This was my fourth time seeing Eisley, and my fourth time realizing that the lovely Stacy DuPree will never be mine, no matter how sincerely I try to harmonize with her on Marvelous Things. I feel as though Sean can sympathize with me. The girls played well. It’s fun how Sherri, the girl with the Rickenbacker who sings like a siren, has become so comfortable with her voice that she can go anywhere she wants with it. I have never heard her sing like that before. She also played her guitar more fiercely than in the past, and now that I utilize a Vox amp, I could better appreciate how great hers sounded. The bassist, however, was less than perfect. The (unloved?) cousin of the older Eisley girls, he emotionlessly played through the set like last time, although this time he had developed a new dirty pluck sound. His three beautiful basses all sounded the same all night with that punk-era grunge noise that was a little too overpowering to be tolerated. Inspite of this, I loved the band’s performance. I was pumped to see the oldest Eisley girl was clearly pregnant, but still wailing on that old Gretsch Duo-Jet.
The opening bands, Vedera and The Myriad, were both pretty enjoyable. Vedera was entertaining because the lead singer girl was real cute, and her Tele sounded so rich. Other than that they were certainly playing it too safe stylistically, IMO (so pumped that I know what that means now). The Myraid on the other hand, was honestly really great. As they set up their stuff and walked onto the stage I turned and said to the immortal Tim Becker (who I have never seen seen Eisley without), “I’m already excited for this band’s set to be over”. I was judging them by their semi-scene attire. But as they rolled through their set I quickly took that back. They were sensational and way more creative than Eisley.
Fun night.
Good to see Tim.
Good to see Stacy.
Good Grilled Stuft Burrito on the way home.

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May 8, 2008 at 9:18 am
joshmickelson
the new eisley record is kind of a snore-fest, but I would love to see them live! Sounds like you had fun. I saw Veda (Vedera now) a few years ago, they were really tight, but you are right, they don’t really stand out in any specific way.
May 8, 2008 at 12:38 pm
JD
It’s true Josh. Eisley is not as magical as they used to be. But the thing is it still feels that way to see them live, just cause I have liked them for so long and they are still way cute. Haha. But it’s still not like seeing MuteMath or anything (although they did tour together last year and it was a GREAT show).
May 11, 2008 at 3:39 pm
seanmichaelbrage
I feel your pain JD. I’ve felt it with you every step of the way. Some day we’ll find them.
May 12, 2008 at 9:30 am
Judi Free.com
I love Eisley! Josh Mickelson introduced me to them as a gift for Christmas last year. He’s always looking out for me when it comes to finding great chick singer bands.