Caught Augustana's homecoming concert last night. Wait a min, what homecoming? Didn't Augustana hailed from California? According to Wikipedia, they did. *Wait. Mark and Dave wants me to time them "chucking" down a can of beer.* *Back. Mark: 3.78 Secs; Dave: 5.08 Secs.* So yeah, apparently the lead vocal dude, Dan Layus studied at UNC but... he dropped out. Well, that doesn't matter because they were so AWESOME!
A local band, Tripp opened the night with 30 minutes of alternative rock and country rock. When they came on, I kinda recognise the bassist and I thought to myself, "Am I really that happening? I hung out with Augustana's bassist?" Then I noticed that the lead guitarist was African American then I realised that they're not Augustana. Silly me. But it's true that I hung out with the bassist and lead guitarist. It was one night after Tripp performed at Lam Di Kai's party. We were smoking (*ahem*) outside and they joined us for a smoke. They were cool and very entertaining that night (at the frat house), the lead guitarist was like jamming with his tongue! Last night was no exception. The lead guitarist, whatever his name was, was grooving just as he was jamming. So while the music wasn't exactly fantastic, they were very entertaining to watch.
So after 30 minutes of Tripp, 15 minutes of setting up, Augustana was on! The crowd stood up from their seats and cheered. I'm telling you, had the venue not been in a concert hall, I'd definitely rush to the front of the stage and jumped. Hur hur hur. If Tripp did any good in opening the night, well, it was to make Augustana look (or rather, sound) good. One could easily tell the difference. In my words, Augustana's more well defined and if I may, more mature. Tripp was good and engaging but I get the feeling that they were trying a wee to hard to impress the crowd. The melodies of the guitar clashed with the beats of the drums and there were no signature tune to any of their songs - very mat-ish "lock neber die!" *throws fist in the air* kinda music.
Well, I wasn't a huge Augustana fan before and so I couldn't really recognise their hits except for tracks like "Stars and Boulevards" and of course, "Boston". But trust me, after last night, I'm a fan. A fan of not just their hits but going to concerts of indie rock bands here. Amazingly enough, I met a very cute waitress that very night and she's into rock concerts too. Well, she kinda reminded me of Kristen Dunst. Heck, the waitress (whose name was Oliva) was even the same age as her! So anyway, I was complimenting to her on how she reminded me of Kristen Dunst and our conversation moved from "how I like Chapel Hill" to "there are many concerts around" to "oh, I just went for Augustana" to "yeah, I like going to rock concerts too". That, was when I thought was my cue to perhaps be a little bit more daring. So I asked about the kind of music she likes and who does she go with. I mean, after all, she's from Denmark and new to Chapel Hill, it's likely that she doesn't have much friends. Turns out that my instinct was right BUT, she has a boyfriend already. Not only that, he's the dude that recommended me my beer and served us our pizza. Darn! Well anyway, she jotted my number down saying that she's having a house warming party soon and that she'd invite me over. Heh. If this was a soccer betting game, I guess I won by "bua liap" (half ball). *fuck, lousy talkingcock.com dictionary don't even have pang bua liap or bua liap.*But seriously, chicks and rock music go hand in hand man. At Augustana's concert itself, I spotted like 3 asian chicks, 1 whom I'd met, 1 whom I'd shortlisted but yet to know and 1 surprise prize. Hahahaha. Guess besides drugs, rock stars gets all the babes man! So back to Augustana... They were really fucking good. Like we all could imagine how an Oasis or Linkin Park concert would be but a concert for a band that plays emo music like Augustana, I didn't have any pre-conception of how it'd turn out. I mean like, the crowd didn't jump nor were they crowd surfing but Augustana's concert was like the kind you'd want to cuddle with your girlfriend or just groove (read: NOT GRIND) with your friends. Heck, the couple behind us was like in a perpetual cuddling position throughout the entire thing. They didn't even stand up and I could tell, they were having a better time than me. Oh, the lead vocalist, Dan, had such a good voice and boy, he's so talented - both the guitar and the piano! Like Boston, it's all him and nobody else. He really shines out in the group. And there's this air/aura around him too. Not the superstar kinda feel but that he has character and he's respected by the rest of the band.
One other thing I'd noticed was how the all band members looked great in skinny jeans, slim-cut shirts, slim ties, and their pointy shoes. I'm so envious and jealous. Like back in Singapore it's damn mat to dress like that but for once, it doesn't seem you need eyeliners or black nail polish or that emo hairstyle to pass off that skinny jeans look. Kenji, Jeremy's younger brother was like a model for me but Augustana was like an inspiration. Though I doubt I'd ever get thin enough to go for that kinda look. T_T
So yeah, it's really great to see a good band like Augustana play live. Now I wish Tegan and Sarah's gig wasn't sold out at Cat's Craddle. At the end of it, it was, definitely, a very nice Saturday. =)
Next up: Found vs Post Secret in Durham.
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