set list - session 544 - August 13, 2010 - Fire Escape Bar & Grill, Citrus Heights, CA - WEAVE Benefit

Instagon 544
August 13, 2010

Fire Escape Bar & Grill
Citrus Heights, CA
WEAVE Benefit Show

In the early part of the Summer, Instagon was contacted by Brooke from the local rock band Blame Betty and asked if we would be interested in playing a benefit show for the WEAVE organization at Fire Escape Bar & Grill in Citrus Heights.  WEAVE is an organization that helps provide services for battered women, so it was for sure a good cause and something we could support...and we had tried to book previously at Fire Escape with little luck.. so this one seemed like an easy way to support something cool AND benefit our desire to play a new room .. BUT there was a catch.. all of the bands that were asked to play were also asked to ONLY play songs from the 80's or songs that were made popular in the 80's!  It was 80's night!!   At first I thought it would be sorta odd, but then I started to think about it and well Instagon has a number of 80's tunes that ALREADY were in our arsenal of riffs and grooves.. so after the brief hesitation it was agreed that we would appear for this show..  Also on the show were lots of local Sacramento bands like The Common Men, Yes Sir, Breaking Glass, Jimmy Wah, Puke & Spit, Ventura, & Blame Betty. Everyone played great sets of awesome rad 80's songs. 

For this session the band was given a group of songs that we were gonna play and told to familiarize themselves with them as homework. We did not practice or rehearse in any way for this show.. it was pure Instagon.   

 This time around the band was to be  Chad E. Williams & John Keeling on guitars, Leo The Butcher on drums, and Lob on bass.  The gig organizers provided drums and amps for this show, so with a back line already there, we brought our guitars and were ready to play.   There was also a 80's costume contest and theme to the evening.. although none of the band entered the contest.. Lob did come in full 80's regalia. 

The show started with a great set of pop punk classics from the band VENTURA.. followed by INSTAGON. .  The Instagon set started off just a little bit off centered with an Invokation that lasted a few minutes while Lob started the ritual and then crept into a rendition of "Bela Lagosi's Dead" by the band Bauhaus. This was the first time that we had played this song since April 2009.   This was followed by the expected "Rock Lobster"  followed by the "Cambodian Holiday" that we have started to horse around with this year.. and then "Another One Bites the Dust" was on cue.. and the band rocked hard.. Chad E. Williams was on fire for this set shredding leads whenever the opportunity presented itself, and John Keeling was also on fire and adding great texture and mood for the set.
We closed the set with a riff by Metallica .. This last song was added to the set list the morning of the show.. and so no one really had the chance to study it that much.. but Leo held it down and we squeaked through it without too much mayhem.

 

Overall it was a really fun night..  all of the bands were really amazing.. there were surprizingly only 2 songs that were played more than once.. those were "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure, and "Blister in the Sun" by the Violent Femmes. Some of the high points of the night were The Common Men doing Ozzy's "Crazy Train" complete with biting the heads off of beanie baby bats..  and Yes Sir's version of The Cure's "Love Cats" (The Cure seemed to be the big covered band of the night).  Oh. and worth mentioning was the totally WRONG cover of "I Used To Love Her" by Guns n Roses that Puke & Spit played.. I mean it was a benefit for WEAVE.. doh!

Instagon 544

August 13, 2010    (friday)

Fire Escape Bar & Grill, Citrus Heights, CA

WEAVE Benefit Show

Invokation>

Bela,     (riff by Bauhaus)

Rock Lobster,  (riff by the B-52's)
Cambodian Holiday,   (riff by Dead Kennedy's)
Dust,  (riff by Queen)
For Whom the Bell Tolls  (riff by Metallica)

LOB - lead bass,vocals, costumes
CHAD E. WILLIAMS - lead guitar
JOHN KEELING - guitar

LEO THE BUTCHER - drums

 

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all photos by Yvette Lucas

poster by Blame Betty crew

set list - session 543 - August 12, 2010 - Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco,CA

INSTAGON 543

August 12, 2010
OUTSOUND SERIES

Luggage Store Gallery
San Francisco, CA

Once again.. another MIXER SET!!
This was our 5th time back to play in San Francisco for the OUTSOUND SERIES that happens weekly at the Luggage Store Gallery on Market St.  This series is produced by Rent Romus from Edgetone Records and he does a great job of bringing in amazing eclectic jazz and experimental music every single week, and has for years and years now.. He deserves applaud where ever he goes!!
This time we were paired up with a guitarist from Paris,France named Richard Bonnet.  A few week prior to the show Mr.Bonnet contacted me and ask if he could possibly borrow a guitar!  I told him it was not a problem, and we arranged to have a guitar there for him to play.  He brought his own effects pedals and did a very soothing, yet kinda lengthy set of solo guitar work.. the best part of his set was some things he was doing with harmonics and noise towards the end.. he did this  while also running a small Slinky across the strings (which eventually became tangled).

Instagon followed with a rather large grouping for the evening.. this was to be a 7 person mixer set.. it featured Mark Wilson of Conure, Amar Chaudhary from Reconnaissance Fly, Alan Herrick from Nux Vomica, Martin Irigoyen from Vernian Process, Blanahillary from Holy Sisters of GaGaDada, and SF friend and ally Lena Strayhorn!.. it was quite a group.. and we had a very wonderful time.. 

Everyone that came to play brought very interesting approaches to the Mixer Set.. for some it was their first Instagon experience.. for others it was their 2nd mixer set this year!.. and for Alan, it was his first Instagon appearance in 13 years!! 
As mentioned above this was a MIXER SET.. it was the longest Mixer set so far recorded..clocking in at around 35 minutes.  I had a lot of fun playing bass within this set.. 

i told the players we were going for a droney and creepy feeling with this performance and they came ready to bring it. One of the most interesting parts of the performance was the involvment from Blancahillary.. who brought a roll of aluminum foil to the gig, wrapped her self up in it as the show started.. and then clawed he way out and shared parts of the foil with the rest of the ensemble..it was something special for sure.

INSTAGON 543

August 12, 2010

Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco,CA

(MIXER SET)

The Perplexity of a Shrinking Steering Wheel

LOB - bass guitar, effects & metal

MARK WILSON - electronics

AMAR CHAUDHARY - keyboard & cell  phone apps

ALAN HERRICK - laptop

LENA STRAYHORN - assorted acoustic items

MARTIN IRIGOYEN - guitar

BLANCAHILLARY - guitar,  & performance art

all photos by Yvette Lucas

original hand bill design by Lob