Megababe worked it out in her boxing outfit.  There were quite a lot of guys in the audience, which surprised me. No surprises, solid set.

This is sadly the only photo I have from an excellent show.

I wish I took a pic inside the venue, but I was too busy jamming out.  They sound better live than they do on record.

Classixx

Holy Ghost!

Last night I made the trek to The Observatory in Santa Ana to catch Classixx opening for Holy Ghost!.  It was the first time I had been to that venue, and it was slightly tricky to find because it was hidden among big businesses.  I suggest getting there early because free parking is very limited, and once it fills up, you have to pay $10 to park in another lot.  There were NO OBSERVATORY PARKING signs posted in nearby lots, so we opted to park across the street and save our $10. The venue itself was pretty nice.  When we walked in, it reminded me of a summer school camp lodge.  A smaller room with a bar was selling merchandise, and the main room is up a flight of stairs.  The actual layout of the performance room reminded me of a mini Wiltern.  Circular in nature, with separate and distinct levels of stadium standing room. Grab a spot on the level right above the floor, closer to the sides.  You end up being pretty close to the stage with an awesome, unobstructed view.

Classixx has come a long way from djing LMU graduation house parties.  They played live last night, and unsurprisingly they played a lot of new songs from their album Hanging Gardens: All You’re Waiting For, Holding On, I’ll Get You, Jozi’s Fire, Borderline.  If people weren’t dancing before, they were dancing by the third song when Classixx dropped their remix of Phoenix’s Lizstomania.  I really really enjoyed their set (and also the Laker’s tee), and look forward to seeing them again on Tuesday at the Avalon.

Classixx was a great opener because they really got the crowd moving and Holy Ghost! kept the momentum going.  I have seen Holy Ghost! a few times, but the only time that comes to mind is when I saw them at Identity Fest in San Diego.  Their setup has improved drastically if my memory serves me right.  They had two sets of drums, a piano, a few synths (a setup that reminded me of Simian Mobile Disco), guitars and bass.  It was interesting because Holy Ghost! is a duo, yet there were 5 members on stage. Although they are not a band that I normally go out of my way to see, they immediately won points because they mentioned that everybody in the audience was missing Game of Thrones to see them that night and seemed genuinely thankful.  Their set was really fun and they had great crowd interaction, and I would definitely see them again once their new album comes out.

Excellent show.