Don't Get Lost in the Pretty Lights

This past Teusday...Tampa, Florida and the Crowbar in Ybor City were perparing for something new.  Pretty Lights, an electronic/Hip-Hop duo out of Fort Collins, CO stopped by in what was told to me by their lighting man, one of the smallest venue's on their tour.  Unfortunately, he told me that due to the small size of the Venue, they were unable to bring their LED light wall that many fans have become accustomed to on their current tour.  Pretty Lights however was not alone in their overtake of Tampa.  

The party got started around 10pm when Alex Botwin from the widely toured Pnuma Trio opened up the dance floor.  All though a much smaller crowd than Pretty Lights gained, Alex B lit up the stage and got the crowd moving for what was going to be one the the more exciting times I've had in Tampa to date.  

Alex Vincent Smith, the front man of Pretty Lights, walked out onto the stage w/ his partner, Cory Eberhard right around 12am, and thats when the place really light up.  Bringing their own light system really enhanced the Crow, and the nearly sold out crowd didn't hurt either.  They continued to rock the house at a level that most cannot even comprehend, and made what could have been just another tuesday, into one of the best nights of the past semester. 

So those of you who are unfamiliar with the group, go grab their music for FREE.....LEGALLY! @ www.prettylightsmusic.com and pass the word, because this due is going to be lighting up the dance floor near you pretty soon......

And the Winner Is...

Although the time I spent in Atlanta could not have been better.  I entered into the weekend with a single thought on my mind.  Who could play the best show through the course of the weekend?  With so much talent around, and 3 great acts to catch, who could tell which show would be the best.

Due to the long drive, my group arrived into Atlanta well after the 4pm opening of The Masquerade Music Park.  Assuming that the venue had scheduled some small openers we never thought we would miss a show if we showed up around 630 or so.  Unfortunately, we were way off...after a cab ride that still sparks conflict between the group,  we arrived well after the start of the music.  We soon learned that Bob Weir & Ratdog had already left the stage, this was not a good start.  We waited for Moe. to begin, and I made sure the missed show did not bring me down, and as soon as the music began all worries were lost.  Starting the set off just like Bonnaroo with Plane Crash got everybody in the mood, and our night was off to a start.  In my eyes however, Moe. made their presence known when they played one my personal favorites, Tailspin.  As the show continued, Moe brought the crowd back down to reality at about 11pm, which to me was a suprise considering they had played for around 6 hours at Bonnaroo.  

After the crowd dispersed from the outdoor music park, our group made our way upstairs into the Heaven floor of the indoor venue.  Perpetual Groove started out with their song life, but followed it up with a similar version of the song 3 Weeks, that they also played at Freebird Live, on our journey to Jacksonville, FL.  Their first set however was closed out with another personal favorite, Green Tea, a great song to get the crowd ready for the late night they would be playing.  

The second day, was started out making sure we were able to get to the venue with some time to explore its surroundings including lot tailgates and vendors and also making sure we were there for all the music.  Moe. once again lit the stage on fire, however unfortunately I can not say the same of Bob Weir.  Although a fan of The Grateful Dead, I do believe that this set should have been played before Moe.  with the adrenaline and excitement that Moe. had already brought to the stage, Ratdog seemed to have almost lost the crowd until they played Shakedown Street, always a classic.  However, this night was still young.

Leading into the end of the night, the question still lingered.  With Ratdog fading into the background of the weekend, would Moe. or Perpetual Groove be the band to take the weekend away?  My question was soon answered with one of the best Perpetual Groove sets I have seen.  Opening the stage with Teakwood Betz, a crowd favorite, as well as an amazing cover of A HA's- Take on Me.  While playing Take on Me, the crowd seemed to wonder if Brock could hit the high notes, and not only did he hit them, he killed them!  Long story short, although Moe put on a great show, the late night crowd, atmosphere and sheer greatness of Perpetual Groove's late night shows took the weekend away.   

Perpetual Groove

Two days of sheer greatness...my weekend with Perpetual Groove was more successful then I had ever expected. When originally coming up with a plan, I did not expect to be in Jacksonville at all for the show, but ended up sharing a hotel room walking distance from Jacksonville Beach's Freebird Live. Although we arrived a bit late due to our journey from Tampa, I was excited to see my name on the guest list for the first time in my life, thanks to Adam Neelly who is a close friend and promoter of P Groove. The venue, Freebird Live, is located footsteps from the beach, and is two stories. The first floor has a decent sized bar and ample room for dancing, and the upper level balcony looked over the stage as well as offered smokers an area to get outside and fire up. Although the entire show was a hit, the twenty plus minute song Three Weeks was a perfect close to the first set, generating energy for the second half of the evening. I chose to spend the majority of the second set overlooking from the upstairs balcony, after realizing the amount of dance space available upstairs, it wasn't a difficult decision to make. The evening was capped off with a great encore of Robot Waltz and a trip to the beach after the show.

Within 24 hours, I found myself in Ybor City's Crowbar in Tampa. Now, even as a Tampa resident it was my first trip to the Crowbar, and it quickly has become one of my favorites. The very small venue makes it easy to have a very intimate time, and the outdoor patio makes it easy to cool off from the dance floor without missing a note. Although both nights were great, I would have to say Tampa was a much better show simply because of the small and intimate size of the Crowbar, not to mention the cover of Fatboy Slims' Praise You that ended the evening. 

Long story short, if you ever have the opportunity to see Perpetual Groove in concert, do it. Not only will you have a blast at the show, but you will quickly come to find that this band is extremely dedicated to its fans. They made my weekend something I did not think it would be just days before they arrived in Jacksonville, Florida. Thanks for getting us on the list, thanks for cutting me a deal on merchandise when I was down to my last $20, and thanks for being awesome enough to be playing after Moe. and Bob Weir in Atlanta next weekend. See you in ATL!