Bravery vs. Ash - you be the judge

Just so I get this over with, I'm a huge dork when it comes to 'celebs;' basically, if your face has appeared in a glossy magazine, I will get all mushy and ga-ga and melt when I see you. So my brain exploded a little when Jack White and Brendan Benson were in the same room for but a moment. I got all giggly around Mr. Stripes during the Blache/Von Bondies Deathmatch evening at the Magic Stick some years ago. So, guess how I felt when this happened?



After much coaxing from Emily, Jackie and Ron, I ran up to him just before he began to bowl (yeah, HE BOWLED AT THE GARDEN BOWL! HOW COOL IS THAT?) and told him that the show was 'outstanding.' He was all smiley too and all 'cheers' and 'alright' and he threw his arm around me and I almost backed off! That's how cool they are. They just love the fans and they love the attention. As they should, they deserve it. Set list for last night's show was as follows:

meltdown
life less ordinary
orpheus
girl from mars
clones
shining light
renegade clavalcade
kung fu
out of the blue
walking barefoot
detonator
burn baby burn

Big props go out to SuperFan in the front row with the non-stop devil horn throwing. Tip of the cap to that kid. I can honestly say that Ash is one of my favorite bands. I bathed myself in 'Meltdown' this morning. And boy, did I need to. I had a serious case of the Mondays, not unlike Micheal Bolton in 'Office Space.' Damn, it feels good to be a gansta.

The night was made that much sweeter by the following good peeps: Your Majesty Grambo, Sir Ron of the City, The Lady Emily, Dutchess Jackie of Gargantua, Duke Jeffery of Gargantua, and The Earl of Caruana.

And for the official photo flip book, check it here, yo

Post-script- I liked the Bravery. The crowd certainly spoke when half the place cleared out after Ash (who was mistakenly placed at the opener...no encore buzz), but I danced and I sang and I enjoyed them. Do I like Ash more? Hells yes. Did I think the Bravery's outfits were a bit ridiculous? Yes again. But all in all, for a double bill, I went home extremely happy and enjoyed the video for "Spit it out" on Subterranean. Brendan Benson - also totally crushable. But thin.