Foo Fighters @Velvet Jones in SB 1/28/11

Foo Fighters w/ Mariachi el Bronx

When: Friday, January 28, 2011
Venue: Velvet Jones, Santa Barbara
Accompanied by: Kelly O.
Genre: Rock 


The buzz around town over the past week via Twitter was that the Foo Fighters were itching to perform their new album live in front of an audience. Heck, even The Bronx, who also perform as Mariachi el Bronx, were in on the fun, posting cryptic tweets indicating something big to happen on Friday. To be honest, I did not read between the lines - and completely believed that the only thing happening yesterday was going to be an announcement of a gig that would have everyone clamoring. Boy was I wrong!!  We all knew that we needed to be ready for some sort of surprise to be posted on Twitter, but not a clue as to when. Work being slow and me being bored out of my mind, I was glued to Twitter pretty much the entire morning. 


By lunch time, there was no word. Shortly after, a Tweet was posted asking "you guys ready". Um, yeah! Done been ready!!  And yet, we were back to waiting. 

About 3:00pm, I picked up a message from a friend that it might be in my best interest to head North towards Santa Barbara. I was hesitant because there had been no confirmation of any sort. That's about when the fun began with the "I spy" photos that were being posted by Dave Grohl tweets. By 3:30, I had picked up my partner in crime and we were northbound on the 405, making our way to the 101!!

As we fought the typical LA traffic, and so glad we could make use of the car pool lane, my copilot continuously check Twitter for new clues and messages. We knew without a doubt we were on the right track when we saw the photo of the Big Yellow House sign. And for sure there would be no turning back!  The excitement continued to set in! And the traffic tried its best to kill the mood. But we persevered!! After being on the road for a couple of hours, the creme de la resistance was posted and I felt my foot go heavy on the gas. 


There were moments when we discussed the possibility of getting there and not being able to get in. But we tried to not let those negative thoughts enter our minds. Besides, we had come this far so of course, we were going to get in. And then it happened. We couldn't have been more than 15 minutes away from the venue when we read this tweet 

What?! Are you serious?? I refuse to get upset over this. Santa Barbara is a beautiful town and there are plenty of restaurants...surely, we will make a night of it no matter what. But to be honest, my heart sunk a little. And then I thought about how much it would have sucked to be the person in line at the venue where the number was cut off...can you imagine his or her disappointment? So we just kept on going. And let me tell you, hot damn, I am glad we did!!

TWENTY SIX song set!! The new album, which has yet to be titled, was performed in its entirety and I got to hear it live!!  Hell yes! Don't expect a review here from me...that's not what I do. I leave that to the professionals - so if you want to read a great review of the evening, please read this awesome article from the amazing Johnny Firecloud. My opinion of the new album is this - you won't be disappointed. We will find no "Wheels" or "Word Forward" songs on this album. And as much as I love ESP&G, this album pretty much rawks all the way through from start to finish. 


As for The Bronx/Mariachi el Bronx - I had never seen them before, but was familiar with the Mariachi alter ego. Mi amiga is a big fan and this band was the reason she joined me on this venture. I have to say, they freakin' kicked ass and I definitely want to see them again. The downside is that we had to view MeB from outside because we didn't have the golden ticket/wristband. But the door was open and the sound was loud, so we caught a fairly decent show. And of course, we had their last CD playing on the drive up and back, so I got my fair share.


Overall, a memorable adventure. Of course, during the show, Dave eluded to more shows to follow soon by saying "see you next week". But that is speculation...or is it? All I know is I have my Twitter settings geared up to automatically text me when certain you-know-who's tweet and/or send me direct messages!! Next time, and there will be a next time, I plan on being within the first dozen in line and shall suffer no more mishaps!!


oh, and they allowed phones in to this venue...so you know what that means!? A lot of cell phone videos on youtube! Enjoy!