Vaden Todd Lewis of The Toadies - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
by jeff barringer
club kingsnake staff
The Toadies
Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas
http://www.myspace.com/toadies
Marky The Toadies Concert Photos
Friday December 14th, 2007
Austin Music Hall (Austin, Texas)
Also:
Pleasant Grove,
Baboon
The line wrapped around the parking garage and wending up to the venue had begun to move by the time I got there. I stopped on the way in to say hello to the security guys standing under the glare of kleig lights before heading up to will call, pausing to look up at the exterior of the new hall lit up under the harsh beams.
Though not finished, the brand new Austin Music Hall sparkled like a giant concrete and glass diamond under the lights, as an endless centipede of people worked their way into its front doors. Security people, staffers, and maybe a few construction workers buzzed about the outside like worker bees returning to the hive.
Making my way to will call, it was obvious that Direct Events had pulled out all stops to have extra staffing as I didn't recognize more than half the people working. I even had to show ID to get my photo pass, which is rare since most of the ticketing folk know me by sight now. Still I was glad to see that the passes had made it to will call already since I was a bit early, and since the show was way sold out it would be problematic to get in otherwise.
Toadies Austin Set List - more photos... photo by gary miller - contributing photographer |
I had had a bad week and for the first time in a long while I found myself at the bar ordering a good stiff drink, a double TNT. The bartender, knowing my usual fare when working was a coke offered me a holiday greeting as she slid the drink across the bar and tried to cheer me up. Alas, no time to find that sympathetic ear, the line behind me was huge and I was unceremoniously shuffled out the way by the patron following me.
Heading off into the crowd with my drink and my camera bag, I made for stage door left and in no time was at the barrier. Cameras safely stowed, I stood and bantered with the security team as I nursed my drink. The security guys were going to have a tough job ahead of them.The place was already packed and perhaps only half the audience was in yet. I hadn't gotten permission to shoot the first or second bands, Pleasant Grove and Baboon so I just stood off to the side sipping on the gin and tonic.
Pleasant Grove opened the show and this Dallas based band was different, kind of an ambling, rambling sound that combines noise and grunge with vocals that sound like Lou Reed at half speed. Though I was willing to give them a fair shake a couple people next to me labeled them "boring". I think they had some merit, but this wasn't the right crowd for them.
Clark Vogeler of The Toadies - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
Baboon, the second band of the showcase, was considerably more in line with the energy level of the crowd. They reminded me a bit of a Texas flavored Cure, lighter and more power pop driven. Listening to them brought to mind a host of different influences, notably bands like The Records, the L.A. Beat and other power-punk infused bands of the early to mid 80's. These guys would be great to see in a small club.
The buzz from the gin had worn off by the time we were shuffled into the pit. The crowd on the floor had become huge, the venue full to bursting. In the pit I found Moondog and Jay West with several other still photographers and a videographer, along with at least a dozen beefy security guys. The pit, like the audience, was going to be packed.
After a hesitation for technical difficulties, the lights dimmed, the music trailed off and offstage the light from a door flickered as the band made it's way onstage. Lit by a single spotlight Toadies frontman Vaden Todd Lewis launched into the frenetically hard driving "Quitter" from the bands debut album "Rubberneck".
With drummer Mark Reznicek setting the pace, it hadn't been thirty seconds into the song when the first crowd surfer made it over the barricade and crashed directly into me. I tried to un-entangle myself from the surfer as the security team manhandled him out of the pit. This was a scene that was repeated over and over during our three songs, the crowd seeming to figure out the only way out of the venue was to get ejected from the pit. After the band covered "Plane Crash" from Heaven Above, Stars Below, and then "I Come From The Water", also off Rubberneck, we too were ejected from the pit. That would be the last time I actually could see the band all night.
Mark Hughes of The Toadies - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer |
The other photographers must have exited stage right because I exited stage left and found myself all alone at the end of the pit with no place to go but backstage. Braving it, I headed back and then up the stairs popping out in the VIP area overlooking the stage. By this time the band was well into their hit "Tyler" and as I made my way to the outside balcony I tried to catch glimpses of the band over the crowd but was frustrated. Even upstairs the place was packed. Forcing my way through the bathroom line and out onto the balcony, even there it was shoulder to shoulder.
Finally finding some standing space to have a cigarette, I became involved in a conversation with a couple guys talking about the venue. After answering a few questions, one of them asks me "So how is your sister doing..." . After a few seconds, it hits me that that this is John Kirtland, drummer for the band Deep Blue Something and owner of Kirtland Records. He had gone to school locally with my sister and brothers, and our families were friends back in the old neighborhood. The Toadies are on his label and we talked for a bit about the tour. I wanted to ask him more about his band but we both had to head off.
Making our way back into the venue, John headed back to the VIP area and I descended the staircase at the front only to find that there was no way back in. The crowd was just too deep. I stood back at the edge, every once in a while catching a glimpse of part of one of the band members over the crowd. I lasted til about the middle of their second encore, listening at the edge of the hall. The band sounded great, tight as ever, and despite my not being able to see them, from everywhere I stood the sound mix was nigh on perfect. I hope to see The Toadies again next year. Maybe the rumors of a new album are true, and if so I bet we can expect them to tour.
Thanks to The Toadies for inviting us out and Direct Events and the staff at the Austin Music Hall.
Vaden Todd Lewis of The Toadies - more photos... photo by jeff barringer - staff photographer
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