The Joy Formidable | The Observatory in Santa Ana | 03.18.13

Way back in November, we had tickets to see The Joy Formidable, about which I was super excited. Then the week turned into a really effed up, stressful, depressing mess, and we completely forgot to go. Like... we just flat out forgot. It was on the calendar and everything, but we were so busy wallowing that I do believe we just spent that evening snuggling and eating, as is our way. So, when I heard they were going to be at The Observatory I was so pleased that we would finally be able to make up for that error. Even better, they have released a new album since then, so I bet this show was way more exciting than the one we missed! *sour grapes/silver linings*

The first thing we need to report is that it appears that The Observatory is remodeling the balcony where they serve dinner. If you call or go online ahead of time, you can reserve a table and that way you are able to have a seat for the show. We always go for this option because we're old and the standing room there isn't great. Also, their burgers are stellar. Another upside is that there's a private, very clean bathroom up there, which may sound silly but means a lot to me. The past few times we have gone, we noticed that there was a lot of room for improvement up there: the stairs and the edges of the front of the balcony are unfinished, the tables seem to just be plywood, the floor is a bit uneven. This time, they seated us downstairs near the railings because they were doing some more construction up there, which is good news for the future, but was kind of crappy for this show. It was hard to see because there were people standing in front of us on the same level. Most of the people who went to the effort and expense to reserve tables ended up standing the entire show. Kind of a bummer. At one point a couple of young girls went to sit in the booth on the level below us, and when one of them attempted to sit on the back edge of the seat so that she would be directly in front of me I just glared at her and shook my head. She slunk back down, quite chastened. I was simultaneously proud for standing up for myself and kind of ashamed for being "that" lady.

The opener was perfectly passable but nothing really all too exciting. Comprised of five squirrelly little guys, the lead singer was quite mumble mouthed so we spent a good portion of their set debating what he said their name was: Fartilene, Fart in a Mitten, Fleur de Lis, Far Lean, Fort Wayne, Furtively. This was their first show in California, and their lack of stage presence made me wonder if they had played many shows at all. They kept (sarcastically?) saying how nice we were when the crowd politely clapped after each song, and asked if everyone is like that in California. At the end we expected them to say their name again, but no - they just finished and shambled quietly offstage. B was sure it was Olean, so I made him go to the merch table to find out. Supposedly, their name was actually Fort Lean, but Brandon is pretty sure their printer just couldn't understand them and went with that. "Either way, I don't give a poop," he claimed.

On to the show! The Joy Formidable is a band from Wales, so of course my attraction comes partly from the adorable accent of the icy blond pixie of a lead singer (named Ritzy... come ON). I had a feeling they would be a "jump around nonstop and have a damn good time" type of band, and they sure were. They make a LOT of noise for just three people. Before they even came onstage, I was delighted by the giant wolf head cutout on the stage, clearly in honor of their new album, Wolf's Law. 

Look, it may seem superficial, but I really appreciate a bit of stagecraft. It doesn't have to be crazy or dramatic, but do a lil something with your set and it buys you a ton of goodwill with me. I whispered to Brandon that I hoped it would howl or something, and he stoically said they are probably just going to project something onto it. We were both right! As soon as the lights went down, the theater was filled with wild wolf howls and the edges of the cutout started to sparkle. I was thrilled! For the entirety of the show, they projected images or abstract designs on the entire white background. Very fun. We both really enjoyed the odd stage setup as well, with the drummer sideways on the right (we were seated to the left of the stage, so we had a great view of him) and he had a GIANT gong behind him. Although that didn't really seem to come into play till the last song, it was a very cool visual. In fact, we were really impressed with all of the visuals, including the lighting, but they did rely a bit too heavily on the strobe. That would probably be our only complaint.

The set list was great and they put an even more raucous, crazed spin on their already hyper songs. However, the standout for us was the beautiful, acoustic Silent Treatment. We were more than a little peeved at the loud people in the bar area completely disregarding the song at first, but they quickly realized that something pretty magical was happening onstage and they settled down. The show ended with my very favorite song of theirs, Whirring, which they turned into an extended eardrum blasting explosion of pure joy. You could say it was quite formidable. ;o)

Matt & Kim | The Observatory in Santa Ana | 03.09.13

Anyone who knows us at all knows that we go to a lot of shows. A LOT of shows. It makes sense to us, because we love music and we basically met at a concert. Live music is probably my second favorite thing in the world and I would choose it over pretty much any other pastime. The recent re-fashioning of the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana to become The Observatory has resulted in a plethora of incredible bands appearing right in our backyard, so it's made it even more feasible for us to load up our always busy calendar with concerts. So, Brandon decided we should start blogging about our experiences, both as a good way to preserve the memories for ourselves and to share them with others. I thought that sounded like WAY more fun than 100 Movies of Summer ever was, so I agreed to give it a shot.

Let's start out with a wild one, shall we? Matt & Kim have been on my radar since I first heard Yea Yeah on XM several years ago. When I saw the hilarious video I was completely hooked. They have had little sprinkles of notoriety here and there, with their songs being used in commercials and tv shows, and most notably for the video for Lessons Learned in which they ran naked through Times Square. Recently they were contacted by the Guinness Book of World Records and informed they hold the record for the largest number of people performing the Harlem Shake  (how is that even a record?? they didn't realize it either at the time).

I was thrilled that they were going to be in town so I snapped up the tickets immediately. B was less enthused but I assured him it was going to be an incredible show. They didn't disappoint. Before we get to the main act, however, I must give honorable mention to opener PAPA. These guys were actually quite good, and bonus points for having a song called Let's Make You Pregnant as well as having a guitar player who totally looked like he was cosplaying Marshall Lee from Adventure Time.

When Matt & Kim finally hit the stage, they were welcomed by the loudest cheer I have ever heard at that venue. The sold out crowd (including a bunch of people dressed like bananas) went absolutely berserk and that energy did not wane the entire show. A gigantic smile was plastered across my face as I watched the enthusiastic pair blast through all of their hits and more, with foul-mouthed little firecracker Kim often playing the drums while standing up on her stool and Gumby-esque Matt twisting himself into all sorts of poses as he slammed out the tunes on the keyboard. One of the highlights of the show occurred early on when they threw a bag of balloons out into the crowd, showered the fans with confetti, and asked them to blow up said balloons and wave them around during the next song. The effect was absolutely magical and I could barely contain my excitement. I would wager that most everyone in the room felt the same all night. Kim often encouraged the crowd to sing or dance along with them, repeating over and over, "We do this shit TOGETHER" and everyone was happy to oblige. The duo seemed genuinely happy and excited to be there, explaining that this was their first headlining show in quite a while as they were just coming off a supporting gig during which they would play at most 45 minutes each night. Much to my great delight, when they sang Yea Yeah, the song that brought the band to me way back when, Kim demanded that the bananas crowd surf for that one, and crowd surf they did. She returned the favor later in the show by "walking" on top of the crowd a few feet out into the audience. This was cut a bit short because of a leg injury she sustained recently (apparently she fell down some stairs while texting) and had to wear what Matt referred to as a "medical boot," which seemed to hamper her progress a bit. You would never have guessed she was at less that 100%, however, because she spent the majority of her time hopping, strutting, and wiggling her butt around the stage, sometimes on top of her bass drum. In fact, at one point when she was bent over shaking her butt at us, Matt went around and treated it like a bongo. She was sooooooooooooooooooo so much fun to watch.

This is my favorite type of show, because although I don't have the biggest emotional connection to the band, I knew that they would go out there and put on a SHOW for us. I felt nothing but pure, unadulterated happiness the entire time I was witnessing the spectacle, which is exactly what I was hoping would happen. If there is ever a moment that I wonder why I spend so much of my time and money watching live music, all I have to do is read this entry and remember the feeling I get when I do.