When In AZ... CD Release At Yucca

We got to Yucca just a little after 9. Walking in was disjointing, as a lot of changes have been made, the biggest being that the stage has moved from the west wall, to the east wall. Initially it was weird, and walking past that section to get past the stage made you feel like you were naked. Maybe that is why it was a quick march to the front of the bar where Aaron was propped up on a bar stool. With news that Strange Young Things weren't going on until 11, it was quickly decided to head out to Dean's.

For us it turned out to be a comical affair, as Roeder sped off into the night on the 101, leaving us far behind. After completely missing where he got off, we turned around, and then promptly went the wrong way down Chandler Blvd. Once we hit Kyrene we decided that it was best for us...well, for everyone involved, to abort and head back to Yucca. It had certainly been a long day, particular for Katie with all the driving around the valley we'd done, evident by here nature draw to turn right off the 101 to get to Yucca. Thankfully having my bearings (at least in Tempe, if not in Chandler) avoided another long drive in the wrong direction.

On returning to Yucca, The Rebel Set has just started playing. By the stage was deafening - I have always had a problem with the full band sound at Yucca, and this was no exception. We headed back to the front of the bar and sat around while the band played. Once they'd finished, I went out for a smoke, stopping on the way out to pick up a When In AZ... drop (download) card.

Standing out the back of Yucca, I commented to Katie that it was weird not seeing anyone you recognized at Yucca - not even Venus was behind the bar. Ironically, about 2 minutes later Branon (former owner of The Last Exit Bar & Grill) walked in. After finishing the smoke, we walked in, in perfect time as Strange Young Things started playing virtually immediately.

Y'know how said I've never liked the full band sound at Yucca? That changed when Strange Young Things took the stage! Holy cow! Admittedly the full bands I've seen at Yucca is limited (The Black Moods, Flathead, Necronaughts) verses more striped down acoustic performances, but I'd never heard it sound as good at Yucca. An immediate standout aspect of the performance was that whoever was on the skins (not Rich) was thumping the complete shit out of them and was really impressive. Overall, the show was a lot like I would have expected / imagined - Corey hamming it up, and the band completely rocking out. One aspect that was surprising was how many new songs they played, considering that Look What They've Done To My Champagne Music came out under a year ago.

It was somewhat of a shorter set, which I'd have expected given the who When In AZ... lineup of 5 bands. But we still got quite a few of songs of the record - When In Rome, Left Breast Pocket, Get Your Fire For Free, Lonely Hearts Are Wild. The awesomeness of Strange Young Things was apparent in the new (and unfamiliar) songs - in that they were as enjoyable to watch / hear as everything off the album. Can this band do any wrong? At this point, it seems not. Before they'd gone on, Katie said she expected to see me up the front, since we drove 20 hours for show, and certainly throughout and after I was convinced the performance was absolutely worth it (well, combined with what we've already, and plan to in the next few days) achieve in Phoenix.

After their set I introduced myself to Nick who put the compilation together and I'd emailed a few weeks ago. Once Kirkwood Dellinger started up, we moved back to the front of Yucca to chat. Funnily enough a few songs were recognizable from hearing them so much on Point Of Ventre. After which, it seeming like time to. All things considered, and with how wiped she was, I was surprised that Katie held on up until this point. I'd seen Strange Young Things, picked up the compilation and chatted to Nick, basically everything I wanted to achieve was done, so I was fine to go. It was funny to step outside and realize that it was 1 o'clock!! The only band we ended up missing was Source Victoria, which was fine by me. We're going to have plenty of time and opportunity to catch them in the future anyway.

Funny part of the night - obviously getting to go back to Yucca, it's hard to not to think of it's best regular, the King Of Last Call, if only briefly. I'd kinda thought about the possibility of seeing Steve at some point, but didn't expect to see an appearance, pretty much because of the genre of the bands playing tonight. But sure enough, after Strange Young Things played, in walked someone under a dark baseball hat, black sleeveless shirt, shorts and sandles - the recognizable Larson outfit. I guess it goes to show, some things at Yucca just don't change!