SPEAK for a year: June and July

Submitted by Sarah on Mon, 07/19/2010 - 13:43
in

P1020306June
You know, not all shows can be winners. Every band has an off night and for SPEAK, the June show was an off night. I dont know what happened. Everything was in line for a great show. The three opening bands, The Frontier Brothers, The Eastern Sea and Marmalakes, were great. They got the crowd all warmed up ready for more pop goodness when it was time for SPEAK.

But when the guys got on stage and started playing, something was off. That spark just wasn't there. I immediately panicked thinking this crazy idea of following SPEAK for a year was finally getting to me and I was starting to lose interest in them. Noooo. This can't happen so soon. But I glanced at my friend next to me who saw them in April and she agreed with me that something did indeed seemed off.

The music was there. The songs were tight. But that extra oomph just wasnt. Maybe the guys were tired? Maybe its time to change the setlist? Who knows. However, I'm not saying the show was a complete bust. Because it wasn't at all. After they played a Prince cover, they got their mojo back.

P1020907July
Now on the flipside, I think this show was their best yet. July SPEAK show took me to Antone's for the 35th Anniversary show with Bob Schneider. For those not from Austin, opening for him is kinda a big deal. It's amazing how much buzz they're getting from the short time it's all happened. What a year. Getting these heavy hitting shows is awesome for them. Not so awesome for this girl's wallet. Cover is starting to become too steep for my budget (ACL in October is gonna be a bitch.) and I almost didn't make this show. However, the boys came through for me so I got to see the show. Hooray.

Anyway, the majority of the crowd was there for Bob so they met SPEAK for the first time that night. I heard a lot of people asking each other "Who is this band?" (which means SPEAK got their attention) and even saw one guy's face lit up when SPEAK played my favorite cover of theirs "Don't You Forget About Me" from one of my favorite movies ever. It kinda reminded me of that show when I discovered them in December in that same exact venue. It was like this show was bringing us all back in full circle... but I still have five months to go.