Residency Diary: Happy Hollows, Part Three

Residency Diaries are exactly what they sound like: the thoughts, musings, and scribbles of rock bands as they host a series of month-long shows in various Los Angeles venues. This month’s R.D. entries will be from the Happy Hollows, a band whose wild-eyed artpop bloodlust can be heard every Monday night in November for free at Spaceland (presented by Aquarium Drunkard and Buzzbands.LA).

By Charlie Mahoney (bass, vocals)

We reached the midpoint of our residency last week. For the first time we arrived at Spaceland a bit late.  When we walked in The Drums had already loaded in so we had to rush up on stage and get going with our sound check.  Our sound guy, Staci, has been really wonderful throughout the residency.  He really pays attention to all the little details that go into getting us to sound decent up on stage and we are very grateful to have him around.  He’s done our sound every week so the check was a breeze.

After we broke down we went over to Leela Thai to get some food.  The standard pre-show meal for the residency is potato wontons, pineapple red curry, pad Thai with shrimp, and lemongrass beef.  While we were eating, The Drums strutted and posed around Spaceland with some fashion photographer while they checked the levels of their backing tracks.

The first band to play was Random Patterns. Diana Freuer from L.A. Record told me about this band a couple of months ago so I went and checked out their MySpace page and it sounded great so we asked them to play with us. Good thing we did because their live show was exceptional! Even better than what I had heard online.  Their drummer was amazing!  We are looking forward to playing with them again.

After The Drums played, we got up on stage and ran through a quick set. We played some songs we haven’t done in a while like “Colors” and “Vietnam.”  It is fun to revisit those tracks from the old days.  This was probably my favorite set of the entire residency.  Maybe it could have used a little “DeLorean” at the end though ;)  The residency poster contest was in full effect. We had about 15 new entries! The winner of the contest gets a FREE electric guitar from Daisyrock!

Finally, Evan Way from The Parson Redheads played his amazing acoustic music. I love Evan’s acoustic songs because they are so minimal.  He doesn’t “over strum,” as so many acoustic acts do; rather, he just lightly strokes one chord after the next and lets his soothing voice do the work with some really wonderful melodies.

At the end of the night there was an “incident” out front. Apparently a guy at the bar was not happy about being “cut off” by the bartender and insulted her. He was summarily thrown out of the club by security and, in the process, his hand was badly cut.  Blood was everywhere.  Shortly thereafter some policemen arrived.  And then more. And then a few more. Eventually eleven or so cops were on the scene questioning the parties involved in the first ever Spaceland UFC match.  I am not sure how things all turned out because this was just too much drama for 2AM.  So, the second I could navigate our van around the cop cars I did and got the hell out of there.

Anyway….we are very thankful to all the people who keep coming out week after week to support us.  This Monday we are playing with New Jersey band Real Estate, the legendary Dios, and the outstanding One Trick Pony.  We hope it is another great night!

November 23, 2009 | Filed Under Concert Reviews, Exclusive Features, Residency Diaries 

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