Saw the Sea And Cake, last night at the Cat's Cradle. Meg Baird opened for them.

Meg Baird is a women who sings... traditional folk ballads. Just her and her acoustic, very Thistle and Shamrock at times. Thankfully, she's actually really good at it, too. But, wow, what a strange choice to open for a band like the Sea And Cake. The rest of the crowd weren't in the mood and rudely talked over most of her set.

She sat on her stool, motionless, and sang with her eyes closed, her entire set.

And then, somewhere around 10:45, the Sea And Cake started.

I've seen them before (at the same place), but I was in the middle of the club then, so I heard the PA mix. Last night I was up front so I got to hear the sound from the stage, where the distinction between the two guitars was sharp. I've heard all their records a million times, but I've never really tried to distinguish Archer Prewitt's guitar parts from Sam Prekop's guitar parts: what are they each doing, how do they relate to the other, etc.. When they're right in front of you, though, it's obvious who's playing what; and it's obvious then just how different their two parts can be from each other - often discordant, off time from each other, etc. - and how amazing it is that they work together as well as they do.

One other thing I noticed, after seeing them last night is just how good the bass player, Eric Claridge is. He kindof gets buried on the records, but many of his parts are as complex and interesting as the two guitars are. Something I've known for a long time is how good a drummer John McEntire is, but watching him is something else. His sound on studio records is very clean, very precise, crisp; I've always had this image of him sitting there very cool, calm and in-control. No, that's not him. Not at all. He's totally into it: head, neck and, face included. Looks like he's having a blast.

They played a few of my favorites (esp. "The Biz" and "Parasol"). They played a few off their new record, which didn't do much for me when I got it; but the songs sounded good live. Overall, they rock a bit more live, than they do on the records, where it all gets polished and smoothed. Live, it's all a bit more raw and in your face. Good show. Since I don't know anyone (except Joe, who introduced me to them) who even knows what the Sea And Cake sound like, let alone anyone who likes them, I wasn't sure what a Sea And Cake crowd would look like. Turns out, it looks exactly like the UNC student body; and I was a little surprised to see a group of college girls crowding the front of the stage, singing along with all the songs no less. That's a nice change from other shows I've been to lately (ex. Belew, Hitchcock), where the dominant demographic is aging hipsters with gray ponytails and Hawaiian shirts.

Speaking of aging... damn. I can't handle getting home at 12:45 and needing to get up for work at 6:45. Pinback's playing there next Wednesday, hope I can talk myself into it.