A few-

1. saw The Decemberists in some tiny community theater in Portland about ten years ago. I'm not actually crazy about their music- a little too campy/mannered for my tastes. But I was young and I wasn't expecting one thing or another and they did an amazing job of engaging and energizing a really small crowd. They played most of the set in the audience, starting with the first song where they walked through the crowd from the back exit. Drummer was playing a big bass marching drum. They had handmade costumes and props, and the whole thing was like a story. Sounds kind of silly in re-telling, but they pulled it off nicely. Like I said, not crazy about the music, but they kind of taught me how to be creative with how you interact with a crowd. They were all really sweet people, too.

2. Heliosequence. Friend and I had gone to see Built to Spill, and Heliosequence, who were relatively new at that point, opened for them. Just two guys, amazing electronic/drum/guitar setup. Lead singer had this awesome screamy/raspy voice at the time (which he later overused and fucked up his vocal chords, requiring him to re-consider how he wrote/sang songs), and he kind of howled all the lyrics over these chittering alien synth spaces and machine-gun drums. Built to Spill was good, but I came out of the show being totally psyched about Heliosequence.

3. Foreign Born- went to see Rogue Wave, and Foreign Born was opening. Rogue Wave wasn't great, and the lead singer acted kind of douchey. But Foreign Born was amazing. Wonder why it is that openers are often more surprising than headliners? Is it because you're not expecting as much of them and so it's easier for them to please? Or is it that they're so hungry to make it to the next level that they put something into their shows that the veterans don't?

What's funny about all these bands is that they're not really my favorites. But each of their live shows were so well-tuned that you couldn't help but get into it.

Also got to play with Yeasayer for a few shows right before they got big with their first album. Their live show was already perfectly tuned, and the musical dynamic fit the time perfectly. Good confluence of style and timing. None of the audiences really knew who they were, and everybody was totally blown away. Also really nice guys.