On March 18, 2008, a few friends and I took a road trip out to Columbia, Missouri to see a show at a club called the Blue Note.
Man Man, a band that I am a fan of, was on tour, but not coming to St. Louis, so I was willing to endure a two-hour car ride to see them. Anyone who's seen Man Man knows, their shows are definitely worth going to. As a bonus, this date on their tour coincided with the tour of a band called
Islands, who I had never listened to, but a few friends of mine were fans so I figured I would enjoy myself.
Upon entering the Blue Note, I noticed these interesting shirts hanging above the merch table. They were of an extremely simple design, a maroon shirt with a large yellow heart and the word "Pomegranates" along one of the sides of the heart. "Must be one of the openers," I thought.
My group of friends filtered into the area where we would stand during the show, and I noticed "The Lonesome Crowded West" by Modest Mouse playing over the speakers. One of my favorite records, and it made sense because Man Man had just finished a tour opening for Modest Mouse. It got pretty far into the record before the lights dimmed and the first band walked on stage. I asked, "Which band is this?" and my friend Gabi responded, "I think it's the Pomegranates."
The second time I had heard that name, and I had no idea how much it would mean to me by the end of the night.
The guitarist came up to the mic and introduced the band, and I noticed that he was looking at the floor. He seemed incredibly nervous, and I started thinking they may not be the best performers. They started playing, and I realized I was wrong. They delivered an extremely solid performance that I was thoroughly enjoying, even though I had never heard any of these songs before.
The band had built up to very dynamic song that I would eventually come to know as "Osidius the Emphatic, and I was nodding my head along with the very powerful beat, when suddenly everything cut out. The only member left playing was that same guitarist, playing a four chord progression and quietly repeating the line, "I don't seem to see so clearly." After a couple repititions, the bass gently resumed, and the other singer joined in with another melody, singing, "Starry skies don't know my name, and starry skies won't pull me from the grave." Again, a couple repititions, and just as suddenly as everything cut out, the entire band started playing an instrumental outro louder and more powerful than anything they had played that night.
I was genuinely, deeply, and profoundly moved.
After Man Man's set, we decided to relocate to the balcony Islands' performance, and I decided now was the time I should buy the Man Man t-shirt I had brought money for. I arrived at the merch table, and I saw that shirt I had seen when I first walked in. Sitting under it this time were the Pomegranates themselves. Right here I had realized that I had really liked their set a lot more than Man Man's, so I went to buy their shirt instead.
I started talking to the drummer and singer, who introduced themselves as Jacob and Joey, and eventually asked if they would sign my ticket. Jacob looked at me and asked, "You know we're not Islands, right?" I told him I knew who they were and that their set really blew me away.
We kept talking and he found out that I was from St. Louis. He informed me that they would be playing at a place called Off Broadway in St. Louis the next day, if I wanted to see them again. I told him I would have loved to, but didn't have enough money to spare at the time. Eventually, I told him that I needed to get back to my friends before the next act started. But before I left, Jacob offered to put me on the guest list for the show the next day, if I wanted to see them again. Of course, I agreed.
I was able to get my friend Nick to go to the show with me, on the condition that we split a ticket, instead of me getting in for free and him paying the $10. This was very fair and I agreed completely. After another amazing set that totally won over Nick, the band announced that they would be returning to St. Louis on April 15, playing the Lemp Arts Center. I recognized this as the same date that Robby Ritter, formerly of Ghost of the Forest, was debuting his side-project,
Bear (The Ghost). I had seen Robby at the show, and decided it was worth a shot to ask if I could put my band on the date as well.
After a couple days, he recieved an answer of no from another performer who was on the fence about the night, so he sent me an e-mail saying that we could indeed play.
That's the story of how I heard, met, and played a show with my now favorite band. I have played with them once since as an acoustic duo with my friend Ray, and been to two other of their shows as an audience member. I try to see them every time they come in town, which is actually a lot. If you haven't heard them, you should definitely check them out.
