2018's First First Friday

On January 5th, I went to the First Friday event at Spirit. It was the first one of the year, and some of my friends were playing at the event. Even though it was fiendishly frigid, I was able to just walk the few blocks to the venue.

I got to the event and nobody was really there. I looked at some of the art by Donald Ducote. He has a textural, abstract style that uses a lot of red. It's kind of ugly in a cool way, but I can't say that I was that interested in it. I always think the art placement at Spirit is a little strange; it's not particularly well set up for that sort of thing, but I appreciate that they make an effort to do it. I do think if the lighting had been better on the art, I might have looked at it more closely. Anyway, I didn't see anyone I knew, and nothing seemed to be happening at the moment, so I left.

I went back to Spirit a little bit later. Now there was something going on. Many more people were there, and some equipment was set up. I saw my friends in BBGuns at a table and sat with them as another friend, Valerie Kuehne, began to play.

Valerie played a very furious and exciting set. At first, the crowd seemed unsure of what to make of it. I think it went really well. Her cover of "I Can't Stand Losing You" by The Police was interesting, though that might have been the weakest part. It was a bold move though.

The Petals were next. I had never heard of them before, and I can't say I am much of a fan. They played a sort of 2000s indie/baroque rock thing like The Arcade Fire. I liked some of it when it sounded like The Good, The Bad, & The Queen. Also, the guitars and some of the vocals were cool.

BBGuns, the main event for me, were playing third. The audience had thinned quite a bit, possibly from the variable sound and feelings towards the last two acts, or maybe it was just late. It was awesome to hear the new singles live, and the old songs sounded good too. I am excited for the album release party on February 16th. I thought this was the best performance that night, though I did not stay much later.

After BBGuns, I went home. It was cold and I got a ride. There's not much else to say; it was a fun and short show. Thinking back, I do wish I had stayed for the last performer, a rapper named NVSV. I did listen to him on his Facebook page. I can't say I like it too much, but I do always like to see something new, even if I don't like it. I hope to see you at the BBGuns album release party or at other First Fridays at Spirit or on Penn Ave. later in the year.