Were You There The Night Lights Lit Up The Canyon Club?

I got up this morning and my roommate gave me the Calendar section of the LA Times, just like she does every morning. On the front page is an article about Prince wowing the crowd at The Coachella Music Festival. I put it into my purse to read later. I got into the car to drive to work and Mark and Brian were talking about Prince at Coachella and how quick the clips ended up on YouTube. My co-workers were all a buzz when I came in this morning about the same topic. All this talk about Prince wowing the crowd at one of the largest, most trend-setting music festivals got me to think about where he came from. When did he go from club musician in Minneapolis to mega star in the California desert?

Someday Lights fans will ask the same question. They will wonder when, where and how did the band go from the garage to being the best band out there. These questions can be answered for Lights fans today. When did it happen: Friday April 25, 2008. The location: The Canyon Club, Agoura Hills California. How did they do it: By putting on the most amazing show The Canyon Club has seen in a long time.

This was a night where everything just seemed right on target, starting with the venue! Nestled at the foot of Agoura Hills, The Canyon Club is known in the Valley as one of the premier places to play. Not just any band plays there. It holds more people than your average bar and with its warm atmosphere and friendly bar staff; people love to go there to see shows.

The next element was the crowd that came out Friday! They were primed and ready for a great show! All week long they were seeing MySpace bulletins and getting emails and phone calls from friends telling them how awesome this show was going to be! Wanting to see if the band would deliver on that promise, people turned out! The place was packed! All the tables were full and there was hardly room to breathe on the dance floor let alone move!

So we have a great venue and a pumped up crowd. Sounds like just another Lights show, right? Oh no, my friends! The band made sure that wasn't the case. From the first note of "Escape", the band came out playing like their lives depended on it. All through out the show, the guys played like a cohesive unit, every harmony dead on, every queue hit, not a note out of place!

This was the first show that put the members of the band in a spotlight all their own. Each of the three solos was special in its own way as every member of the band is talented. New member Michael showed what a powerful drummer he is. Keyboardist Jeff got the chance to come forward and show what a great keyboardist he is, something that doesn't always come through while playing in the background.

However, the solo that stuck out to me was from lead guitarist Jonny. I have always known he was talented but was never quite sure if he was serious. Did he want to just hang out and have a good time playing or did he want to make a bid at being the next Eddie Van Halen? By the sounds of his playing Friday, he is more than serious. Melodic and purposeful with incredible fretwork, Jonny's playing Friday brought to my mind a young Neal Schon back when he played with Santana. Jonny is just a little older than Neal was at the time so the possibilities are there for him to become so much more! That starts with the awesome solo he played Friday!

From start to finish, the band kept the energy high! The crowd was whipped into a frenzy early as the rockin music had them dancing and screaming and they stayed that way all night! Every crowd member has a favorite and with a 110 minute show, I would bet they were all played. From the powerful opener "Escape" to the fun closer "Oh Sherri", the fans sang along to every song. Some crowd members were there when Steve Perry sang them and then passed along there love of Journey to their kids. Both generations of fans came out to hear Lights recreate perfectly the songs they love so well, In fact during "Don't Stop Believin" the crowd was so loud I could clearly hear them and I was standing in front of the speaker!

Each band member did their best to make sure the crowd was having a great time and it didn't seem to difficult because the band themselves were having a blast!! Jonny and Juan played to the front rows and left all the ladies smiling while Michael entertained not only by keeping the beat but by twirling and throwing up his drumsticks like a pro. Casey and Jeff had smiles on their faces all night and their having a good time translated into the crowd having a good time.

So what was the difference between this Lights show and any other? The great venue, great crowd, amazing music are all staples of a Lights show and what fans expect. What was different was the guys obvious commitment to kicking things up a notch. They performed Friday night like a band that wants to take this to the next level, whatever and wherever that might be. From the looks and sounds of the show Friday night, they aren't going to stop at being just a good club band or a great tribute band. They want to be the best band out there, any time, any place. And when Lights fans think back to the show that started this to happening, they will all think of that Friday night at the Canyon Club. The lucky fans will be the ones able to say "I was there".