Another Venue, Another Weekend, Another Show!

In Rock and Roll, the live show is like a party! People gathered in one place, with a common goal in mind: to cut loose and have fun. Like any good party, at a good rock show you have many elements combining to make a great experience for all involved. Food, a well stocked bar, a fun crowd, those elements are important. But there are two elements that are above others in figuring out the success of the party!

There definitely has to be music and I will tell you about that later. But first there has to be a place for the party to happen. In rock, this is called the venue. The venue is the host of the party. One of the things that makes following Lights so much fun is that their venues are so varied in type and place. Case in point: the last couple of weeks saw Lights play two festivals in two completely different areas of Southern California, a Casino in the desert and their hometown stomping grounds (a bar).

We started off on a blazing hot day at the Strawberry Festival in Oxnard. This party was to celebrate all that is strawberry! From the unusual (Beer and nachos) to the ordinary (margaritas and pies) everything is strawberry. Once everyone got their fill of strawberry nachos and margaritas, festival goers settled in under the hot sun to see a hot band. Lights wowed the crowd with their amazing sound. Both adults and kids alike danced to songs like "Don't Stop Believin" and "Wheel in the Sky". I heard more than one person say they stopped to listen because they were Journey fans and Lights were the best they heard since they "saw Journey back in the day".

The following gig found the band at a venue as different from the Strawberry Festival as the weather. Instead of a hot day in a strawberry field in Oxnard, the band found themselves in rainy, chilly Indio at a casino in the desert. Fantasy Springs resort is a beautiful casino in the California desert. The band was set to play outside as part of the resorts "tribute fest", to kick off Memorial Day weekend. However, showers and tornado threats moved the party into the lounge inside. While the sound system left a lot to be desired, the band did their best to entertain the crowd and entertain they did. The lounge was packed and despite challenges with the sound, everyone danced and grooved to their Journey faves.

The following Monday brought the band back outside to a festival and easily their largest crowd ever! Fiesta Hermosa is Southern California's largest arts and crafts festival and is a party to celebrate the unofficial kickoff of summer, Memorial Day. With the stage located at the end of the pier, right off the beach, it is a wonderful place for a show! The weather cooperated as well. Not windy, not overly hot it was a beautiful day to be outside. About 2,000 other people thought so as well. When the band started to play, there was room to sit, room to walk around. By about 3 songs in, there wasn't an empty seat to be found, people were standing all along the walkways, sitting outside the restaurants and bars really enjoying the music! And it stayed that way for 3 hours! Even when the band took a break, no one left! By the end of the 3rd set, Lights gained many new fans.

So we had parties to celebrate Strawberrys and Memorial Day. This past weekend, we had the reunion party. Lights got their start in one of most popular rock clubs in the Valley, Paladinos. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora wrote "Who Says You Can't Go Home" and Lights definitely take that to heart when they play Paladinos in front of the friends and family who have supported them all along the way. It's fun to see the band there as it gives them and their fans alike to catch up with one another, see people who can't make it to places like Indio or Oxnard. And Lights seem to crank it up a notch when they play at home. The energy level was off the charts and the sound awesome.

Ah yes, the music! No party is good without music. While all of these venues and shows were unique in their own way, the music was the one constant element making them all terrific. Be it in a strawberry field in the heat or a lounge inside because of the rain, the guys in Lights are so talented that the music transcends weather, travel, even sound issues. They turn any venue into a party with their energy and music. I especially love the new "I'll Be Alright Without You" but crowd favorites "Don't Stop Believin" and "Open Arms" get the crowds up and dancing no matter the place or the venue.

The party is where all the elements combine into a fun evening. When you have interesting venues and a band as wonderful as Lights, good times are had by all and the night is certainly guaranteed to be a party.