The Seattle-based folk rock outfit visited SoCal for their second time ever. First, performing two back-to-back shows in LA with an intimate set at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park and then KCRW One Colorado Listener Event in Pasadena. Motopony’s self-titled debut record, which was released this past month, charted at #1 on KCRW and the top 200 on the CMJ Chart. In support of the album and new music video for “King of Diamonds,” the band has officially kicked off their summer tour and will be back in LA on July 29.
In celebration of Southwest Airlines 40th anniversary, Motopony will be performing at four airports all in one day, from coast to coast this Wednesday. The guys are set to perform at the Southwest Airlines terminals in Baltimore, St. Louis, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Monday, June 27th | Hey friendlies. Sorry to miss a day, I can explain. I woke up in a hotel in Glendale, a hood in the NE of LA (NELA?) We made our way down the highway to Echo Park, a rad little enclave full of subculture. Snuggled between a hip-hop clothing store and a flower tablecloth cafe we climbed the spiral staircase into the loft of Origami Vinyl. There we played a stripped down set to the likes of Perry Watts, Nate from the LA Times, and some fans from Mexico up for the soccer game against the US.
This kind of show is a refreshing crash course in street cred. Attentive, intelligent and courteous, the record store audience is a delight. As soon as we packed the gear down out of the loft and up into the truck we drove to Pasadena and played the One Colorado courtyard for KCRW. I’m not going to lie, THAT WAS THE BEST CROWD/SHOW/EVENING we have had to date. What must have been 800 people, packed in, despite the soccer traffic, let themselves witness the sun setting on our first three songs. It was magical. People came and danced on the stage, we were called out for an encore, and there was a line at the merch table. We felt like, well, rock stars. KCRW is the best GOD DAMN RADIO STATION in the whole republic of CA. We owe them a night of their dreams.
Glendale hotel and the morning road to San Francisco: Mike (our soon to be permanent guitarist) had flown in and cabbed it to the One Colorado show – putting our passenger manifest at six grumpy dudes. BTW…the box truck is hereby named “samsquanch.”
We made it to Hotel Utah; a bi-level audience in a neat little wood room at the base of an old SF style corner apt building. Colorful, gin soaked, and overtly nautical, this little bar is the kind of place you want to live near. The show was really fun. Brantley set his beers on the upright piano and the bass tones of one of our opening songs rattled them to his feet. I looked over at him during the third song and he was laughing and twinkle toeing through a pool of beer and broken glass. The telecaster is soaked and is no longer responding to simple questions. Luckily, Brantley had three backup guitars. An hour later we mowed through local food lovingly served to us by our bartender and loaded the samsquanch.
On the road again: we are three hours from San Diego. Tomorrow, WE FLY TO BALTIMORE?!?!? I swear I live in a hybrid reality co-dreamed by David Lynch and Tom Waits and Wes Anderson. Which is actually the most entertaining and thrilling and hilarious and human adventure in the universe…I swear.
Deliriously yours…—DB
