I'm one of those dedicates bombing down to Portland on Sunday and missing the super-coolness of the Seattle studio shows. Too many things happen at the end of the month!

I say this as an enormous and unrepentant Dresden Dolls fan, but I went to the show last night and it was a thoroughly unenjoyable experience.

I found "Club 608" just before 7, as one of the e-mails I got said that the show starts at 8. I didn't know exactly where it was so I gave myself plenty of time to find it. It was more like doors at 8:20 and show at 9:30. Which I guess is fine - it wasn't raining THAT hard. The "club" is cold and the floor is very uncomfortable (another e-mail I got said to bring a pillow to sit on. They aren't kidding). Palmer's backing band was called Estradasphere, who played all kinds of different genres of music and while they're great musicians, it isn't exactly my cup of tea, which is fine and all (I'm open to new experiences) but they played for 55 minutes - when your sitting down on a hard, cold, concrete floor and your ass is getting numb, an hour is an eternity. After they played it was about 10:30 and when they announced they'd take another 20 minute break before playing another set with Palmer, my ass and patience had had enough and I went home.

The worst part is that I was kicking myself for buying a ticket on Wednesday and missing Nick Hornby at the SPL. Had I known that the time Hornby was doing his reading I was standing in the rain (not for the whole time because there were two bars nearby) and sitting on cold, uncomfortable concrete. I could have easily gone to both. I would certainly be less bitter.

I was there last night and had the opposite experience of chrisb. Estradasphere were outstanding musicians and performers, compelling to watch, funny too, with a vast range of expression at their disposal. I might not name my firstborn after them, but I really enjoyed their set. Sure there were cold floors, no bar and a late door, but there was also a diverse crowd, an open and easy atmosphere and the real feeling of being part of the show, not just some rube in a plastic bucket seat in a stadium.
Having Amanda belting out DD classic, new material, Madonna songs, performing Coin Operated Boy with volunteer Coin Operated Boys from the audience (who looked like they'd died and gone to heaven), playing a standup piano in the center of the room with the crowd gathered round like it was Thanksgiving, and best of all, wandering throgh the crowd and singing her heart out not three feet from me, well, I'll put up with some rough edges for that. Anytime.

Gavin

Hey Gavin, I'm really glad that you had a great time. It sounds like a very special show! I suspected that she would be amazing after I left because everytime I've seen the Dresden Dolls play (4 times total) they've been nothing short of phenomenal. I really am a big fan of the band, I was just exhausted and wet from being out in the rain waiting to get in and sore. I wasn't expecting to be out that late and if I knew the door was going to be that late, I'd have taken a nap and been much better prepared to deal with the "rough edges".