A long time ago, a pseudo-beau of mine had a roommate that always seemed pretty cool but I didn’t see often. Needless to say, the roommate and I didn’t know each other very well but the pseudo-beau and I still talk occasionally. It just so happened that the roommate is in a band that has gotten quite a bit of KEXP airplay. It also just so happened that I liked what I heard. So without too much coercion, I grabbed igChar and we headed on down to the Jewel Box Theatre to see his band Fort Ancient who opened up for Tennis Pro.

Walking into the theatre, I saw more equipment on stage than I thought the Jewel Box could handle. There were three (3!) keyboards, a laptop computer, guitars, and of course, the drum set. I get a little nervous when I see a mass amount of electronics on stage. Generally when I see this, my immediate thought is that the band has no idea what they are doing and must heavily compensate with electronics.

I clearly cannot accept technology advancements because, once again, I was wrong. These guys (Josh – guitars, keys, vocals; Matthew – bass; Scotty – keys; Rance – guitar, keys) and gal (Kristen – drums) did know what they were doing. And it was so good. The set started off pretty mellow (think Flaming Lips happy and melodious) and got moving in a way that had me wondering when my ass started shaking. During this, I realized that the singer’s voice reminded me of someone. Someone that I liked. Liked a lot. Who is it? What is that guy’s name? Richard Butler from the Psychedelic Furs. Bingo! At that point, I had a moment of euphoria and only remember that I had a truly fantastic time. Now I can't decide if they need to come back to Seattle really soon (YES!) or if I should accept that it’s finally time for me to move to NYC. Something tells me they’ll be back before I move there…

Its funny how, if you move far from where you grew up, you are often alerted to any possible sighting of someone who also is from the same place. I eventually made it to Seattle and that roommate, Josh Weill, made it to Brooklyn. Now he plays in a band that I get to write about. I suppose that sometimes it is well worth it to go and meet up with that person that you never thought you’d see again.